May 20, 2020
Juan Sánchez Muñoz named chancellor of UC Merced
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities applauds the Board of Regents of The University of California for appointing Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D., to serve as the chancellor for UC Merced, effective July 2020.
Muñoz, a UC alum, becomes the fourth chancellor to hold the position at UC Merced and replaces Nathan Brostrom who was appointed as the interim chancellor as of Aug. 15, 2019, succeeding Chancellor Dorothy Leland, who stepped down from the position.
Muñoz is the president of University of Houston-Downtown, a HACU-member institution. He has served as president of UHD since 2017.
Prior to UHD, Muñoz served as the senior vice president for institutional diversity, equity and community engagement and vice provost for undergraduate education and student affairs at Texas Tech University.
Muñoz has an extensive background in higher education. He has served as a member of HACU’s Governing Board since October 2018.
“HACU commends the UC Board of Regents for taking a first step in remedying the dearth of Latino representation in leadership positions across the UC campuses,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. "Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz is a proven leader whose exemplary service as a HACU board member demonstrates his commitment to the mission of Championing Hispanic Success in Higher Education. We congratulate him on being selected to serve as the next chancellor of UC Merced."
Muñoz returns to California where he previously was a secondary school teacher, a community college adviser, instructor, and an assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton in the department of secondary education.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Santa Barbara and a Master of Arts in Mexican American studies from California State University, Los Angeles and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction in the Division of Urban Schooling from UCLA.
About HACUThe Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain and school districts throughout the U.S. The Association’s headquarters are located in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Sacramento, California and Washington D.C. HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
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