We're only a few months into the new decade, and UNT continues to make tremendous advancements to provide our students with unparalleled opportunities for success. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved plans for the UNT at Frisco branch campus and the university's new partnership with Coursera, the world's leading online learning platform, which will allow students across the globe to earn our highly popular Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree.

UNT's climb as a Tier One research university continues with an interdisciplinary approach to innovation, and we have developed new programs to help faculty secure some of the nation's most competitive research funding. As you will read in this issue's cover story, UNT is committed to building new strengths in STEM disciplines, while bolstering our programs in the arts, humanities and social sciences that led to UNT's top-tier designation from the Carnegie Classification.

Alumni like Spotify's Dustee Jenkins ('01) and smart cities problem solver Abdulrahman Habib ('13 M.S., '19 Ph.D.) have applied the innovative skills harnessed as UNT students to become leaders in their evolving professional fields. You also will learn about the interdisciplinary ways UNT researchers and alumni are working together to feed the mind.

This fall, we also will launch Texas' first Master of Science degree in artificial intelligence with concentrations in machine learning, autonomous systems and biomedical engineering, and a 36-credit-hour professional online M.B.A. in sport entertainment management designed with the Dallas Cowboys for industry executives, coaches, and current or former professional athletes.

Our commitment to providing students with innovative learning experiences for 21st-century career preparation is not going unnoticed. UNT recently was ranked one of the Top 10 U.S. public universities on the rise by College Gazette. In supporting our students to rise up and find success, we are ensuring their dreams.