Faculty Leadership Fellows

 Group photo of 2021-22 Leadership Fellows with President Smatresk and Vice Provost Hutchins

 Faculty Leadership Fellows logo with diving eagle

UNT is committed to developing leaders capable of catalyzing and sustaining change. The UNT Leadership Fellows program, founded in 2008, supports individual and organizational skill-building. Competencies such as increased self-awareness, confidence, broader thinking, relationship building, and interdisciplinary collaborations are a few of the key outcomes of the year-long program. Fellows participate in a broad range of activities such as: 

Completion of projects assigned by senior administrators

  • Meetings with senior-level administrators
  • Participation in college-level leadership project
  • Book read and discussion
  • Leadership assessment
  • Leadership development opportunities

Selection Process:
Current chairs, interim chairs, and other faculty members who show interest and demonstrate leadership potential are eligible to apply. Candidates must be nominated by their academic dean with the support of the home department chair. Selection will be based on the record of scholarship, significant university service, and/or strong leadership potential. 

2023-24 Leadership Fellows


Mariya Gavrilova Aguilar

Senior Lecturer
Department of Management
G. Brint Ryan College of Business

Jorge Avilés-Diz

Professor
Department of Spanish
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Magdalena Grohman

Clinical Associate Professor
College of Applied and Collaborative Studies
UNT at Frisco

David Heetderks

Associate Professor and Chair
Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology
College of Music

Jeonghyun Kim

Professor
Department of Information Science
College of Information

Rebecca Poynter

Senior Lecturer
Mayborn School of Journalism
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Allyson Rodriguez

Associate Librarian and Head of Collection Department
University Libraries

Yu (Kelly) Shi

Associate Professor
Department of Public Administration
College of Health and Public Service

Justin Watts

Associate Professor
Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services
College of Health and Public Service

Marissa Zorola

Principal Lecturer
Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing
College of Merchandising, Hospitality, and Tourism


Past UNT Leadership Fellows