Office of the President

Planning Implementation

"Let’s fulfill the opportunity we have to be the best university anyone has ever heard of, providing the best education in Texas. And let's celebrate our excellence."

— President Neal Smatresk

2014-15 Accomplishments Summary (PDF) Read the 2014-15 Planning Implementation Report Read the 2014-15 Action Plan (PDF) Owning Excellence
What will I do to help UNT close the gaps and own excellence?

Planning for the Future

Like everyone in the UNT community, President Neal Smatresk has big dreams for UNT. He sees a UNT that excels at providing the best education to students and transforming an increasingly first-generation student population into the workforce and leaders of tomorrow. He sees a UNT that is a first choice university and partner, known around the world for its excellence and creative bent. And he sees a UNT that one day is among the top public research institutions in the nation, delivering the innovations and intellect that will solve global problems and power the economy.

President Smatresk’s vision for UNT is rooted in concrete plans with clear action and accountability — plans that are both a to-do list for today and a roadmap for tomorrow.

“Plans are not a set of goals. Plans are a series of action steps that you use to achieve your goals and that you measure yourself against with metrics,” Smatresk says.

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Each year through planning implementation workshops, the president and UNT stakeholders develop an action plan that details what the university should accomplish in the academic year to make progress and move closer to its goals and dreams. President Smatresk unveils the action plan at the annual State of the University in September and assigns implementation teams. By the end of the academic year, the teams report their progress with metrics and next steps.

The annual planning cycle includes:

• Planning Implementation Workshop: Annual summer meeting to develop priorities for the coming academic year from broad internal and external stakeholder input
• State of the University: President’s annual address to campus detailing progress from the past year and priorities going forward
• Periodic and Annual Reporting: Updates from the Planning Implementation teams throughout the year and in the year-end report  

The 2014-15 Action Plan focused on improving operations and infrastructure, enhancing academics and strengthening research.

To carry out the work of the 2014-15 Action Plan, President Smatresk assigned three Implementation Teams:

• The Operations and Infrastructure Implementation Team led by Bob Brown, vice president for finance and administration.
• The Academic Implementation Team co-led by Warren Burggren, then provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Elizabeth With, vice president for student affairs. Finley Graves assumed co-leadership of the team’s ongoing initiatives following his appointment as the provost and vice president for academic affairs. Shannon Goodman, vice president for Enrollment, has contributed to the team’s work since his arrival in February and will lead an implementation team focused on enrollment for FY 2016.
• The Research Implementation Team led by Tom McCoy, vice president for research and economic development.

Read about university-wide progress in the 2014-15 Accomplishments Summary.

Read about each team's accomplishments in the 2014-15 Planning Implementation Report.

Read the president's message to campus about the 2015 Planning Implementation Workshop, Owning Excellence.

Read about the 2015 Planning Implementation Workshop, Owning Excellence.

Read about the 2014 Planning Implementation Workshop, Better Together.