What the UC Can Learn From the University of Texas at El Paso in Becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution
The Center for Studies in Higher Education is pleased to announce this year’s Clark Kerr Lecturer and Clark Kerr Award recipient, President Diana Natalicio of the University of Texas at El Paso.
The Clark Kerr Lecture series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the greatest leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. These Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society.
Dr. Natalico’s visit to the Berkeley campus to discuss her experience transforming the University of Texas at El Paso into a hispanic serving institution comes at an auspicious time. Chancellor Carol Christ unveiled the UC’s strategic plan at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year which includes plans for UC Berkeley to become a Hispanic serving institution and increase its diversity over the next decade.
Dr. Natalicio became UTEP’s president in 1988. During her long and distinguished career with the University, Dr. Natalicio has also served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of liberal arts, chair of the modern languages department and professor of linguistics. Her sustained commitment to provide all residents of the Paso del Norte region access to outstanding higher education opportunities has helped make UTEP a national success story.
During Dr. Natalicio’s tenure, UTEP’s enrollment has grown from 15,000 to over 25,000 students, its annual budget from $65 to more than $500 million. UTEP is designated as a Carnegie R1 university, recognized nationally for both the excellence and breadth of its academic and research programs. In 2017, Dr. Natalicio was named one of Fortune magazine’s Top 50 World Leaders. In 2016, she was honored with the Hispanic Heritage Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and she was included on the 2016 TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world. In 2015, The Carnegie Corporation of New York honored her with its prestigious Academic Leadership Award. In 2011, she was presented with the Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca, the highest honor bestowed on foreign nationals by the President of Mexico. She has also been named by the campus as one of the Clark Kerr Award Recipients for 2019.
Dr. Natalicio shared her journey and how UTEP is making a difference in the local community at UC Berkeley in Sibley Auditorium on April 19,2019. A full video of her lecture can be found here.