Dear UNT Community,

As a Hispanic-Serving Institution deeply dedicated to helping all students thrive, UNT announced today its role in founding the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, which is focused on increasing opportunity for the next generation of Hispanic scholars.

The Alliance unites the nation's 20 institutions categorized as R1 (very high research activity) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. Working together, we seek to improve Hispanic representation in the highest levels of research.

In 2021, more than 6,000 students earned doctoral degrees from Alliance universities, but only 9% of those students were Hispanic. While this is greater than the national average of 6%, we know more must be done to increase opportunity for students historically underserved by higher education.

As an Alliance member, UNT will work to achieve two key goals by 2030 — double the number of Hispanic doctoral students enrolled and increase by 20% the Hispanic professoriate. We are committed to growing a diverse faculty that more closely resembles our student demographics and is best suited to help facilitate our students' aspirations. Learn more about UNT's Alliance involvement in the news release.

As a Tier One research university where 24.7% of our student body is Hispanic, UNT is uniquely positioned to train the next generation of Hispanic scholars. Through collaboration with Alliance universities, we will amplify our work to create access, equity, and opportunity for highly qualified students interested in seeking doctoral degrees.

UNT Proud, Neal Smatresk UNT President