Diana Natalicio - President, The University of Texas at El Paso
Diana Natalicio was named president of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1988. Dr. Natalicio has served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of liberal arts, chair of the modern languages department and professor of linguistics. During Dr. Natalicio's tenure as president, UTEP's enrollment has grown from 14,971 to more than 23,000 students, more than 78% are Mexican American.
Dr. Natalicio has chaired the board of the American Council on Education, and served on the board of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation, the board of governors of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, the NASA Advisory Committee (NAC), the boards of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Trinity Industries, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Sandia Corporation and Internet2, and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush as a member of the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Initially appointed to the National Science Board by President Bill Clinton in 1994, she served two six-year terms as a Board member and three two-year terms as the NSB’s vice chair.
A graduate of St. Louis University, Dr. Natalicio earned a master's degree in Portuguese and a doctorate in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin.