“We understand that the diploma is not the destination,” Keller said. “We are one of the first American research universities to embrace economic opportunity for our graduates as a core accountability metric. Those commitments shape how we plan, how we work and how we pursue our mission.

“Our most fundamental responsibility is to help students succeed with the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to put their educations to work and thrive.”

Introduced in November 2025, Look North: UNT 2030 established a five-year vision to create enduring value for students, employers, taxpayers and communities across North Texas. The plan emphasizes developing talent, advancing research and innovation, and strengthening the university's partnerships and contributions to the region. Explore UNT’s Look North Impact Report 2025-2026 to learn more about UNT’s achievements this year.

The university also marked a significant milestone in its commitment to student success through its Better Look North campaign, surpassing its original $100 million fundraising goal in just 10 months, well ahead of its 24-month timeline. To date, the campaign has raised $107 million to expand scholarships, address financial and basic needs, and strengthen the programs and experiences that help students succeed in college and beyond.

“Reaching this milestone just 10 months after announcing the campaign speaks to the extraordinary generosity of the people who believe in our students and what they can accomplish,” said Brandon Buzbee, UNT vice president for university advancement. “But the greatest measure of this campaign will always be the opportunities it creates. Students will continue to arrive at UNT with ambitions worth investing in and challenges we can help them overcome.

“Our responsibility, and our opportunity, is to keep building on this momentum so that more students have the support, experiences and connections they need to thrive.”

Developing students and connecting education to careers
A central focus of the plan is ensuring students have the academic foundation, support and professional experiences necessary to succeed during college and throughout their careers.

This year the university will launch the UNT Advantage, a university-wide commitment to connect a UNT education with opportunities for continued professional growth and career success. The initiative brings together and increases visibility of the many resources and services already available across UNT, including industry-recognized credentials, artificial intelligence training, internships, career coaching and employer connections. Through one centralized destination, the UNT Advantage will make it easier for students and alumni to discover and access many of the opportunities and resources available to help them pursue their professional goals.

“Through the UNT Advantage, we aim to accelerate that time to value for every program we offer,” Keller said. “This commitment doesn’t end at commencement. From current students to recent graduates to established UNT alumni, we will remain a partner to help them pursue what comes next. Whether our graduate is six months out or five or ten years into their career who is ready to take on a new challenge, our students and graduates can access career coaching, earn an industry-recognized credential, and connect with employers looking for someone with their skills.”

The UNT Advantage is designed to support a range of professional goals, from preparing for a first job to building new skills, advancing in an established career or exploring an entirely new direction. Through the initiative, students and alumni can more easily identify and connect with university resources that support their individual needs and ambitions.

“UNT has an incredible breadth of resources, expertise and opportunities that support our students and alumni at different stages of their professional lives,” said Michelle Singh, Vice President for Strategic Educational Alliances. “The UNT Advantage brings greater visibility to those resources and makes it easier for individuals to connect with the support that fits their goals. It's about ensuring the value of a UNT education continues to create opportunities well beyond graduation.”

UNT also expanded academic pathways and foundational support for students. UNT launched programs like North Texas Promise to help eligible students attend tuition free and its Work-integrated Learning initiative to give students opportunities to gain real-world experience without leaving the classroom.

UNT also welcomed the first students in OnePath, a co-enrollment partnership with Collin College that allows students to simultaneously attend both institutions and pursue a coordinated pathway toward an associate degree followed by a bachelor's degree in business or biology. Additional degree pathways are planned.

Advancing research and interdisciplinary discovery
As an R1 research university, UNT is continuing to invest in research that brings together disciplines, develops new technologies and addresses challenges facing Texas and the nation.

“As a leading research university, UNT is working every day on the frontiers of human knowledge, creativity, and understanding,” Keller said. “Our research mission also gives our students unique opportunities to work together with faculty to discover new insights and make creative contributions of public value.”

A major milestone was the establishment of the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, supported by a $20 million gift from the Sinhas. The investment supports scholarships and research while strengthening UNT's expertise in data science, cybersecurity and health informatics.

Other initiatives are connecting research and academic expertise across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Through NEXUS, UNT sociology students are working with cybersecurity leaders to examine the human behavior behind technology challenges, including online safety and password security. UNT also expanded its research and creative impact through the Portal to Texas History, which has made materials from the university's collections available to millions of users. Materials from UNT's collections alone have been accessed more than 43 million times.

The university also received a $3 million commitment from alumni Kathryn and Kent Kuddes to strengthen research and mentorship in elementary music education.

Strengthening North Texas through workforce partnerships
UNT's third strategic priority, Drive, focuses on extending the university's impact through partnerships that support regional workforce needs and economic development.

“UNT’s future is bound to the future of North Texas,” Keller said. “We have a responsibility to drive new opportunities across North Texas and beyond. Together with our partners, we are building opportunities at a scale none of us could create alone.”

The Texas Talent Accelerator, founded by UNT with support from the Texas Legislature, brought together employers, colleges, chambers of commerce and economic development leaders during its first year to anticipate workforce needs and identify emerging career opportunities.

The initiative is examining workforce needs in health care, semiconductors, energy and other industries, including how artificial intelligence could reshape jobs across North Texas. It also received a $500,000 national foundation grant to help reach North Texans who started college but did not finish and support their return to higher education.

UNT also strengthened its connections with industry through partnerships with Titomic, bringing next-generation manufacturing technology into the university's Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing, and Vibrant Capital, which is helping move applied artificial intelligence projects from early concepts toward real-world applications.

“UNT is a great partner of the Dallas Regional Chamber,” said Michael Wood, vice president of education and workforce at the Dallas Regional Chamber. “Our team, and the DRC broadly, is very committed to the continued success of the Dallas region and a big part of that is our talent pipeline and our alignment of that talent pipeline with the workforce needs that our employers and member companies at the DRC have.

“UNT has been a tremendous partner in that work and is clearly, as we heard today, laser-focused on how do we ensure that our students are ready for the economic opportunities here in North Texas.”

Building on progress and looking ahead
Over the past year, UNT has made meaningful progress in strengthening its financial position while continuing to invest in the university's people, programs and mission.

That progress creates greater capacity for UNT to invest in its future and recognize the contributions of its faculty and staff. For the first time in several years, the university is providing merit-based pay increases for faculty and staff, beginning in November. UNT also will continue its incentive program for top researchers.

Looking ahead, the university will build on this momentum by improving student advising and early interventions to improve retention and graduation, expanding recognition for faculty contributions through revised promotion and tenure guidelines, and developing additional pathways for transfer students, graduate students and working professionals.

Together, these efforts reflect UNT's commitment to continuous improvement and to ensuring that a UNT education creates lasting value for students, their families and the communities they serve.

"When students choose UNT, they entrust us with years of their lives," Keller said. "They and their families place extraordinary faith in what an education here can make possible, and we owe them an education worthy of that faith."