President
The University of Texas at El Paso
DIANA NATALICIO joined the Rockefeller Foundation board of trustees in 2004.
Dr. Natalicio was named president of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1988. During her long and distinguished career with the University, Dr. Natalicio also served as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Liberal Arts, and Chair of the Modern Languages Department. 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.
During her tenure as president, UTEP’s enrollment has grown to more than 21,000 students, who reflect the demographics of the Paso del Norte region from which 90% of them come: more than 75% are Mexican-American, and another 6% commute to the campus from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Since 1988, UTEP’s annual budget has quadrupled, from $80 million to $325 million. UTEP is 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 $55 million per year, and doctoral programs have expanded from one to sixteen during this same period. To accommodate UTEP’s steady growth in enrollment, academic programs and research, a $250 million facilities expansion program is underway on the campus.
Dr. Natalicio serves on the board of directors of the American Council on Education and the Council for Aid to Education. She has served on the boards of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, the Fulbright Commission in Mexico, the Internet2, the NASA Advisory Committee (NAC), and the Sandia Corporation, and was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Initially appointed to the National Science Board by President Bill Clinton in 1994, she was re-appointed to a second term in 2000 and served for six years as the board’s vice chair. In addition, she is a member of the board of directors of 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 was awarded the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education in 1997. She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999 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.