DALLAS – The University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) has announced the launch of the Trailblazer Tuition Trust, a transformative new program that will cover full tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years for eligible Texas high school graduates pursuing their first bachelor’s degree at UNT Dallas. The announcement was made by Dr. Warren von Eschenbach during his Investiture as the fourth president of UNT Dallas, opening a defining new chapter in the university’s 15-year history.
“UNT Dallas remains committed to providing access to those for whom higher education historically has been out of reach,” Dr. von Eschenbach said. “Universities are about people and community. We are a beacon of hope and promise for many. This is the transformative power of education.”
Delivered before faculty, staff, students, alumni, civic leaders and members of the UNT System Board of Regents in Campus Hall at the UNT Dallas Student Center, Dr. von Eschenbach’s address positioned the Trailblazer Tuition Trust – benefiting Texas families with a total income of $100,000 or less – as the centerpiece of a renewed institutional mission: making a four-year-university education attainable for Texas families, while preparing graduates for purposeful lives and resilient careers in a rapidly evolving workforce.
“UNT Dallas seeks to be the leading regional university in southern Dallas, Ellis County and beyond by delivering a holistic experience that integrates career-ready skills, leadership development and experiential learning throughout the curriculum,” said Dr. von Eschenbach.
What the Trailblazer Tuition Trust covers
The Trailblazer Tuition Trust will cover full tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years — or eight consecutive semesters — for graduating Texas high school seniors enrolling at UNT Dallas to pursue their first bachelor’s degree. Funding is delivered through a combination of federal, state, and institutional grants and scholarships, ensuring eligible students can complete their degree without the burden of tuition costs.
To be eligible, students must:
- Be a graduating Texas high school, senior enrolling at UNT Dallas in the fall semester
- Be a Texas resident graduating from a Texas high school
- Be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant
- Be eligible for Priority Texas Grant funding
- Have a total family income of $100,000 or less
- Be admitted to UNT Dallas and have a valid FAFSA on file by June 1, 2026
Eligible students will be considered automatically — no separate application is required. To renew the award each year, students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA at UNT Dallas, remain in good academic standing, and stay enrolled full time (a minimum of 12 credit hours) in both fall and spring semesters.
“UNT Dallas has invested in bold strategies to grow enrollment, advance student success and community impact,” said State Sen. Royce West.
The Trailblazer Tuition Trust builds on the proven model of programs like the Dallas County Promise, expanding tuition support to qualifying students from across the state of Texas. UNT Dallas will work closely with high schools, school counselors, and community partners to ensure prospective students and families understand how to take advantage of the program. More information is available through the UNT Dallas admissions office at admissions@untdallas.edu.
Dr. Warren von Eschenbach
More than a degree: a holistic educational experience
Affordability is one piece of a larger vision. Dr. von Eschenbach has been clear that the priority at UNT Dallas is a holistic educational experience — not simply earning a credential or training narrowly within a chosen major but cultivating the full range of capacities students need to lead meaningful lives. That means rigorous academics paired with critical thinking, ethical reasoning, communication, civic engagement, and the personal growth that happens in classrooms, residence halls, student organizations, mentoring relationships and service in the community.
Within that vision, the university is building an innovative curriculum and a multi-disciplinary education model designed to prepare students for AI-proof jobs – careers that draw on uniquely human capacities like creative problem-solving, ethical judgment, leadership, and the ability to work across fields and across difference. That investment is taking shape in distinctive programs, majors and course offerings that set UNT Dallas apart, blending the liberal arts with applied disciplines and connecting students directly to employers, civic institutions and community partners across North Texas.
“We need to create an educational ecosystem that supports students in their personal, academic, social and cultural growth. We need to future-proof our students by instilling in them enduring and authentically human skills that employers seek, such as resilience, empathy, self-awareness and character,” Dr. von Eschenbach said.
Recent milestones reflect that direction: the establishment of the university’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, the recent opening of a $100 million STEM Building, expanded health professions programming in collaboration with UNT Health Fort Worth, and continued investment in experiential learning and industry partnerships across North Texas.
Community, belonging, and shared prosperity
Equally central to Dr. von Eschenbach’s vision is the conviction that a university must be a place of genuine community and belonging – where students feel seen, supported and rooted in something larger than themselves. Research and experience alike show that students who feel they belong are more likely to persist, graduate and thrive after college. For a university whose students often balance work, family responsibilities and the demands of a degree, that sense of belonging is not an amenity; it is a precondition for success.
What happens on campus does not stay on campus. When students experience belonging at UNT Dallas, that experience radiates outward – into the southern Dallas neighborhoods that surround the university, into the families who watch a first-generation student walk across the commencement stage, and into the local businesses, schools, and civic institutions that gain confident, capable graduates as employees, neighbors and leaders. A university anchored in community strengthens the community in return.
About President von Eschenbach
Dr. von Eschenbach was appointed by the UNT System Board of Regents in August 2025 after serving as interim president since April 2024. He previously served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the UNT System and spent nearly 14 years at the University of Notre Dame in faculty and senior administrative roles, where he led international expansion, launched a multidisciplinary minor in technology ethics and helped open the university’s center in Rome.
A philosopher by training, Dr. von Eschenbach holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin, an MA from Marquette University, and a BA from Trinity University. His scholarly work focuses on ethics and the human implications of emerging technology – a vantage point that informs his vision for an institution preparing students for careers shaped by rapid technological change. He succeeds President Emeritus Bob Mong, who led UNT Dallas from 2015 until his retirement in 2024.
Looking ahead
The Trailblazer Tuition Trust, paired with the university’s renewed focus on holistic education and career readiness, signals an ambitious decade ahead for UNT Dallas: deeper employer partnerships, expanded pathways into high-demand fields, and a clear-eyed commitment to making a four-year degree both attainable and economically meaningful for students across Texas.
With Dr. von Eschenbach now formally installed and the Trust officially launched, UNT Dallas enters its next chapter — one defined by access, opportunity, and a renewed promise to the students, families and communities it serves.
