Smatresk, who took on the role of UNT president in February 2014, oversaw the university’s highest enrollment of 47,000 students in fall 2023. The same year, the university reached $86 million in research funding from national agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation — the highest ever. Smatresk also led UNT as it earned a Carnegie Classification as a Tier 1 research university, the highest level of research classification, in 2015, and later saw the university become the highest-ranked institution in North Texas. He said serving as president has been the highlight of his career.
“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,” Smatresk wrote in an announcement to faculty and staff.
Under Smatresk’s leadership, UNT’s enrollment has grown by more than 11,000 over the past decade and has focused on branch development through UNT’s new Frisco campus. Alongside enrollment growth, he has also overseen the creation and renovation of more than 17 buildings, including athletic facilities and residence halls. UNT earned federal status as both a Hispanic Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution under Smatresk, which opens up additional federal funding. Universities can apply for such status when at least 25% of the student body is Hispanic.
“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.” – Neal Smatresk, in an announcemt.
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Last year, Smatresk oversaw the university as it won an appeals court reversal of a federal district court ruling that blocked UNT’s policy to charge in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. Undocumented students who have lived in the state for three years and have graduated from a Texas high school can pay in-state tuition, according to Texas law. Student organization Young Conservatives of Texas, represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, filed a lawsuit alleging that it was illegal that the university charged out-of-state students higher tuition rates than undocumented students. While a federal judge ruled in favor of the organization last April, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling in favor of UNT last July.
“I am proud of the many notable accomplishments President Smatresk has made over the past decade on behalf of UNT,” UNT System Chancellor Michael R. Williams said in a UNT news release. “He has created a strong foundation and legacy that will empower UNT to achieve great success in the years to come. We are thankful for his leadership and unwavering commitment to UNT and our North Texas community.”
Smatresk is the second UNT System leader to step down this year. On Jan. 23, UNT Dallas President Bob Mong announced his intent to retire this summer after leading the school for nine years, throughout which he also saw significant growth in enrollment and graduation rates. At this time, there is no public announcement on the timeline for the search for a new UNT president. UNT did not immediately respond to the Observer’s request for comment on Smatresk’s announcement.
