UTEP President Diana Natalicio was recognized by Fortune Magazine’s 2017 list of the World’s Greatest Leaders.
The ranking, which is world-wide, features 50 different leaders that the magazine deemed excelled at leading effectively and followed the publication’s three lessons: acknowledge reality and offer hope, bring followers physically together and build bridges.
Alongside Natalicio on the list are some of the world’s biggest leaders, such as Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada and John Roberts, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In her excerpt of the magazine, Natalicio was labeled as a leader who advocated for higher education for low-income students and how she continues to give educational access to the predominant Hispanic student body. They also recognized the school’s rise in national rankings over the years.
“I am extremely pleased by this recognition of the remarkable accomplishments of a talented and dedicated team of UTEP faculty and staff who have enabled us to achieve our dream of fostering the social mobility of talented and hard-working students whose modest financial means and complex life challenges too often impede educational and career pathways,” Natalicio said in a press release.
She has been the school’s president for 29 years and is the longest serving president of a U.S. public research university.