UTEP President Named STEM Champion Award Recipient by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Last Updated on November 08, 2018 at 12:00 AM
Originally published November 08, 2018
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
UTEP President Diana Natalicio has been named the recipient of one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), a national organization representing Hispanic professionals and students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The Rubén Hinojosa STEM Champion Award will be presented Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, during SHPE’s 42nd national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where more than 6,000 students, professionals, academic and industry leaders, are expected to gather for five days of professional and leadership development.
The award, named after retired Texas Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, recognizes leaders who have a proven legacy of passionately supporting Hispanics in STEM and are champions for STEM initiatives within the Hispanic community.
“I am deeply honored to accept the Rubén Hinojosa STEM Award from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers,” President Natalicio said. “I am especially pleased at the recognition that this award confers on our entire UTEP team for its deep respect for and commitment to the success of the more than 25,000 talented students we are privileged to serve, 80% of whom are Hispanic and from the surrounding region. Our students entrust us with their highest aspirations, and we are laser-focused on doing all we can to create a campus climate that offers academic and research opportunities to ensure their success in achieving them. On behalf of everyone on the UTEP faculty and staff team, I am deeply grateful to accept SHPE’s prestigious Rubén Hinojosa STEM Award.”
President Natalicio announced in May that she will retire after 30 years in the campus’ highest leadership role. She was named UTEP President in 1988. She initially arrived on campus in 1971 when she accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics. President Natalicio’s tenure makes her the longest-serving current president of a public doctoral/research university in the country. She will remain in office until her successor is named.
In her time at UTEP, she has deftly guided the University to national prominence as a research institution, all the while being relentless in ensuring access and affordability for the student population that it serves. In 2016, the Brookings Institution recognized UTEP with a No. 1 ranking among all U.S. research universities for fostering social mobility and simultaneously achieving research excellence.