UNLV President Neal Smatresk has accepted an offer to become the next president at the University of North Texas (UNT), effective Feb. 3, 2014.

Smatresk was named the sole finalist for the UNT post Nov. 20, which started a minimum 21-day period required by Texas law before UNT System regents could vote to appoint Smatresk as president.

Smatresk was named UNLV's ninth president in August 2009, after serving two years as the university's executive vice president and provost. He took the helm at UNLV in the midst of the Great Recession and successfully ushered the university through a period of economic uncertainty.

During his time at UNLV, the university wrapped a $537 million capital campaign, established partnerships with the prestigious Brookings Institution and Lincy Foundation, and launched comprehensive undergrad education reform. The university also positioned itself as a key partner in Nevada's economic recovery through research and community collaborations. Examples include UNLV's recent commitment to supporting growth in unmanned aerial systems research and training, and the Solar and Renewable Energy Initiative, which includes the state's first academic minor in the field.

Shortly after his appointment at North Texas on Dec. 12, Smatresk sent the following message to UNLV faculty and staff:

Dear Campus Community,

Today I was appointed President-Elect of the University of North Texas. Debbie and I will be leaving UNLV in February to take up this new and exciting opportunity. Please know that UNLV will always have a very special place in our hearts- for the determination and grit of our community to make it through some of the worst budget cuts in the nation; for the passion and belief our faculty, staff and students have in this great university and its future; and for the friends and partners who have made many of UNLV's successes possible.

We will leave behind a university that is emerging into national prominence, with strong enrollment growth, an increasingly diverse and more talented student population, a clear vision of where we need to go next, and even a bowl bound football team! The programs, initiatives and priorities that you have helped put into place these last few years will continue to drive UNLV's successes for the future. They represent the needs and will of the community, and your commitment and determination in partnership with the Las Vegas community will ensure that these dreams come to fruition.

While we are moving on, we will always be Rebels at heart. We thank you for being part of our lives for the past six and a half years, and we will miss you.

Best wishes,

Neal J. Smatresk
President