The University Of North Texas System Board Of Regents has unanimously named Neal Smatresk the 16th president of UNT, effective Feb.3. Smatresk, a 62-year-old biologist, will succeed V. Lane Rawlins.

"It is an incredible privilege to be selected as the next president of the University of North Texas. My wife Debbie and I are excited about returning to Texas and becoming members of the UNT community,"

"UNT is a strong and thriving institution," Smatresk said in a statement. "We hope to build our reputation as an emerging nationally prominent research institution and ensure that the good initiatives launched by past administrations continue to flourish."

When he presides over at UNT, he first hopes on finding out what the campus community wants.

"I need to find out what people's hopes and dreams are inside the university, but as importantly, I need to really engage the community," Smatresk said, Biz Journals reports.

Smatresk also added that he hopes on building the reputation of Denton University's 36,000-student body; strengthen UNT's research, scholarship and artistic endeavours and expand the quality of its campus community.

Lee Jackson, NT System Chancellor said that Smatresk's appointment was finalised considering the future of UNT.

"The experience that Dr. Smatresk has in leading a university that is in many ways similar to UNT combined with his knowledge of our region and state are a powerful combination. UNT is critical to the intellectual and economic development of our state, and is committed to expanding its influence in the coming years."

Prior to UNT, Smatresk served as the president of University of Nevada Las Vegas for four years. He was a faculty member and chair of biology and dean of science at University of Texas-Arlington and chief academic officer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Under his leadership at UNLV, the university successfully completed a $537 million fundraising campaign to create the school's largest active scholarship program, an Academic Success Center to assist students graduate on time, and opened Brookings Mountain West in association with the prestigious Brookings Institution.

Smatresk earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, and published more than 50 papers and book chapters about his research in cardiorespiratory physiology.