President, University of Texas at El Paso

Diana Natalicio was named president of UTEP in 1988. During her long and distinguished career with the university, Dr. Natalicio has 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 made UTEP a national success story.

UTEP’s annual budget has tripled, from $80 million to more than $250 million, since 1988. Recently, UTEP was designated as a research/doctoral-intensive university, recognized nationally for both the excellence and breadth of its academic and research programs. UTEP’s externally funded research expenditures have grown from less than $5 million to more than $46 million per year, and doctoral programs from one to 14 during this same period. To accommodate steady growth in enrollment, academic programs, and research, the university recently completed a $50 million facilities expansion program and has embarked on a $124 million upgrade of core science and engineering facilities.

Dr. Natalicio serves on the board of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation and the board of governors of the U.S. Mexico Foundation for Science. She has served on the NASA Advisory Committee (NAC), 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. She also served on the board of trustees of Internet2. In addition, she is a member of the boards of directors of the Sandia Corporation, Trinity Industries and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

In recognition of her success in building strong partnerships between UTEP, the El Paso Community College, and school districts in the Paso del Norte region, Dr. Natalicio received the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education in 1997. She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999, was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at The University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from Smith College and the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon.

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.