Advancing the Strategic Plan 2020 - Fall 2017

BOLD SOLUTIONS 

GLOBAL IMPACT 

ADVANCING THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2020 

FALL 2017 

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 

VISTASP M. KARBHARI 

PRESIDENT 

Bold Solutions—Global Impact. These two phrases, a tagline if you will, describe 

in many ways the past, present, and future of The University of Texas at Arlington. 

We have always been a university known for the commitment of our faculty to 

enabling the dreams of our students through personalization while simultaneously 

being dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. When 

innovation meets personal touch, wonderful things can happen. At UTA, this has 

resulted in a transformative education for thousands of students on the one hand 

and deeply impactful research ranging from the very fundamental to that which has 

found application in resolving a critical issue immediately on the other. Whether it’s 

the use of digital delivery of instruction to enhance access, the use of Shakespeare-reciting 

robots to improve the psychological well-being of older adults, or the development 

of “cancer traps” and novel nanotechnologies, our faculty are at the forefront of 

innovation, the impact of which is not just in the local area, but throughout our nation and across the globe. 

We are a University of IDEAS; a place known for its deep-rooted commitment to the ideals of Innovation, Diversity, 

Excellence, Access, and Student Success. These ideals are often topics of intense discussion across academe and 

in government circles, with the underlying presumption that advances in some automatically result in decreases in 

the attainment of others, or that the attainment of some is intrinsically in conflict with that of others. At a time when 

there is more need than ever before for access to the benefits of education through institutions of higher education, 

many universities have focused on enrolling only the very top rung of high-achieving students to ensure success. At 

UTA, our faculty are committed to access, opening our doors to those who desire to learn and who are committed to 

using education as a means of bettering their own lives—and through that, impacting the futures of their families and 

the communities in which they reside and work. The growing reputation of our University—as evidenced by increases 

in ranking and enhanced employability of our graduates—combined with the awarding of over 12,500 degrees in AY 

2016-17, a majority of which are in areas of high workforce need and the attainment of which was predicated by efforts 

after arrival at the University rather than by metrics of prior achievement, simultaneous with an increase in research 

expenditures to over $93 million not only demonstrates that excellence can be achieved without sacrificing access, 

but also that this can indeed happen at a Carnegie R-1 institution. UTA is a clear example of an institution where 

membership in an elite group does not mean being elitist, where diversity and inclusion are intrinsic aspects that we 

hold dear, and that research excellence does not come at the cost of loss in excellence in our teaching mission or the 

personal touch through which we ensure that each student, irrespective of background, becomes a cherished member 

of the Maverick family. 

Bold solutions are developed every day by our faculty, staff, and students. Through them, UTA is having a global 

impact, be it through the education of students from across the globe, the delivery of training and knowledge to 

populations in far-away nations, or the impact of our groundbreaking research in the theme areas of our Strategic 

Plan. As I look through the accomplishments of the University—our students, faculty, and staff—over the most recent 

six months and over the past four years, I am struck by the advancements, by the level of excellence, and most of all 

by their capacity to dream, to reach for the stars, and to develop bold solutions that have local, national, and global 

impact. I hope you are as proud of UTA as I am. This is the model 21 st -Century Urban Research University, and as 

you flip these pages you will see that it is, indeed, setting standards for others to follow.

SETTING THE STANDARD 

In Spring 2015, The University of Texas at Arlington launched our Strategic Plan 2020: 

Bold Solutions | Global Impact. A blueprint for the future and focused on enabling a 

sustainable megacity, it comprises four guiding themes that provide strategic areas of 

cross-disciplinary emphasis and six guiding aspirations that direct our progress. Now 

almost halfway into the five-year plan, the University has made significant headway 

toward meeting its ambitious goal and continues its progress on the work that remains. 

Over the past several years, UTA—ranked the 8th-fastest growing public doctoral institution in the Chronicle 

of Higher Education’s Almanac 2017—has seen consistent increases in enrollment, reaching an unprecedented high 

this fall, with 41,750 Texas-based students reported to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. But this 

population surge has not caused us to lower our expectations or forget our commitment to providing our students 

with the highest-quality education. Our programs, departments, and colleges continue to climb in national rankings 

as well as in international reputation. Access and excellence are, indeed, being bridged at an affordable cost at UTA. 

In fact, the latest rankings on affordability from U.S. News and World Report place UTA No. 1 among national public 

universities for graduating students with the least amount of debt. 

We continue to add world-renowned experts to our faculty, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. 

In addition to the Interdisciplinary Research Program, which provides seed funding to teams from across the 

colleges, we have introduced a new program to catalyze innovative teaching and initiated a Presidential Fellows 

program this summer. Excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and service go hand-in-hand at UTA. 

As we continue our drive to provide a transformational educational experience to our students, we are focused on 

being the model 21 st -Century Urban Research University, setting the standard for others to follow as we progress 

forward. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

1

HEALTH AND THE HUMAN CONDITION 

“UTA will focus on health and the human condition from distinct, yet broadly encompassing, 

vantage points. We will explore health management within physical, mental, emotional, 

and social contexts. Health innovations will be distinguished by diagnostic, prognostic, and 

technological advancements that help people live longer, healthier, and happier lives.” 

KEY INITIATIVES 

1. Established a new College of Nursing and Health Innovation to enhance the health sciences focus. 

2. Develop closer collaborations between UTA and the health sector through joint projects and 

appointments. 

3. Establish a Center for Engineering in Medicine to enhance translational research. 

4. Enhanced research foci in bioengineering, neurosciences, kinesiology, gerontology, and computational 

sciences, supporting the thrust through cluster and targeted hires. 

5 Enhance the health focus in the College of Business. 

6. Enhance the reach and impact of programs involving the School of Social Work. 

Implemented In progress Planned 

2 


HEALTH AND THE HUMAN CONDITION 

RECENT PROGRESS 

ROBOTS FOR MENTAL 

HEALTH 

Researchers from theater 

arts, social work, and the 

UTA Research Institute 

are conducting a study on 

the effects a Shakespearereciting 

robot has on the 

psychological well-being 

of older adults. This 

work is already changing 

lives, as researchers 

have found that after 

three consecutive 

weeks of Shakespeare 

theater intervention, 

residents at Brookdale 

Assisted Living Facility 

showed a significant 

drop in depression and 

a significant increase in 

engagement. 

HEART FAILURE 

RESEARCH 

Mark Haykowsky (pictured 

above), the Moritz Chair 

of Gerontological Nursing 

Research, received an NIH 

grant to study exercise 

intolerance in older 

patients with preserved 

ejection fraction (HFpEF), 

the fastest growing type of 

heart failure. The mortality 

rate for these patients is 

high, and drug therapies 

have not proven successful 

in improving survival. 

Exercise intolerance is a 

cardinal feature of HFpEF, 

and studying this symptom 

may provide insight into 

possible treatments. 

BATTLING 

DISEASE WITH 

NANOTECHNOLOGY 

Bioengineering Professor 

Kytai Nguyen (pictured 

above at right) received 

an NIH T-32 grant totaling 

more than $1 million 

to recruit and train 

outstanding doctoral 

students to develop and 

use nanotechnology to 

battle cardiovascular and 

pulmonary ailments. 

NEW PUBLIC HEALTH 

DEGREE 

According to the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

public health is one of the 

10 fastest-growing careers 

in the country. To meet this 

demand for professionals, 

the College of Nursing and 

Health Innovation began 

offering a Bachelor of 

Science in Public Health 

degree and a Graduate 

Certificate in Public Health 

Practice this fall. Unlike the 

majority of public health 

degrees in Texas, UTA’s 

program has an urban 

focus and is designed to 

produce a public health 

workforce that mirrors the 

state’s demographics. 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES 

OF HEALTH AWARDS 

2014 $1,213,324 

2015 $1,356,637 

2016 $3,386,027 

26 

HEALTH INSTITUTIONS 

PARTNERED WITH UTA 

RESEARCHERS IN 2016-17 

COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH INNOVATION 

ENROLLMENT GROWTH 

HEADCOUNT % INCREASE* 

Spring 2013 8,846 6.1 

Spring 2014 9,227 4.3 

Spring 2015 10,499 13.8 

Spring 2016 12,178 16.0 

Spring 2017 14,952 22.8 

THECB Certified Enrollment 

* Over previous year 

+ 

COLLABORATIVE CENTER ESTABLISHED 

Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems 

Engineering Chair Paul Componation and Associate 

Professor Susan Ferreira are working with UT 

Southwestern Medical Center to establish the Center 

of Health Optimization and Community Engagement 

through Systems Engineering (CHOICES). CHOICES 

strives to develop collaborative and innovative 

research approaches to establish and sustain healthy 

communities. The team has already conducted over 

50 joint medical and engineering research projects for 

students and is now reaching out to the community with 

additional projects funded by the University, as well as 

actively pursuing outside funding. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

3

SUSTAINABLE URBAN COMMUNITIES 

“UTA will foster sustainable urban communities through a focus on the natural, built, economic, 

cultural, and social environments. Learning from the past and present to ensure a sustainable 

future, UTA will understand and interpret demographic change and the broad spectrum of 

human capital.” 


1. Established a new college integrating the School of Architecture and the School of Urban and Public 

Affairs. 

2. Developed a new construction management degree. 

3. Developed a new architectural engineering degree to meet critical workforce needs. 

4. Established an Institute for Sustainability. 

5. Establish a department/school of resource engineering in collaboration with Fort Worth and the corporate 

community. 

6. Enhance research, teaching, and outreach in the area of urban communities through integration of efforts of 

existing centers and through key hires. 


4 


SUSTAINABLE URBAN COMMUNITIES 


NEW DEGREE TO 

MEET GROWING 

DEMAND 

UTA’s College of 

Engineering launched a 

new bachelor’s degree in 

construction management 

in Fall 2017, the first of 

its kind in North Texas. 

Students learn the latest 

sustainable building 

techniques—along with 

traditional skills such 

as accurately detailing 

project scope, budget, 

construction schedules, 

and ability to satisfy 

quality—to meet the 

workforce needs of the 

state. Already, close to 60 

students have signed up 

for the new program this 

semester. 

FAKE NEWS FACT- 

CHECK 

A UTA team is building 

computer tools to detect 

bots within the World 

Wide Web that create 

and spread fake news. Led 

by Chengkai Li (pictured 

above), computer science 

and engineering associate 

professor, the researchers 

received a three-year, 

$500,000 NSF grant to 

expand ClaimBuster, a 

tool they developed to 

monitor live discourse, 

social media, and news to 

catch factual claims and 

detect matches with a 

curated repository of factchecks 

from professionals. 

The system then delivers 

the matches instantly to 

readers and viewers. 

LOCAL OUTREACH 

Jaya Davis (pictured 

above), associate professor 

and director of graduate 

programs in criminology, 

is leading a servicelearning 

partnership 

with the Dallas County 

Juvenile Department. 

UTA students, serving 

as examples of positive 

choices and college 

attainment, spend four 

hours a week mentoring 

and tutoring at-risk youths 

in the community. Dr. Davis 

believes such intervention 

could improve the lives of 

both the youths and the 

community at large and 

increase their chances for 

success. 

THE COST OF 

SPRAWL 

Shima Hamidi, executive 

director of UTA’s Institute 

of Urban Studies and an 

assistant professor in the 

College of Architecture, 

Planning, and Public 

Affairs, discovered 

that urban sprawl has a 

significant negative impact 

on the upward mobility 

of residents. In contrast, 

those living in compact 

developments have 

improved life expectancy, 

economic mobility, 

transportation choices, and 

personal health and safety. 

Through this research, Dr. 

Hamidi hopes to set a new 

standard for developers 

and planners. 

7.0M 

6.5M 

6.0M 

$11.1M 

FISCAL YEAR COMPARISON 

OF TOTAL BUILDING SQUARE FOOTAGE TO TOTAL ENERGY COSTS 

$10.9M 

6.5M 6.5M 

6.4M 6.4M 6.4M 

6.5M 

$11.5M 

$11.0M 

$10.5M 

$10.0M 

In addition to developing 

technology and outreach 

programs to address 

environmental issues, UTA 

is also working to reduce 

its own carbon footprint, 

even as it expands its 

physical one. 

$9.5M 

5.5M 

$9.0M 

5.0M 

4.5M 

5.0M 

5.2M 

$7.6M 

$7.5M 

$8.2M $8.4M $8.2M 

$8.4M 

$8.5M 

$8.0M 

$7.5M 

4.0M 

FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 

FY15 

FY16 

FY17 (est.) 

$7.0M 

TOTAL BUILDING SQUARE FOOTAGE 

TOTAL ENERGY COSTS

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

“UTA will address critical issues that affect our planet, including climate change, energy, 

water, disasters, and pollution. By analyzing global population dynamics, we will develop an 

understanding of our world—and solutions for its problems—through avenues ranging from 

environmental economics to history.” 


1. Enhanced the Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies to enable greater research in areas related to 

environmental science and built faculty strength in this area. 

2. Establish a cross-cutting institute to enable key thrusts in water and environmental impact. 

3. Develop strengths in areas related to environmental policy. 

4. Develop new programs focused on water resources, conservation, pollution, and disaster mitigation. 

5. Establish a department/school of resource engineering. 

6. Enhanced the continuing and professional education efforts aimed at environmental effects, regulation, and 

compliance. 


6 


GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 


CONRAD GREER LAB 

In June, the University 

opened the Conrad Greer 

Lab, where faculty from 

the College of Engineering 

and the College of Science 

created a process to 

convert a plentiful natural 

resource—natural gas— 

into high-grade diesel and 

jet fuel in an efficient and 

clean way. This project has 

the potential to be a gamechanger 

for the industry 

and will further efforts 

to develop cleaner, more 

efficient fuels at cheaper 

prices for the modern 

megacity. 

WATER SAFETY 

Hyeok Choi (pictured 

above in blue), an 

associate professor 

of civil engineering, is 

using a process known 

as defluorination to 

rid water resources of 

harmful perfluorated 

chemicals. His research 

would allow scientists to 

transform the substance 

into chemicals that can 

easily and efficiently be 

broken down to provide 

safer drinking water. 

Dr. Choi is collaborating 

with the nonprofit Water 

Environment and Reuse 

Foundation on the project. 

SAVING CORAL 

REEFS 

Biology Associate Chair 

Laura Mydlarz (pictured 

above at far right) 

received an NSF grant 

aimed at quantifying 

how susceptible coral 

species are to disease 

by examining their 

immunity. Environmental 

changes over the past 

three decades have led 

to a worldwide increase 

in coral disease. Dr. 

Mydlarz has contributed 

significantly to general 

knowledge of the subject 

through her years-long 

study of coral populations 

in the Caribbean. 

GREENER 

CHEMICALS 

A team of UTA researchers 

led by Rasika Dias, 

Distinguished Professor 

of Chemistry and 

Biochemistry, is developing 

a greener alternative 

for producing phenol, 

a key raw material in 

the chemical industry. 

The team’s work will 

significantly reduce the 

production of waste 

byproducts and the 

harmful effects of the 

current method, in which 

phenol is produced via a 

process that uses large 

amounts of energy and 

explosive intermediates. 

POLLUTION REMOVAL 

Clean air and water are of vital importance for 

our sustainable world, but many of the solutions 

currently used to remove pollutants only transfer 

the problem from one medium to another. Krishnan 

Rajeshwar (pictured at far right), Distinguished 

University Professor, is developing new, more efficient 

photocatalytic methods for pollutant removal using 

complex oxides. He is collaborating with faculty from 

UTA’s Department of Physics and the University of 

Szeged and University of Warsaw on the project. “These 

international collaborations are important because 

they leverage the impact of the ongoing environmental 

research at UTA,” Dr. Rajeshwar says. “Given that clean 

air and water are crucial to our quality of life, these 

advances should have a meaningful impact on society in 

the years to come.” 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

7

DATA-DRIVEN DISCOVERY 

“UTA will focus on research that integrates big data from multiple fields and will develop data 

analytics and science that explore data from a wide variety of sources. We will use data to discover 

and share new knowledge, as well as enhance current knowledge.” 


1. Established a new degree in data analytics in the College of Business to meet workforce needs. 

2. Establish true multidisciplinary degrees in “data science.” 

3. Established an Institute for the Predictive Performance of Materials and Structures as a national center of 

excellence to improve the integrity of engineered materials and structures. 

4. Establish a Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization. 

5. Established thrusts in the digital humanities and media and digital communications. 

6. Developed strengths in data security and resilience through collaborations among the colleges. 


8 


DATA-DRIVEN DISCOVERY 

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS 

UAV NETWORK 

Electrical engineering Associate Professor Yan Wan 

(pictured at left) received a three-year, $998,803 NSF 

grant to develop a networked airborne computing 

platform for multiple unmanned aerial systems. The 

platform will be made available for the research 

community to build upon current and future technology 

and will facilitate the use of networked UAVs for 

civilian applications such as intelligent transportation, 

emergency response, and infrastructure monitoring. 

Using data mining techniques, the platform enables 

operators to download fused information from UAV 

networks and respond in real time, which allows the 

drones to share information with each other for safer 

flight management. 

HIGH-ENERGY 

PHYSICS 

UTA physicists received 

new grants totaling almost 

$10 million over the 

past six months to carry 

out projects associated 

with the operations and 

upgrades of the Large 

Hadron Collider’s ATLAS 

experiment and to improve 

the capacities of the 

detectors to manage 10 

times more data. This 

funding—which could 

exceed $35 million over 

the next decade—confirms 

UTA as one of the 

country’s leaders in highenergy 

physics and further 

positions the University on 

the international stage. 

MINING THE 

POLITICS OF PUBLIC 

HEALTH 

Political Science faculty 

Daniel Sledge and Trey 

Thomas (pictured above, 

left to right) are developing 

a data-driven approach to 

mapping and analyzing the 

politics of public health, 

as the subject is deeply 

intertwined with governing 

institutions and ideas about 

how and why government 

should act. They are 

treating specific public 

health threats and diseases 

as units of analysis and 

tracing elite framing, policy 

advocacy, public attention, 

and government response 

over time. 

GENOME RESEARCH 

To uncover new insights 

that link variation in 

DNA with variation in 

vertebrate form and 

function, biology Assistant 

Professor Todd Castoe 

(pictured above in blue) is 

investigating the genomes 

of snakes and lizards. 

Most vertebrate genomes 

are made up of billions of 

DNA bases; Dr. Castoe is 

using supercomputers and 

data analysis resources 

to mine the genomes and 

attempt to answer critical 

questions about these 

creatures’ evolutionary 

history. 

iWORK SYSTEM 

As automation becomes a 

staple in the manufacturing 

sector, so does the need 

for vocational training for 

people who work alongside 

robots. Fillia Makedon, 

computer science and 

engineering professor, 

is using a $999,638 NSF 

grant to develop iWork, 

which will assess and train 

both human workers and 

their robot coworkers as 

they collaborate. iWork 

will produce personalized, 

low-cost vocational 

training solutions that 

could have a huge impact 

on sectors such as health 

care, the military, public 

safety, manufacturing, and 

mining. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

9

EXCELLENCE BY THE NUMBERS 

41,750 TEXAS-BASED 

STUDENTS 


INCREASE OF 5% OVER FALL 2016 

58,664 

DEGREE-SEEKING 

STUDENTS SERVED GLOBALLY 

(2016-17 Academic Year) 

#1 #5 

AMONG NATIONAL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES 

FOR GRADUATING STUDENTS WITH 

THE LEAST DEBT 

2018 U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT “BEST COLLEGES” 

150+ 

NEW FACULTY HIRED 

OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS 

UTA NAMED TOP 25 

“LEADER” UNIVERSITY 

FOR PROVIDING HIGH SOCIAL 

MOBILITY AND IMPACTFUL RESEARCH 

2017 BROOKINGS INSTITUTION 

BEST ETHNIC DIVERSITY 

AMONG NATIONAL 

UNIVERSITIES 

2018 U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT “BEST COLLEGES” 

3 

$450,000+ EARLY CAREER 

DEVELOPMENT GRANTS 

OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS FROM THE 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

MORE THAN START-UPS 

20 

DEVELOPING 

AROUND UTA 

STRONG ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

AND INNOVATIVE ECOSYSTEM 

12 FELLOWS 

OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY 

OF INVENTORS 

60,000 

50,000 

40,000 

30,000 

20,000 

10,000 

TOTAL ENROLLMENT* 

45,498 45,880 47,963 51,448 54,823 58,664 

$95 

TOTAL RESEARCH EXPENDITURES 

in millions 

$93.9 (proj.) 

0 

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 

*For online and in-seat students, one of the largest in Texas 

$90 

$85 

$80 

$75 

$70 

$71.1 

$77.9 

$86 

DEGREES CONFERRED 

14,000 

12,000 

10,000 

8,000 

6,000 

4,000 

2,000 

9,254 9,469 9,467 

10,585 

11,526 

12,732 

$65 

2014 2015 2016 2017 

Increased 30% over 5 years 

0 

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

UTA 

RANKED AMONG THE 

BEST IN THE NATION 

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S “BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS” (2018) #38 Social Work • #44 Industrial/ 

Manufacturing/Systems Engineering • #48 Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering • #56 College 

of Education (Online) • #64 Computer Engineering • #73 College of Engineering • #77 Public Affairs • #82 Civil 

Engineering • #83 Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering • #87 College of Nursing and Health 

Innovation (Online) • #90 Computer Science • #92 College of Nursing and Health Innovation (M.S.) • #95 

Mechanical Engineering • #101 College of Nursing and Health Innovation (D.N.P) • #111 Physics • #112 College of 

Education • #116 English • #122 Part-Time M.B.A. • #131 Chemistry • #131 Fine Arts • #132 History • #134 Mathematics 

• #188 Biological Sciences • #190 Psychology 

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S “BEST COLLEGES” (2018) #1 Among National Public Universities for Graduating 

Students with the Least Debt • #5 Among National Universities for Best Ethnic Diversity • #128 Undergraduate 

Business Program 

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S “BEST GLOBAL UNIVERSITIES” (2017) #215 Engineering Programs • #283 Physics 

Programs 

CEO MAGAZINE (2017) #1 in Texas, #16 in U.S., #21 Internationally for Global Executive Master of Business Programs 

• Tier 1 in North America for MBA Programs 

COLLEGE CHOICE (2017) #1 in DFW Metroplex, #2 in Texas, #5 in U.S. for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation 

Programs • #5 in U.S. for Best Elementary Education Degree • #29 in U.S. Master of Social Work Program 

GRADUATE PROGRAMS.COM (2016/17) #3 Social Work School • #3 Online M.A. in Education • #25 Online M.A. in 

Nursing 

MILITARY TIMES’ “BEST FOR VETS” (2017) #1 in Texas, #20 in U.S. • #43 Business School in U.S. 

COLLEGE FACTUAL RANKINGS FOR VETERAN FRIENDLINESS (2017) Top 15% of U.S. Universities • #1 in Texas, 

#9 in U.S. College of Nursing and Health Innovation • #1 in Texas, #15 in U.S. School of Social Work 

COLLEGE VALUES ONLINE (2017) #3 in U.S. Online Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy 

Studies Degree • #6 in U.S. Online Master of Science in Nursing Administration Degree 

GREAT VALUE COLLEGE (2017/18) #9 in U.S. for Best Colleges for Adult Education 

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP DEGREES.COM (2016/17) #1 Online M.A. of Education in Educational Leadership and 

Policy Studies 

ONLINEU (2017) #13 in U.S. for Most Affordable Online Colleges for Master of Public Administration Programs • 

#18 in U.S. for Most Affordable Online Colleges for Master of Social Work Programs 

CENTER FOR ONLINE EDUCATION (2017) #19 in U.S. for Best Online Master in Nursing Programs 

TFE TIMES (2017) #2 in Texas, #41 in U.S. Top Financial Engineering Program 

WINDS OF CHANGE MAGAZINE (2017) Named to “Top 200 Colleges for Native Americans” List 

THE PRINCETON REVIEW (2017) Named to “Best 294 Business Schools” List 

VICTORY MEDIA (2017) Named a Military-Friendly University 

DIVERSE: ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION (2017) #1 in Texas for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees Awarded to 

African-American Students • #1 in North Texas, #12 in U.S. for Master’s Degrees Awarded to Hispanic Graduate 

Students • #1 in North Texas, #18 in U.S. for Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to Hispanic Students • #1 in North Texas, 

#2 in Texas for Master’s Degrees Awarded to All Minority Students • #21 in U.S. for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees 

Conferred to All Minority Students 

BROOKINGS INSTITUTION (2017) #2 in North Texas, #5 in Texas, #24 in U.S. for Providing High Social Mobility 

and Producing High Levels of Impactful Research 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

11

GUIDING ASPIRATION 

TRANSFORM THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE BY ENHANCING ACCESS 

AND ENSURING SUCCESS 

“UTA is committed to enhancing access to 

unparalleled knowledge and education, 

while simultaneously ensuring the highest 

standards of quality. We care about the 

success of students and will focus on providing 

a transformational growth experience for 

them.” 

STUDENT SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE 

Working with Civitas Learning, UTA has built an 

infrastructure to support the use of analytic data to transform 

the student experience by enhancing access and empowering 

success. The University is able to leverage its unique data to 

better understand, act, and evaluate the efficacy of student 

success efforts, initiatives, and investments. The platform also 

helps empower students, advisers, faculty, and administrators 

with timely, precise insights to personalize support, scale 

meaningful action, and measure impact to improve student 

outcomes. 

UTA 

ONE OF TOP 

25 

“LEADER” UNIVERSITIES 

–Brookings Institution 

A LEADER IN SOCIAL MOBILITY 

A recent report from the Brookings Institution ranks UTA 

among the nation’s top public universities in providing a 

high-quality education to students from all income levels. 

It highlights the impact of a UTA degree and proves the 

University’s unwavering commitment to bridging access and 

excellence. Among the nation’s 342 selective, four-year public 

research institutions, UTA was categorized as one of the top 

25 “leader” universities that provide high social mobility and 

produce high levels of impactful research. Brookings found 

that UTA students from low-income backgrounds are able to 

move into higher income brackets and advanced careers as a 

direct result of the degrees they earned at UTA. 

LION SCHOLARS 

UTA and Arlington ISD launched the Lion Scholars Program 

this summer, which offers a streamlined path to a four-year 

undergraduate degree for qualifying students at Arlington 

Collegiate High School (ACHS). The ACHS student body 

is diverse, with the majority coming from traditionally 

underserved populations. UTA will provide peer mentors 

and offer continued advising on the ACHS campus to ensure 

a smooth transition. Each student will also receive a specific 

degree plan mapping out the exact classes they need to take to 

graduate, thus shortening the time to complete their degrees 

and reducing the risk of excess credit hours that can drive up 

the cost of college. 

12 



ENGAGE IN HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP 

“UTA will strengthen applied and 

translational research and scholarship that 

is multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary 

and that has high impact on society through 

enhanced development and application of 

knowledge.” 

PRESIDENTIAL FELLOWS PROGRAM 

UTA launched a new Presidential Fellows program, which 

aims to promote collaborative and cross-disciplinary 

research as a means of enhancing efforts to meet the goals 

of the Strategic Plan. The first class of winners was diverse, 

and included (pictured above, left to right) Kathryn Daniel 

from the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Shima 

Hamidi from the College of Architecture, Planning, and 

Public Affairs, and Noelle Fields from the School of Social 

Work. 

PULSED POWER AND ENERGY LAB 

UTA’s Pulsed Power and Energy Laboratory, led by Associate 

Professor David Wetz, recently received a $689,335 Defense 

University Research Instrumentation Program grant to design, 

build, and install a distributed generation source testbed that will 

integrate high-voltage AC power sources and DC energy storage. 

Over the past several years, the lab has brought in more than $6.5 

million in funding. Additionally, 13 of its graduate assistants have 

gone on to receive their degrees at UTA and begun careers at 

Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Patent Office, and EControls Inc. 

C-TEDD RESEARCH AND PROJECTS 

Late last year, UTA won a $7.7 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant to establish 

the Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions, and Dollars (C-TEDD). Since then, the 

center has secured and started two contracts: the Dallas Transportation Equity Project, funded 

by the Dallas Resilient City Initiative from the Rockefeller Foundation; and the Planning 

for Access to Opportunity Project, in partnership with the North Central Texas Council 

of Governments. In addition, C-TEDD has awarded 12 new research grants to consortium 

members, including projects to improve transportation performance measurement via Big 

Data systems and an evaluation of pavement performance using remote sensing techniques. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

13


BUILD ON FACULTY EXCELLENCE TO STRENGTHEN ACADEMIC 

PROGRAMS 

“UTA will enhance its academic programs 

by enabling our talented faculty to achieve 

higher levels of excellence and by recruiting 

and retaining outstanding faculty from 

around the world.” 

NEW FACULTY 

As UTA’s enrollment grows, so does the need for 

transformative education and innovative research. More 

than 50 new faculty joined UTA for the Fall 2017 semester, 

building on the stellar additions brought in last year. Included 

in this class are 20-plus College of Engineering faculty, 

researchers from several disciplines who are focused on bigdata 

analytics, and a College of Education faculty member 

focused on special education, Ambra Green, who will work 

with Dean Teresa Taber Doughty to develop and launch a 

teacher certification program in special education for Spring 

2018. 

WELCOME 

NEW FACULTY 


BOLD SOLUTIONS GLOBAL IMPACT 

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON 

NEW PROVOST APPOINTED 

Teik C. Lim was named the University’s new provost and 

vice president for academic affairs earlier this year. Dr. Lim 

previously served as dean of the College of Engineering and 

Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati, overseeing 

significant growth in enrollment, reputation, faculty size, 

corporate partnerships, research funding, and endowments. 

A strong believer in collaboration, he established a unique 

UC Simulation Center funded by P&G that now supports 

75 research students from five colleges at the University of 

Cincinnati and was replicated at three other global sites. 

14 



STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION WITH CORPORATE AND 

NONPROFIT SECTORS 

“UTA embraces its setting in the Dallas-Fort Worth 

Metroplex and will maximize its geographic, 

socioeconomic, cultural, and contextual presence as an 

engaged community partner. We will build mutually 

beneficial relationships with corporate and nonprofit 

entities to serve as the intellectual and socioeconomic 

driver for the burgeoning North Texas region.” 

CORRPRO DESIGN LAB 

The CORRPRO Packaging Design Lab at UTA in the Art and 

Art History Department is building strategic relationships 

between students and industry professionals. This fall, a 

team of students won first place in the Packaging Graphics 

Category at the Association of Independent Corrugated 

Converters’ Student Packaging Design Competition, for 

which they had to design the graphics for a pet product 

company’s e-commerce box. The victory earned them a berth 

in the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation’s “Best 

of the Best” national packaging competition in February 2018. 

SERVING THE NORTH TEXAS AMERICAN 

INDIAN COMMUNITY 

The College of Liberal Arts, College of Nursing and Health 

Innovation, School of Social Work, and UTA Libraries are 

collaborating with the Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas 

to assess the needs of the urban-based American Indian 

population in North Texas, a community overlooked despite 

calls for greater attention to what has been termed an “urban 

Indian health care crisis.” The assessment could ultimately 

serve as a national model for other urban American Indian 

organizations. 

TRANSPORTATION LEADERSHIP ACADEMY 

In Fall 2017, UTA and Dallas Area Rapid Transit launched the 

UTA/DART Transportation Leadership Academy, a first-of-itskind 

partnership offering select undergraduate students valuable 

experiential learning opportunities in the fields of business, 

engineering, urban planning, and transportation management. 

The academy prepares students for leadership positions in the 

transit sector while simultaneously building closer collaborations 

between UTA and the community it serves. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

15


ENHACE VISIBILITY AND IMPACT THROUGH GLOBAL 

ENGAGEMENT 

“UTA will engage with communities and issues 

on local, national, and international scales, 

becoming the ‘go-to’ institution for thought 

leadership and knowledge.” 

FROG RESEARCH GOES GLOBAL 

Matthew Fujita, assistant professor of biology, received a 

$714,992 NSF grant for his project that uses frogs as models 

to investigate how differences in habitat affect the functions 

and development of the eye. Results from the research will be 

exhibited in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural 

History and the Natural History Museum in London—the 

two most-visited natural history museums in the world, with 

over 13 million combined annual visitors. The project will also 

generate a free interactive ebook for a general audience on the 

integrative nature of biodiversity research with a specific focus 

on vision biology. 

EMBA-ASIA PROGRAM’S 15TH 

ANNIVERSARY 

UTA’s EMBA-Asia program is marking its 15th anniversary 

this year. Since its inception, it has produced more than 

2,500 graduates, many of whom are now the leaders of large 

corporations. UTA was the first foreign university to gain 

approval by the Chinese government to train its business 

executives, and today the EMBA-Asia program remains 

one of the largest offered. UTA is approved by the Ministry 

of Education of China to cooperate with three Chinese 

universities—the University of Science and Technology 

Beijing, Tongji University Shanghai, and Xi’an Jiaotong 

University. 

16 



LEAD IN CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

“UTA will be distinguished by its unwavering 

commitment to inquiry, high-impact 

exploration, scholarship, and achievement 

through encouraging a culture of innovation, 

entrepreneurship, and creativity.” 

AEROSPACE INNOVATION 

A team of aerospace engineering graduate students won 

first place in the American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics’ Missile Systems Technical Committee Graduate 

Student Design Competition. The students provided a 

detailed missile systems analysis to conceptually design 

a single-stage hit-to-kill missile system featuring a blast 

fragmentation lethality enhancer to counter threat hypersonic 

glide vehicles during cruise. 

TOP CREATIVE WRITING HONOR 

UTA senior Frederick Tran won the 2017 UT System Regents’ 

Outstanding Arts and Humanities Award in Creative 

Writing: Short Fiction. His winning entry, “Airstrikes,” is a 

short fiction piece about a doctor serving with Médecins Sans 

Frontières in Yemen who suffers a terrible loss. This year, 

Tran was one of only two students recognized by the selection 

committee, which was composed of experts in creative 

writing from outside the UT System. 

ECOSYSTEM OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

UTA is fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial culture on campus with services like a proactive 

Office of Technology Management, support for prototyping and development, and business 

consulting for new companies. An example of the success of this innovation ecosystem is 

TissueGen, a biotech start-up founded by Kevin Nelson (pictured at left) while he was a 

bioengineering faculty member at UTA. The company recently won the “Medical Device 

Engineering Breakthrough” award from MedTech Breakthrough for its patented ELUTE® 

fiber, which provides pharmaceutical, therapeutic, and medical device companies with topical 

and implantable drug delivery from biodegradable polymer-based fibers. 


GLOBAL IMPACT 

17

ENHANCING RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 

ALI ABOLMAALI 

$600,000, Tarrant Regional Water District, 

Water Research Foundation 

ANDREW MAKEEV 

$600,000, Boeing Research & Technology 

DEREJE AGONAFER 

$499,922, National Science Foundation 

KYTAI NGUYEN 

$1.2 million, National Institutes of Health 

TODD CASTOE 



MELANIE SATTLER 

$474,723, City of Arlington Water Utilities 

HAO CHE 

$1.05 million, National Science Foundation 

MARIA SCANNAPIECO 

$909,045, Texas Department of Family 

and Protective Services 

CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE FOR HIGH 

ENERGY PHYSICS (KAUSHIK DE, DIRECTOR) 

$3.3 million, Department of Energy 


$390,000, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 

ATILLA DOGAN 


LISA THOMPSON 

$1.3 million, U.S. Department of Education 





MICHAEL VASILYEV 

$498,981, Department of Defense 

RONALD LEHMAN 

$7 million, National Institute of Standards and 

Technologies 

MATTHEW WALSH 

$600,000, CAREER Grant: National Science 

Foundation 

HANLI LIU 

$2.85 million, National Institutes of Health 

YAN WAN 



Foundation 

CHENGKAI LI 


DAVID WETZ 

$689,335, Office of Naval Research 



FILLIA MAKEDON 



YI “LEAF” ZHANG 


Foundation 

MARIA MARTINEZ-COSIO 

$522,018, Department of Education 

WEIDONG ZHOU 

$3 million, High Energy Laser Joint Technology 

Office 

$935,952, Air Force Office of Naval Research

INTERNATIONALLY LAUDED FACULTY 

PATRYK BABIRACKI, 

HISTORY 

Humboldt Fellowship for 

Experienced Researchers, 

Alexander von Humboldt 

Foundation 

PRISCILA CAÇOLA, 

KINESIOLOGY 

Early Career 

Distinguished Scholar 

Award, North American 

Society for the Psychology 

of Sport and Physical 

Activity 

WENDY CASPER, 

BUSINESS 

Fellow, American 

Psychological Association 

SAIFUL 

CHOWDHURY, 

CHEMISTRY AND 

BIOCHEMISTRY 

Emerging Investigator, 

American Society of Mass 

Spectrometry 

PURNENDU “SANDY” 

DASGUPTA, 

CHEMISTRY AND 

BIOCHEMISTRY 

2017 Talanta Gold Medal 

ALI DAVOUDI, 

ELECTRICAL AND 

COMPUTER ENGINEERING 

Richard M. Bass 

Outstanding Young Power 

Electronics Engineer 

Award, IEEE 

JOHN GARRIGUS, 

HISTORY 

National Humanities 

Center Fellowship 

YI HONG, 

BIOENGINEERING 

Fellow, American Heart 

Association 

RAMON LOPEZ, 

PHYSICS 

Fellow, American 

Association of Physics 

Teachers 

MERLYND NESTELL, 

MATHEMATICS 

Honorary Life Member 

Award, Society for 

Sedimentary Geology 

DAVID NYGREN, 

PHYSICS 

Marie Sklodowska-Curie 

Award, IEEE 

KRISHNAN 

RAJESHWAR, 

CHEMISTRY AND 

BIOCHEMISTRY 

Doctor Honoris Causa, 

University of Szeged 

KENNETH 

REIFSNIDER, 

MECHANICAL AND 

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 

Lifetime Achievement 

Award, International 

Conference on 

Computational and 

Experimental Engineering 

and Sciences 

KEVIN SCHUG, 

CHEMISTRY AND 

BIOCHEMISTRY 

J. Calvin Giddings 

Award for Excellence 

in Education, American 

Chemical Society Division 

of Analytical Chemistry 

PEGGY SEMINGSON, 

EDUCATION 

Jerry Johns Outstanding 

Teacher Educator 

in Reading Award, 

International Literacy 

Association 

CARLA AMARO-JIMÉNEZ, RAMON LOPEZ, LAURA MYDLARZ, 

KATHRYN HAMILTON WARREN, ROBERT WOODS 

UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards 

ROBERT WOODS, 

MECHANICAL 

ENGINEERING 

2017 Piper Professor, 

Minnie Stevens Piper 

Foundation 

YI “LEAF” ZHANG, 

EDUCATION 

Barbara K. Townsend 

Emerging Scholar Award, 

Council for the Study of 

Community Colleges

STELLAR STUDENT ATHLETES 

UTA STUDENT-ATHLETES 

3rd-HIGHEST 

GRADUATION RATE 

83% 

AMONG NCAA DIVISION I 

INSTITUTIONS IN TEXAS 

SENIOR SANDRA 

MENDOZA 

NAMED TO USA SOFTBALL 

COLLEGIATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

T O P - 5 0 W A T C H L I S T 

TOBI 

FAWEHINMI 

WON THE T74 TRIPLE-JUMP 

WORLD TITLE 

AT THE 2017 WORLD PARA 

ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 

WOMEN’S 

CROSS COUNTRY 

NAMED TO 

USTFCCA 

ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM 

ABBY DUNKIN 

AND 

MORGAN WOOD 

WON A SILVER MEDAL AT THE 

2017 IWBF AMERICA’S QUALIFIER 

AS MEMBERS OF THE 

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM 

FIRST TEAM ALL-SUN BELT 

CONFERENCE HONOREES 

JOEL DUREN, Men’s Indoor Track 

HELEN FALDA, Women’s Indoor Track 

TOBI FAWEHINMI, Men’s Indoor Track 

MICHAEL GUERRERO, Men’s Cross Country 

KEVIN HERVEY, Men’s Basketball 

CRAIG LAUTENSLAGER, Men’s Cross Country 

ERIK MARTINSSON, Men’s Indoor Track 

ERICK NEAL, Men’s Basketball 

ASTRID ROSVALL, Women’s Indoor Track 

OMAR SALINAS, Baseball 

REBEKAH VANDIJK, Women’s Basketball 

JUNIOR KEVIN 

HERVEY 

NAMED 

ALL-AMERICAN 

HONORABLE MENTION 

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WOMEN’S TENNIS 

WON NCAA’S 

ACADEMIC PROGRESS 

RATE PUBLIC 

RECOGNITION AWARD 

FOR 2nd TIME IN 3 YEARS 

PEEJAY BRUN 

NAMED 

SOFTBALL HEAD COACH 

MAVERICK BASEBALL 

CLAIMED 

SBC WEST DIVISION 

TITLE 

3 PLAYERS WERE SELECTED 

IN 2017 MLB DRAFT, 

1 SIGNED AS A FREE AGENT 

COACH JOHN SAUERHAGE 

WON SBC COACH OF THE YEAR 

IN MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY 

IN MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD 

IN MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD 

12 SOFTBALL 

STUDENT ATHLETES RECEIVED 

NATIONAL FASTPITCH 

COACHES ASSOCIATION’S 

SCHOLAR ATHLETE RECOGNITION, 

A P R O G R A M R E C O R D 

MEN’S TRACK 

WON THE SBC CHAMPIONSHIP 

TRIPLE CROWN 

CROSS COUNTRY 

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD 

OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD 

SENIOR 

REBEKAH VANDIJK 

NAMED TO 

SBC’S LEADERSHIP 

TEAM 

20 


TARGETED METRICS 

ASSESSING PROGRESS AND MEASURING SUCCESS 

AY 2016-17 GLOBAL 

ENROLLMENT 

58,664 

FALL 2017 ENROLLMENT 

(THECB*) 

41,750 

AY 2013-14 AY 2014-15 AY 2015-16 AY 2016-17 AY 2017-18 2020 

Enrollment 

(THECB) 

Fall 

Spring 

33,329 34,870 37,008 39,714 41,750 >43,000 

34,272 36,562 38,654 41,932 

Global Enrollment 47,963 51,448 55,183 58,664 >65,000 

Total Degrees 

Awarded 

Baccalaureate 

Degrees Awarded 

Master’s Degrees 

Awarded 

Doctoral Degrees 

Awarded 

Carnegie 

Classification 

6-Year Graduation 

Rate 

Degree Production 

Ratio 

USN&WR* Graduate 

Ranking for Schools 

of Engineering 

No. of Students in Cont./ 

Prof. Ed. Programs 

Annual Research 

Expenditures 

Members in the 

NAS/NAE* 

9,470 

6,739 

2,506 

225 216 

205 

221 

>250 

R2: High 

Research 

Not 

Ranked 

10,585 

7,197 

3,172 

R2: High 

Research 

90 

11,526 

7,444 

3,877 

R1: Highest 

Research 

40% 42% 46% 

31.4 32.8 34 

82 

12,732 

8,143 

4,368 

R1: Highest 

Research 

48% 

35.3 

13,250 

9,000 

4,000 

R1: Highest 

Research 

Top 50 

23,971 26,189 31,712 32,802 (proj.) 

>50,000 

$71M $80M $86.1M $93.9M (proj.) 

>$150M 

1 3 

3 

2** 

>8 

73 

R1: Highest 

Research 

Fellows in the NAI* 8 10 

13 

12** 

20 

Endowment $101.7M $125.3M $129M $143M*** 

>$500M 

* THECB: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 

USN&WR: U.S. News & World Report 

NAS: National Academy of Sciences 

NAE: National Academy of Engineering 

NAI: National Academy of Inventors 

** Nai Yuen Chen, NAI fellow and UTA distinguished 

research professor in the Materials Science and 

Engineering Department, passed away on 

March 30, 2017 

*** 

As of July 31, 2017

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

PRESIDENT 

VISTASP M. KARBHARI 

VKARBHARI@UTA.EDU 

817-272-2101 

PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT 

FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS 

TEIK C. LIM 

TEIK.LIM@UTA.EDU 

817-272-2013 

VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT 

AND ALUMNI RELATIONS 

MICHAEL KINGAN 

MKKINGAN@UTA.EDU 

817-272-5274 

VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY 

COMMUNICATIONS 

LYNNE WATERS 

LYNNE.WATERS@UTA.EDU 

817-272-7076 

VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH 

DUANE DIMOS 

DDIMOS@UTA.EDU 

817-272-1021 

For an interactive look at the strategic plan, visit uta.edu/strategicplan. 

The University of Texas at Arlington does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, 

disabilities, genetic information, and/or veteran status in its educational programs or activities it operates. For more information, visit uta.edu/eos. 

For information regarding Title IX, visit uta.edu/titleix. 

FALL 2017

Advancing the Strategic Plan 2020 - Fall 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?