The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently honored UTEP President Diana Natalicio as one of the recipients of its 2015 Academic Leadership Award.
Four leaders of American universities were recognized for demonstrating vision and outstanding commitment to excellence and equity in undergraduate education.
“The United States is blessed with thousands of universities and colleges that enrich our society and our democracy and prepare the next generation of specialists, leaders, and citizens,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “This award recognizes some exemplary leaders of those institutions, who embody the best qualities of leadership – not merely managerial skills, but institutional vision and an abiding commitment to high quality, diversity, curricular innovation, and investment in their communities.
Each honoree’s institution will receive a $500,000 grant to be used toward furthering the winner’s notable academic initiatives.
The 2015 honorees are:
- Diana Natalicio: president, the University of Texas at El Paso
- Ronald J. Daniels: president, Johns Hopkins University;
- Patricia A. McGuire: president, Trinity Washington University
- L. Max Nikias: president, University of Southern California
Natalicio is the longest-serving president of a public university. She became president of UTEP in 1988.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s 2015 Academic Leadership Award recognizing The University of Texas at El Paso’s accomplishments over the past quarter-century,” said Natalicio in a press release. “This recognition serves as strong validation of the success of highly dedicated UTEP faculty and staff who have worked to provide both access and excellence to all young people who entrust us with their talents and aspirations.”
The Academic Leadership Award was established in 2005 in honor of Andrew Carnegie’s commitment to education and the diffusion of knowledge as fundamental tools for building a strong society and democracy.
The award, which is given every two years, recognizes exemplary university presidents who display a commitment to the liberal arts, excellence and access, curricular innovation, the development of major interdisciplinary programs, reform of K-12 education, international engagement, and the promotion of strong links between their institutions and their local communities.
The Carnegie Corporation listed the following accomplishments in selecting Natalicio for the award:
- Worked to make the university better reflect the region’s demographics by recruiting more Hispanic faculty members, currently about 36 percent overall, and created graduate programs that capitalize on UTEP’s proximity to Mexico such as a Ph.D. in U.S-Mexico Borderlands History.
- Led in the formation of a partnership with El Paso Community College, 12 local school districts, and community leaders to raise educational aspirations and attainment, revamp teacher training, and improve curriculums in subjects such as high school math and science, and as a result, successfully preparing more graduates for college-level work, and closing the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students.
- Implemented a highly successful program to collect and analyze data from each department and on each student as a way to track progress and develop appropriate interventions that improve performance and retention, including direct follow up with students at risk of dropping out.
For more information, visit www.carnegie.org/news/articles/carnegie-corporation-new-york-honors-four-higher-education-visionaries-winners-2015-academic-leadership-award/
