Smatresk will resign Aug. 1 and move to focus on teaching and mentoring students, according to a Feb. 6 news release. He joined UNT in February 2014.
“When I first took on this role, I knew we had the potential to achieve great things, and because of the dedication, passion and hard work of our faculty and staff, we have flourished in ways that are nothing short of remarkable,” he wrote to the faculty and staff at UNT.
The background
Smatresk guided UNT’s transformation into one of the largest Tier One research universities in the nation with a decade of record-breaking enrollment—from 36,000 students to nearly 47,000 students in the fall 2023—and more than 85,000 graduates have entered the workforce, according to the news release.
“I am proud of the many notable accomplishments President Smatresk has made over the past decade on behalf of UNT. He has created a strong foundation and legacy that will empower UNT to achieve great success in the years to come,” UNT System Chancellor Michael Williams said in the release. “We are thankful for his leadership and unwavering commitment to UNT and our North Texas community.”
During Smatresk tenure, the university opened a branch campus in Frisco to close the gap between higher education and industry to create increased opportunities for student learning and pathways for a career-ready workforce, according to the release.
In Frisco, the Satish and Yasmin Gupta Career Center opened at the Frisco Landing campus.
The specifics
Smatresk also oversaw other UNT accomplishments, including:
- Closed the gap in minority graduation rates from 7% to 2.2%
- Earned Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institution status
