University of North Texas

Oct. 1, 2012

Dear UNT faculty and staff,

Salute to Faculty Excellence Week is not just a celebration of excellence. It's a celebration of the commitment our faculty show every day as teachers, scholars and mentors. Each one of our faculty members has great impact on our students and we are honoring our Salute to Faculty Excellence winners because they stand out as the best of the best.

When you read through the winners' "Why I Teach" essays, you can see a common thread. No matter the program or discipline, our faculty members enjoy teaching because they have the opportunity to challenge and inspire students, while learning as much from their students in the process.

If our faculty members didn't have this innate passion to teach, UNT would not be the great university we are today. And we wouldn't be able to achieve our goals to offer the best educational experience in Texas and become an even stronger research institution.

Our new UNT Foundation award recipients lead the way through their distinguished scholarly achievements and meritorious service:

• Bruce Bond, Regents Professor, English, UNT Foundation Eminent Faculty Award
• Mary Harris, Regents Professor, Teacher Education and Administration, UNT Foundation Faculty Leadership Award
• Arminta Jacobson, Elaine Millikan Mathes Professor, Educational Psychology, UNT Foundation Community Engagement Award

Please take the opportunity to celebrate our faculty's contributions this week. And while you don’t necessarily have to salute a faculty member when you see them during the week, maybe give them a handshake or a pat on the back for a job well done.

Best,

Warren Burggren

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs