Dear Colleagues,

I would again like to thank you for the warm Texan welcome since I joined UTA last July. I am very fortunate that in a short time I have had the pleasure to work with many of you on numerous initiatives, and I look forward to continued partnerships and collaborations on future projects. I am writing to share information with you on many of the recent and upcoming initiatives and changes within the Provost's Office and throughout the University.

Please join me in congratulating Interim Dean Chandra Subramaniam, who has accepted the position of dean of the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at the California State University, Northridge. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Subramaniam has provided leadership as interim dean, associate dean, and chair as well as a faculty member. I wish him the best in his new role and will always consider him part of the UTA family…once a Maverick, always a Maverick.

A search for a permanent College of Business dean is currently in progress. During the transition, Associate Deans Greg Frazier, David Gray, David Mack, and I will fill the leadership role. The search for a permanent dean of CAPPA (College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs) is also underway, and updates will be provided once they become available. A search for a permanent dean of CONHI (College of Nursing and Health Innovation) has just begun as Dean Anne Bavier plans to retire at the end of this academic year.

A new vice provost for international affairs position has been created in order to advance the international profile and reputation of the University. After an extensive search, I am excited to announce that Curtis Andressen has accepted this position, effective May 1. He will also have a professor of practice (non tenure-track) position in Political Science. Dr. Andressen most recently served as Marubeni Chair in Social Sciences at Qatar University. Previously, he was a faculty member in International Relations at Flinders University.

To better align with our increased focus on student success, I am very enthused to announce that University College will be renamed the Division for Student Success within Academic Affairs. I am very pleased that Ashley Purgason has accepted the position of associate vice provost to lead the division, effective February 26. Dr. Purgason comes to us from UTA’s Office of the President and has been working on student-success initiatives throughout her career. I would like to thank Ms. Liz Hannabas for her leadership as interim director; it was through her dedicated work that the division is poised for continued success. She will be working closely with Dr. Purgason during this time of transition and will continue to play a key role in advancing the division's goals.

Mike West, director of UTA Fort Worth, has recently retired; in the interim, UTA Fort Worth is under the leadership of Pranesh Aswath, vice provost for academic planning and policy. We are focusing efforts to increase available curriculum being offered at the campus and making changes to the overall appearance and accessibility of the location.

As with all searches at UTA, diversity considerations are of utmost importance. As colleges and departments are currently searching to fill many faculty positions, they are making a strong push to find diverse candidates as they bring in new people. As the fifth most diverse public university in the nation and a model 21^st-century urban research university dedicated to student success, UTA recognizes the need and benefits of having a faculty that reflects all aspects of student diversity and the nation’s changing demographics.

Another significant change that I am happy to share is that beginning March 2018, the Interdisciplinary Studies Program will be housed in the Honors College, under the direction of Interim Dean Kevin Gustafson. Interdisciplinary Studies provides students the opportunity to develop individualized programs of study—often in conjunction with existing certificates and minors—to meet their personal, academic, and professional goals.

The University is introducing a new web-based application called UTA Digital Measures to help faculty collect, organize, and display their data for the purposes of annual reviews, promotion and tenure, and more. Digital Measures will provide a centralized data resource to help colleges, departments, and the University more efficiently manage large reporting processes. It will also improve the ability to track and report faculty activities for both internal and external purposes. The Digital Measures project team is populating faculty accounts by college with data from PeopleSoft and from CVs. Please visit the DM website for updates and more information.

Of particular note, UTA’s institutional accreditation was reaffirmed by our regional accreditor, the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), at its annual meeting in December 2017. This success is a reflection of the campus-wide effort to describe and provide evidence to SACSCOC that the University is in compliance with our own policies and SACSCOC principles and standards. In early September, we will report on the Unit Effectiveness Process (UEP) assessment work being conducted by academic units in the 2017-2018 academic year as part of a monitoring requirement. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Reporting is grateful for faculty's and staff’s roles in the UEP and diligence toward continuous improvement.

On a lighter note, I have been conducting a Facebook Live segment called Talks with Teik, which occurs live the second Tuesday of each month at 2:30. This has been a fun undertaking and has given me an opportunity to get to know a variety of outstanding students and staff across campus. Check it out at www.facebook.com/utarlington/.

It is an exciting time for our growing university, with opportunities to make strategic changes that will support UTA's mission. Thank you to everyone for your contributions. Because of you, we are a pre-eminent urban research university that inspires bold solutions.