Dear UNT faculty and staff members,
I am very pleased to welcome seasoned administrators into new roles, both interim and temporary.
Ms. Cathy Hartman, formerly Associate Dean of the UNT Libraries, will serve as Interim Dean of the UNT Libraries beginning July 5. Dr. Linda Holloway, Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services, will serve as Interim Dean of the College of Health and Public Service beginning Sept. 1. Ms. Hartman and Dr. Holloway will serve in interim capacities until new deans are appointed.
In recognition of their oversight responsibility of academic programs and non-tenure track faculty, Drs. Brenda McCoy and Victor Prybutok will, in addition to their duties as Vice Provosts, also serve as Deans of their respective areas effective immediately. All tenure-track faculty positions and the development and oversight of for-credit courses will continue to reside in discipline-specific colleges and schools.
Vice Provost for Academic Outreach and Dean of UNT New College
As Vice Provost for Academic Outreach and Dean of UNT New College, Dr. Brenda McCoy is responsible for expansion and leadership of UNT’s off-campus instructional operations at UNT New College at Frisco, North Central Texas College in Gainesville, Universities Center at Dallas and Collin Higher Education Center in McKinney. She is charged with developing and overseeing a sustainable model for UNT programs in new off-campus and online markets, working with academic units to identify degree programs, credit coursework and non-credit training with enrichment programs most suited to local area workforce needs. As Dean of UNT New College, she is responsible for an academic operation that houses completer and interdisciplinary degrees to meet the needs of post-traditional and transfer students, promote student success and increase enrollment. Her oversight of the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree program involves the supervision of a director, lecturers and advisors. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled in this degree program.
Dr. McCoy was the founding Chair of the Department of Community and Professional Programs in the College of Health and Public Service. As chair, she significantly improved the academic rigor and structure of the college’s BAAS degree program, while promoting students’ academic success. Dr. McCoy hired faculty members solely dedicated to this program and initiated the development of online, blended and video-conferenced formats of required BAAS courses.
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School
As Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School, Dr. Victor Prybutok is responsible for the growth of enrollment in discipline-specific and interdisciplinary programs, promoting UNT’s programs nationally and internationally. He is responsible for strengthening graduate education, professional development and research experiences for approximately 6,000 graduate students. Dr. Prybutok is charged with seeking new funding opportunities for the university and for the support of graduate students.
Under Dr. Prybutok’s leadership as a Dean, the graduate school will continue to expand its interdisciplinary programs, including the hiring of non-tenure track faculty to provide instruction and advisement. Through Dr. Prybutok, UNT has expanded the graduate school’s Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations, and he is working with departments to develop more online graduate programs. The UNT System Board of Regent’s approval of the new Master of Science degree with a major in Advanced Data Analytics is a major step in that direction. The Board of Regents commended the university’s move into the analytics arena across disciplines, as well as the new related programs developed within specific disciplines. Dr. Michael Monticino, who currently serves as Interim Chair of the Department of Physics, also will serve as Director of the Advanced Data Analytics program. In recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of this program, Dr. Monticino constituted and worked with a search committee of faculty to evaluate applicants for the positions that were filled within the graduate school. Such a committee also will assist in the ongoing evaluation of faculty in this program and make recommendations to the Director and Dean.
Interim Dean of UNT Libraries
Ms. Hartman brings substantial knowledge and experience of library administration to the Interim Dean appointment. She retired from her role in managing library operations in December 2015 after more than 11 years at UNT, and she has remained active with the university through volunteer service as a member of the Library Advocacy Board. Major contributions to her discipline at local, national and international levels throughout her career is evidenced by more than $6 million in externally funded projects and research as a principal investigator and through leadership in professional organizations.
Ms. Hartman joined UNT in 1995 as a Documents Librarian in the Governments Documents Department. Through her leadership, UNT became nationally known for several groundbreaking programs, including the CyberCemetery, which captures websites of defunct federal agencies and commissions; end-of-term Presidential web harvests of the .gov domain; and The Portal to Texas History, a collective effort of Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies and educators to preserve Texas history materials online. Ms. Hartman is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in the field of digital preservation, having received awards from the Library of Congress and American Library Association, among others.
Ms. Hartman is a UNT alumna, having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Master of Science in Library Science degrees. Prior to joining UNT, she served as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Librarian for Public Services at Austin College.
Interim Dean of the College of Health and Public Service
Dr. Linda Holloway, full Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services has more than 28 years of service at UNT. During her years of university service, she has secured more than $10 million in external grants and contracts and has served on numerous local and national commissions, councils and advisory committees, making major contributions to her discipline. Dr. Holloway’s current areas of professional expertise are the promotion of recovery oriented systems of care, transition for college students with disabilities, supported employment and collegiate recovery. She was elected to serve as the Chair of the Commission for Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.
Dr. Holloway has earned numerous university awards including the UNT Community Service Award, UNT Diversity Champion Award and Hiram J. Friedsam Award for Distinguished Faculty Service, among others. She also earned the National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns Organizational Award, Southwest Region National Rehabilitation Association Voyle C. Scurlock Award, Rehabilitation Services Administration Commission’s Award for Excellence for Teaching and Training and National Council on Rehabilitation Education Rehabilitation Educator of the Year Award, and many others.
Dr. Holloway also is a UNT alumna. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas Woman’s University and a Master of Education in Counseling and Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Rehabilitation Studies from UNT. She was the first UNT undergraduate to receive a degree in Rehabilitation Studies.
In the months ahead, we will have opportunities to say “thank you” to Dr. Tom Evenson, who will be retiring Aug. 31, after 37 years of service to our university, 11 of them as Dean. We also will give our regards to Dr. Martin Halbert, who has served as Dean of Libraries at UNT since 2009. We wish him well in his new position as Dean of Libraries at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.