Talk:University of Texas at Arlington

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 15 January 2019 and 2 May 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Peer reviewers: AmanBhardwaj25.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 12:07, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Edit request

Hello, I am attempting to bring the history section of the main UTA page up to date. Below is the information I would like to add. I appreciate your review! -- Amber

In the early 1990s, UTA saw three key changes in leadership. After Nedderman’s retirement in 1992, Ryan C. Amacher took the helm. In his three years as president, Dr. Amacher worked to bring the University into full compliance with Title IX while focusing on fundraising and recruitment. Robert Witt took over as interim president in 1995 and was selected to the full position in 1996. During his tenure, Dr. Witt reversed a 20-year enrollment low, launched the Honors College, and marked the construction of Arlington Hall, the first residence hall for UTA in more than 30 years. He also established the Nanotechnology Research and Teaching Facility.

James D. Spaniolo was selected as president after Charles A. Sorber’s stint as interim in 2003-04. In his nine years as president, Spaniolo oversaw 34% increase in enrollment and brought more than $400 million in new facilities to campus, including the Engineering Research Building, the Maverick Activities Center, and College Park Center. Spaniolo also introduced several popular events and traditions to the University, including the Maverick Speakers Series, MavsMeet Convocation, Parent and Family Weekend, and official class rings.

Following Spaniolo’s tenure, Vistasp Karbhari became president in 2013. Dr. Karbhari made raising UTA’s profile as a premiere research university one of his top initiatives, and in 2016, UTA received R-1 “Very High Research Activity” designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Karbhari also oversaw the debut of several new facilities on campus, including the Science & Engineering Innovation & Research building, Brazos Park, and The Commons.

Teik Lim served as interim president from 2020-22, guiding the University through a challenging period as he was charged with keeping the Maverick community safe during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. In his two years as interim president, Dr. Lim marked several important milestones for the University, including the achievement of Texas Tier One status and recognition as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.

In 2022, Jennifer Cowley became UTA’s 10^th president, making her the first woman to ever hold the office. In her short time as president, Dr. Cowley has instituted strategic themes, guided the University in launching the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities with partner institutions, and overseen the opening of the School of Social Work/Smart Hospital building. In 2022, the University saw a number of significant changes and accomplishments, including earning the Seal of Excelencia for its service to Hispanic students and a return to the Western Athletic Conference. UTA also received the largest single philanthropic gift in University history, a $12 million gift from Kelcy Warren, alumnus and executive chairman and chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP, to elevate the University to the forefront of the growing resource and energy engineering field. The gift will create a new resource and energy engineering bachelor’s degree, fund important research, provide scholarship opportunities for students, and more.

Ambsco979 (talk) 17:48, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: The changes are not supported by neutral, independent, reliable sources. Please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made.  All of the proposed sources originate from the university, whereas Wikipedia prefers that references come from independent, reliable, secondary sources. Regards,  Spintendo  21:34, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi! Thank you for your review and your feedback. I thought those links would be acceptable since so many of the sources in the current published UTA history section do come directly from UTA, such as individual college webpages, news stories published in the UTA News Center, and a history book published by UTA press. I am not sure who else would be publishing UTA history outside of UTA. If the Centennial book published by UTA Press is in fact an acceptable source (based on previous approvals), would it be OK to use that here for these additions? If I could find any of these things published by The Shorthorn, UTA's student-run newspaper, would that be an acceptable source? (I see it has been previously approved before.) I appreciate your patience and help as I continue to learn to navigate this process! Ambsco979 (talk) 15:46, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

There is a lot of boosterism in this text; it is clearly written by someone who wants to advertise UTA and make it look good. Readers notice that and distrust the entire article as a result. That's the problem with boosterism: it degrades the quality of so many other editors' work. --Melchior2006 (talk) 17:21, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate your time and completely understand the concern about boosterism. My only goal was to hit some broad points in UTA's history to bring that section more up to date on the main page using facts I could readily find and source. I admittedly wasn't approaching it as a historian, as I am not one. If all I want to do is add to the history section to bring us up to the present day, what would you recommend? It seems as though you are saying that what I would like to accomplish may not be possible without the inclusion of facts that skew toward the negative? Please understand I know your point is just to uphold the integrity of wikipedia, and I definitely do not want to violate that. Thanks again for your time. Ambsco979 (talk) 19:31, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

@Ambsco979 I would begin by citing neutral secondary sources like newspapers and journals devoted to academia. Stay away from UTA websites. You don't have to skew to the negative, but it is likely that UTA does have a few faults here or there, and there will be coverage of controversies and debates that tries to be fair to both sides. Use that. The student newspaper is ok as a source, but not stuff that has been written for UTA by UTA staff members paid to make the school shine. Melchior2006 (talk) 19:53, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

@Melchior2006 Thanks for the guidance! I hope to be able to resubmit soon with better sources and information. Ambsco979 (talk) 18:54, 7 September 2023 (UTC)