Something was different, but I couldn't pinpoint it. In the few minutes it took Dan Williams to tote another box of not-so-bare necessities into the building, I sensed an excitement unlike anything I had experienced in my 12 years at UTA. It was move-in day at Arlington Hall, the first residence hall built on campus in more than 35 years.

Heat and humidity arrived as early as the residents and their families on this Friday in late August. We sent two photographers to chronicle the historic occasion, and they arrived early, too, each carrying what seemed like 25 pounds of equipment. I showed up a bit later and was relegated to taking mental notes, having forgotten both pen and paper.

Dozens of staff members joined Williams, UTA's senior vice president for finance and administration, in helping the students settle in. Wide-eyed young people, accompanied by anxious parents, unpacked minivans, loaded up dollies and headed for the place they'd call home for the next few years. As countless microwaves, refrigerators and personal computers disappeared behind elevator doors, I longed for stock in Best Buy.

Yes, something was different. The atmosphere resembled that of a traditional college campus. A few weeks later at the fall faculty and associates meeting, President Robert E. Witt told of his annual visit to the student leadership retreat in Glen Rose. On the drive back to Arlington, he and Provost George Wright concluded that they sensed a spirit lacking at previous retreats.

So perhaps I wasn't the only one who noticed. As the fall semester stretched into November, I realized that many people on campus were making similar observations. A new attitude, they called it, a positive energy. The phrases "turning the corner" and "gaining momentum" had crept into everyday conversation. And for good reason.

Enrollment exceeded 20,000 for the first time since 1996. We recently instituted several high-demand academic programs. And we received the highest ranking in the Carnegie Foundation's latest classification of American institutions of higher education. Even prime-time television couldn't escape UTA's influence. Broadcast communication junior Eddie McGee won the $500,000 top prize in the CBS Big Brother reality show.

We devote several articles of this issue to showing how and why the University is picking up steam. Our coverage represents a sampling of the positive changes UTA has experienced in recent months. And there are many more worthwhile developments for which we didn't have space. As you read the articles that follow, we hope you, too, will notice that something is different— and that different is very good, indeed.

-Mark Permenter, Editor