Dear UNT faculty and staff,

The review period closed this week for the 2018 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education™ rankings, and I am proud to announce the reaffirmation of UNT's status as a Tier One research university. The “very high research activity” designation was given to only 131 institutions, and UNT's inclusion is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our outstanding faculty and staff.

This recognition speaks to the quality and impact of the research being conducted at UNT and highlights our continued progress toward national prominence as a leading research university. You should consider the research achievements that earned us our Tier One status as a baseline of excellence and the launch point for UNT's continued research growth and discovery. Our research enterprise must continue to grow and diversify, and our next challenge is to meet National Research University Fund standards. We must innovate, collaborate and be aggressive in our pursuit of external funding.

UNT is entering a new era of research excellence, and we are investing in programs to drive innovation and technology like biomedical engineering - one of UNT's fastest-growing programs. We will continue to build programs that foster innovation and production from our faculty and student researchers, and we will place a stronger emphasis on supporting cross-disciplinary research. We also will evaluate the strengths and effectiveness of our four Institutes of Research Excellence and develop plans to ensure that all are performing at desired levels. Learn more about our research goals.

This designation is one of the most meaningful a university can earn and each member of our faculty and staff played a role in earning and reaffirming our Tier One status. Because of the work you do each day, UNT will continue to grow, thrive and make discoveries that impact our students and our world.

UNT Proud, Neal Smatresk President @UNTPrez