DENTON (UNT), Texas --  Michael Monticino will lead the University of North Texas’ fundraising efforts as interim vice president for advancement and director of development of the UNT Foundation beginning August 8.

Monticino, who joined UNT in 1990, has led the College of Arts and Sciences – UNT’s largest college – for the past two years.

As head of UNT’s fundraising operations, Monticino will be charged with expanding the institution’s private support so the university may continue to grow as a national research university committed to offering Texas’s best undergraduate educational experience to talented students. He will oversee the university’s division of advancement and work closely with the UNT Foundation and UNT Alumni Association.

“UNT offers students a world-class educational experience in a friendly and supportive environment where their success is our main focus. With Michael’s practical experience in business, knowledge of UNT and commitment to building a stronger future for our students, I am confident he will provide extraordinary strategic direction,” said President V. Lane Rawlins.

“We are committed to achieving four bold goals that will transform our university into one of the nation’s top institutions and securing support from our alumni, friends and community partners is critical to our success,” Rawlins said.

Working closely with President Rawlins, UNT’s deans and other administrative leaders, Monticino will serve a key role in advancing the university toward its strategic goals.

 “UNT is uniquely positioned to successfully emerge from the current challenges facing higher education. Our commitment to providing the very best educational opportunities to our students and strategic investment in our leading programs directly benefits the economy and culture of our region and state. Our success will be a shared effort by UNT staff, faculty, students, alumni and the business and civic community. I am looking forward to working with all these groups to ensure a great future for UNT,” Monticino said.

Monticino joined the UNT faculty in 1990 as a professor of mathematics. He was appointed associate dean for administrative affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2004, dean of the UNT Graduate School in 2009, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2010. He also is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

Monticino’s areas of expertise are statistical analysis, probability models, operations research and environmental modeling. He has worked with the U.S. Navy, ABC TV, the Institute for Defense Analysis, Accenture and IBM to solve a variety of analysis and operational problems.

He was founding president of the Mathematical Association of America Special Interest Group for Business Industry and Government, a link between business, industry and government mathematicians, academic mathematicians and mathematics students. He has been active in the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Visiting Lecturer Program, which promotes career opportunities for students, academics and others with analytical skills and applied mathematics skills.

Prior to joining UNT, Monticino was an associate with Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc., a mathematical and computer science consulting firm.