UTEP Community Engagement Director Named to 2021 Women of Impact Award List
Last Updated on September 10, 2021 at 12:00 AM
Originally published September 10, 2021
By Darlene Barajas
UTEP Communications
Azuri Gonzalez, Ed.D., director of the Center for Community Engagement at The University of Texas at El Paso is among El Paso Inc.’s 2021 Women of Impact award recipients.
Each year, the Women of Impact awards honor women leaders who do extraordinary work to positively impact the lives of others in the community, business, culture or politics. These award honorees are truly distinguished women leaders who have a lifetime of accomplishments in the service of others.
As director for the Center for Community Engagement, Gonzalez manages UTEP’s community-based teaching and learning partnerships to enhance higher education learning and contribute to the public good. She was instrumental in attaining UTEP’s designation as a Community Engaged Institution by the Carnegie Foundation, listing on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, and high rank in Washington Monthly’s national college rankings based on social mobility, research and service. Gonzalez has served on the YWCA El Paso del Norte Region Board of Directors since 2006 and served on the former National Coordinating Board of the YWCA USA from 2008 to 2012, most recently on its governance committee.
“Living a life of purpose is truly a privilege, and this recognition validates this pursuit for me, Gonzalez said. “I am honored to be recognized among the many inspirational women honored this year as well as in the past. This further fuels my motivation to be mindfully impactful.”
El Paso Inc.'s editorial board selects a group of award finalists and presents the list to a selection committee made up of previous Women of Impact honorees for review. Committee members score finalists independently in four areas — local impact, the effect the nominee's efforts have had on the local community, breadth of how wide reaching the candidate's work is; and professional achievements.
The El Paso Inc. said Gonzalez has been the face of the community engaged young professionals, particularly Latinas, even when she was the only voice at the table. But Gonzalez has never shied away from asserting her voice and using her seat to shed light and offer new perspectives. Gonzalez has committed herself to improving community engagement in future generations and has enhanced UTEP's focus in the subject.
To learn more about Gonzalez’s impactful work visit: https://expertise.utep.edu/profiles/azurig.
