Job Well Done: 2 UTEP Employees Honored by UT System Regents
Last Updated on April 26, 2018 at 12:00 AM
Originally published April 30, 2018
By Christina Rodriguez
UTEP Communications
A pair of UTEP employees are among the recipients of the Regents’ Outstanding Employee Award handed out annually by The University of Texas System Board of Regents.
The Board of Regents recognized UTEP’s Azuri Gonzalez, director of the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), and Alberto "Beto" Lopez, assistant vice president for university relations, for their outstanding performance, innovation, enthusiasm and dedication.
The Board of Regents approved the establishment of the ROEA in November 2016. This spring, 30 employees across the fourteen UT System institutions as well as the UT System Administration received the prestigious award.
Azuri Gonzalez
Gonzalez began her career at UTEP as a student employee. Upon graduating from the University, she served as a coordinator and assistant director for the CCE before becoming the director in 2008. According to John Wiebe, Ph.D., associate provost at UTEP, under her leadership, the Center has developed into a vibrant, faculty-guided hub of engaged scholarship, and service to students and the community. Gonzalez co-leads the Provost’s Task Force on Community Engagement. The task force is a diverse group of faculty, staff, students and community partners who developed a strategic plan for community engagement in Academic Affairs. In addition, Gonzalez staffed a new, standing Provost’s Council on engagement with representation from units throughout campus. She has supported the work of faculty members interested in service learning and engaged research, and helped build the largest community of practice at UTEP through the utilization of community-engaged scholarship.
Gonzalez spearheaded efforts to monitor and reward engagement on campus. She developed a data-collection strategy that documented more than 1.5 million annual hours of community service, started an annual dinner event for community-engaged scholars and launched bi-annual community appreciation breakfasts. Additionally, she introduced the first Community Engaged Scholarship Faculty Institute at UTEP, in which faculty learned from her and each other about forging careers in community engagement. Meanwhile, Gonzalez pulled together leaders from across campus to reaffirm UTEP’s recognition by the Carnegie Foundation as an Engaged Institution, an honor that she procured for the University in 2010.
Currently, Gonzalez is a doctoral student and recently co-edited the book, “Community Engagement and High Impact Practices in Higher Education,” along with Gina Núñez-Mchiri, Ph.D., director of Women’s and Gender Studies and an associate professor of Anthropology at UTEP.
“I am very honored and excited about this recognition. Staff do amazing work in our UT System schools, and I am happy to represent the commitment and dedication we give to our institutions,” Gonzalez said. “I am especially grateful that this recognition also values how passionate and innovative we are in our roles. My role at UTEP has been one that has allowed me to grow, be creative, interact with amazing individuals and be critical about how I can impact my community and society through higher education.”
Alberto “Beto” Lopez
In 1983, Lopez joined UTEP as the first director of the Office of New Student Relations to attract the most qualified students of the area to the University. During his distinguished 34-year career, he has held numerous leadership roles and successfully overseen various departments on campus.
Due to his unprecedented wealth of University knowledge, Lopez has become synonymous with what it means to be a Miner and is adequately and affectionately known throughout the campus and El Paso community as “Mr. UTEP.”
Lopez has led many initiatives in the Scholarship Office and Outreach Programs including Upward Bound and the High School Equivalency Program (HEP). He was the founding administrator of the Thelma White Network, a communitywide coalition started in 1993 to address the unique needs of African-American students at UTEP and advise the University on policies affecting these students. His leadership proved an integral part of the execution and success of many University milestones including the 75th anniversary, Diamond Jubilee and Centennial Celebration.
In his current role, Lopez directs some of the University’s most important events throughout the year including Convocation and Commencement. He also manages more than 125 other ceremonies and functions such as UTEP AWARE and the New Faculty and Professional Orientation program. A signature activity of Lopez’s contribution to UTEP is the cultural and historical campus tours he leads for campus visitors and distinguished guests. The tours typically occur before formal presentations by the President, vice presidents, deans and campus administrators. During the tour, Lopez provides guests with a broad overview of the institution’s physical assets, history, vision and mission.
“I am eternally grateful to the individuals who have worked in association with the offices I have directed and projects I have either managed or assisted. Our collective commitment and collaboration continue to be instrumental in making an impact on our students, staff, and visitors,” Lopez said. “I am proud of my association with UTEP, my career as an educator, and dedication to the El Paso binational region and the students we serve.”