As the Premier Platinum sponsors for the 2009 SACNAS National Conference in October in Dallas, UNT and the other UNT System institutions welcomed student scientists from across the nation for campus visits. They also provided key support for the organization’s annual meeting.

Before speaking at the conference, Juan Sepulveda, director of the White House initiative on the educational excellence for Hispanic Americans, visited UNT with potential students to learn about the many graduate and undergraduate educational and research opportunities UNT offers for underrepresented students.

With the help of UNT, this year’s SACNAS conference was the largest in the organization’s history and included about 800 ethnic minority students who presented their research and 1,700 who visited with representatives from universities and federal agencies and heard from leading scientists and researchers. 

SACNAS, with more than 20,000 members, partners and affiliates nationwide, is dedicated to fostering the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists, from college students to professionals, in attaining advanced degrees, careers and positions of leadership.