UTEP President Honored for Promoting Equality by Mexican Agency
Last Updated on December 01, 2017 at 2:10 PM
Originally published December 01, 2017
By University Communications
UTEP Communications
UTEP President Diana Natalicio has been recognized by Mexico’s National Council to Prevent Discrimination, or Consejo Nacional para Prevenir La Discriminación (CONAPRED), with the 2017 Reconocimientos por la Igualdad y la No Discriminación, or Recognition for Equality and Non-Discrimination.
This recognition has been awarded since 2006 to people who have worked to further human rights, equality and non-discrimination. The Consultative Assembly of the organization selected President Natalicio as the award recipient in the international category for her efforts to make a college education accessible to Mexican students and for promoting equality and inclusion at UTEP.
“CONAPRED celebrates Dr. Natalicio’s contributions in a prosperous and diverse border community such as Ciudad Juárez and El Paso,” Mónica Lizaola, technical secretary of the consultant assembly, said in Spanish.
The award has four categories: national, international, institutional and posthumous. President Natalicio was honored at a ceremony in Mexico City on Nov. 28.
“Since our founding, UTEP has enjoyed a dynamic and enduring relationship with Mexico,” President Natalicio said. "We are proud to have consistently enrolled the largest number of Mexican students among all U.S. universities, and we strive to ensure that Mexican students on our campus are encouraged and resourced to reach their full potential. UTEP’s faculty and staff are deeply committed to our access and excellence mission — fostering an inclusive environment and creating high value-added opportunities for all our students, regardless of their backgrounds or financial means. I am deeply honored to accept this award on behalf of the entire UTEP team, and I thank CONAPRED for this recognition of UTEP’s innovative and impactful work."
Past award recipients in the international category include Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and education and women’s rights activist; Sylvia Mendez, a civil rights activist in education inclusion whose family fought to end segregation in California in the 1940s; and Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights and the first female president of Ireland.
CONAPRED is a Mexican federal agency created by the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination in 2003 with the purpose of preventing discrimination in Mexico.