The University of North Texas announced a number of initiatives during President Harrison Keller’s State of the University address last week.
The top three initiatives are meant to drive key portions of the five-year strategic plan branded Look North: UNT 2030.
The biggest news was the $100 million investment in student retention and success, but UNT will make sweeping systemic changes between now and 2030. The following are the top three projects in the strategic plan.
Select doctoral students will have health insurance funded
Keller’s top priority during his first year was to secure UNT’s path to Level 1 funding from the newly established Texas University Fund. This endowment benefits Texas public universities that are emerging Tier 1 research schools. Keller said a fundraising campaign has netted $55 million to hit the required research expenditures for Level 1 funding and that UNT should join Level 1 later this year.
Keller said that faculty have advocated for better support for students attending UNT as doctoral research students.
“So as a first step ... we will fund health insurance for all doctoral students on fellowship,” Keller said. “And we won’t wait to do this. We’re going to start immediately by providing funding for the current semester and going forward. Our doctoral students are critical to achieve our aim of doubling sponsored research over the next five years.”
Faculty who make an impact will earn recognition
Texas college professors have been in the crosshairs of Republican state lawmakers over the past several years. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposed ending tenure in 2022 to combat what he said was faculty indoctrination of students with critical race theory. The measure failed, but a Texas A&M University professor was fired in September after a student said she broke the law by including gender identity content in her class.
Keller said UNT, which is the largest public university within 200 miles, can’t meet the needs of students and employers without doing right by faculty.
“There’s this myth out there that faculty aren’t willing to lead change,” Keller said. “But at UNT, our faculty aren’t the problem, they’re our partners in solutions to help develop every student’s potential.”
Keller announced an initiative to recognize excellence, innovation and impact of faculty in promotion and tenure. Keller recounted a conversation with a professor who bragged about her students’ progress, her pride in their accomplishments, and how far they had come in their internships. Keller said he asked if the university honored the work she’d done to prepare her students for challenging careers.
The answer was no. Keller said the enduring model of scholarship — rewarding professors according to how often they publish their research — doesn’t include rewarding faculty for their students’ outcomes.
“I’m grateful to our faculty senate and leadership for their partnership and their hard work,” he said. “But at the same time, we can’t ask faculty to do all this ambitious, groundbreaking work at the expense of their own careers. ... We must do better.”
Keller said the new model for public research institutions is to reward excellence in scholarship, teaching, and bridging study and skill for students.
UNT leaders will drive civil discourse
Keller called the state of civil discourse “a critical issue” for American public research universities and campuses across the country. Keller didn’t reference the recent investigation of UNT that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced. A viral video of a conservative UNT student confronting a peer after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, alleging that the peer was cheering the conservative activist’s death, triggered criticism from Republican state lawmakers. Paxton said the investigation also includes what he said are far-left faculty who are indoctrinating students.
Keller is launching a presidential initiative on civil discourse.
Political tensions on campus predate Keller’s term, with a former chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas drawing protest over its position opposing gender-affirming health care for Texas children and teens. Student protests in support of Palestinian liberation have been some of the largest in UNT’s history and have continued since Hamas attacked Israel in 2023. In the wake of the protest, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into alleged antisemitism at UNT.
UNT has said it is complying with all the investigations.
Keller said it was time to do more.
“This issue is complex,” Keller said. “And it’s sometimes uncomfortable. And it pulls against the social media algorithms. Yet central to our public responsibilities is the development of our students as adults, as colleagues and citizens who can engage in open and respectful dialogue with people who disagree. Who can listen. Who can hear each other.”
Keller said students tell him they want to discuss the events of the day that they couldn’t talk about in high school. Keller said faculty tell him they feel a responsibility to develop students’ essential civic skills.
“Employers across every sector have told me that among the top workforce-ready skills they seek are employees who can respectfully and productively listen, disagree and engage in dialogue,” Keller said.