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u/Fun_Awareness_7623

r/unt r/Denton
STEM fields at the university are being negatively affected by the state government [with special focus in the story on UNT overcompliance with state law]
▲ 39 r/unt

STEM fields at the university are being negatively affected by the state government [with special focus in the story on UNT overcompliance with state law]

Interesting story here, and I agree with a good deal of the claims, though not all, and not all of the reasoning. One thing worth pointing out in the story, though, is the assumption that UNT actually wants top STEM students and professors on campus. The unfortunate truth is, UNT doesn't want the top folks anymore. We have given up on that. With President Keller's strange focus on being a "National Service University" (whatever that is) UNT has given up its aspirations to be a strong research university and has instead decided to be a jobs training school, kind of like a Dallas College+, but with much more expensive tuition.

We don't get the top students in STEM, and when we do get a hotshot young professor in STEM, as soon as he or she gets a nice grant, then he or she leaves too, taking the grant with them. This is a problem. And it will continue to be a problem while we have an out of touch, inexperienced, idealistic, nepotistic, president of UNT.

https://www.ntdaily.com/opinion/stem-fields-at-the-university-are-being-negatively-affected-by-the-state-government/article_dcc686f3-39a3-4791-8225-fbf0e9d2e64c.html

u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 5 days ago
▲ 15 r/unt

Provost Watch: UNT is still without a Provost. Who will the new Provost be....

...someone who is actually good for UNT, identified through a dedicated job search as the best person for the job?

Or will it be President Keller-crony and new Associate Professor of Biology, Heidi Elmendorf? The deep pull of cronyism can be hard to resist, but we are hoping President Keller is up to the challenge! Harrison, stay strong buddy!

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u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 8 days ago
▲ 40 r/unt

"What happens in Texas does not stay in Texas’: Professors’ group to investigate UNT, other universities". Prominent mention of UNT, not flattering.

There is compliance with law, and overcompliance. UNT administration (Harrison and Heidi) chooses overcompliance and now UNT is getting continuous bad national press. The article says that the best and brightest faculty, and the big grant getters, will leave the institution and the state. The article is correct, and I have seen it happening quite a bit already.

https://dentonrc.com/education/higher_education/what-happens-in-texas-does-not-stay-in-texas-professors-group-to-investigate-unt-other/article_e759339b-8df0-4ca5-b7e6-21c2dba9f851.html

u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 15 days ago
▲ 50 r/unt

'Time to value' and 'return on investment' for President Keller?

The two favorite phrases of President Keller are 'time to value' and 'return on investment,' as in, when do UNT students break even on their investment in UNT education? If the answer is one that President Keller doesn't like, he shuts down the academic program. Something like 60 academic programs at this point, depending on how you count.

I'm wondering what the timeline is for 'return on investment' for President Keller himself? He has now been with us for a full two years, and the university is in shambles, morale at the ground floor, upper level administrators paralyzed with no clue what is going on, enrollment numbers still slipping. When are things going to get better? How long do we have to wait? Even the US president gets a big evaluation every two years with midterm elections. Wouldn't it be great if we could vote out the UNT administration every two years if things aren't going well? And he still can't be bothered to move to Denton? Then again, if I lived in a two million dollar house in Austin I might not move to Denton either.

When will the Board of Regents get tired of this situation and quietly ease him out? Especially now that he is throwing the Board of Regents under the bus, saying he wasn't made aware of the budget deficit when he was hired. The buck apparently does not stop at his desk. And the plan of turning UNT into a vocational school and killing the college of liberal arts and sciences just isn't good enough.

reddit.com
u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 29 days ago
▲ 1 r/unt

Generative AI use and misuse call for assessment reform in higher education [AI cheating broken down by discipline, article in Science]

reddit.com
u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 1 month ago
▲ 31 r/unt

Better look SOUTHEAST! It's nice to see that there's someone in Texas Higher Education actually thinking ahead...

From the article:

"Over the past decade, arts and humanities programs across the United States have faced declining enrollments, public skepticism about their economic value and, in some cases, institutional retrenchment. Departments have been consolidated, majors suspended and resources redirected toward fields perceived as more directly tied to workforce outcomes. Against that backdrop, Rice University has expanded its commitment to the arts and humanities. The university has treated creative disciplines as integral to its research mission. Recent decisions reflect an institutional conviction that creative practice belongs at the center of a research university, not at its margins."

https://sponsored.chronicle.com/how-rice-university-is-reframing-the-role-of-the-arts-and-humanities-in-a-research-institution/index.html?utm_campaign=che-3p-spc-en-rcu+-reframehumanities&utm_medium=p-soc&utm_source=fb&utm_content=26-03-30

u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 1 month ago
▲ 40 r/unt

Tenure abuse at UNT? Or, Why did Heidi Elmendorf, who came in as advisor to President Keller, get tenured at UNT as an associate professor?

Heidi Elmendorf, who is Deputy Advisor to President Keller, and who was his buddy from their days together at Georgetown, was granted tenure as an Associate Professor by the UNT Board of Regents at their February 2026 meeting (p.64).

Question

Why does an advisor to the president need tenure? According to the UNT BoR, tenure is supposed to "1. assure the faculty of freedom of teaching, research, opinion, and full participation as citizens in the academic community." As advisor to the president, why does she need this protection and a guarantee of a job for life?

Compare the write up of the other person granted UNT tenure at the same time by the UNT BoR, which is Mark Traynor of College of Merchandising. Importantly, there is specific mention of 16 publications and a million dollars in grants. This is the kind of evidence we want to see in an expedited tenure decision.

Giving tenure to Heidi Elmendorf, so she can serve as advisor to President Keller, looks like bad cronyism. Is President Keller going to get tenure for his other advisors too? I'm not sure this is the best use of tenure or taxpayer dollars.

https://preview.redd.it/modbvg0kbk2h1.png?width=2062&format=png&auto=webp&s=249663983f9a1c42e9d3398dea756cd5743da02e

https://preview.redd.it/udxy16bhbk2h1.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=305cd745029cffa8f456fe685873f56f1828017b

reddit.com
u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 2 months ago
▲ 21 r/unt

The University That Chose to Shrink: A flagship bets smaller classes mean better outcomes [University of Arizona making a good decision. UNT's Heidi and Harrison, what think you??

Arizona recently crawled out of a $177-million budget hole of its own making — a result of flawed forecasting and inadequate communication. The announcement of a “financial crisis” was a shocking diagnosis for a big university in a growing state, seemingly the kind of institution that should be thriving.

Two years later, officials insist that the campus is thriving, that the shortfall has been resolved, and that ballooning class sizes are a thing of the past. ...

https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-university-that-chose-to-shrink

reddit.com
u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 2 months ago
▲ 23 r/unt

Richardson ISD plans less "passive screen time" in classrooms for 2026-27 school year [Heidi and Harrison, are y'all paying attention? How about less tech and online in UNT classrooms?]

More pen and paper assignments will be offered in place of digital assignments. In place of screen time, the district will offer physical books for students, as well as more time at recess to encourage physical play.

https://www.fox4news.com/news/richardson-isd-plans-less-passive-screen-time-classrooms-2026-27-school-year?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6a07cfb860f5be0001de53eb&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook

u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 2 months ago
▲ 163 r/unt

(P)resident Keller...we love you! Please move to Denton!

President Keller, since you have been at UNT for 2 full years now, it would be a great time for you to actually move to Denton! UNT has been in shambles since you took over. It would do wonders for UNT morale if you actually left Austin and lived in the community you represent.

Austin doesn't need you! We do! To encourage you to take the Denton plunge, I'm going to start thinking of you as Resident Keller. Please don't disappoint us!

reddit.com
u/Fun_Awareness_7623 — 2 months ago