The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities established the HACU Hall of Champions to honor those who embody the mission of the Association through exemplary efforts “To Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education.” The 2019 HACU Hall of Champions inductee was Diana Natalicio Ph.D., who was honored on October 5, 2019, during HACU’s 33rd Annual Conference.
Diana Natalicio served as president of The University of Texas at El Paso from 1988 to 2019. During her tenure, enrollment grew from 15,000 to more than 25,000 students, while the university’s budget increased from $65 million to more than $500 million. UTEP became designated as a Carnegie R1 university, with annual research expenditures growing from $6 million to nearly $95 million and the number of doctoral programs increasing from one to twenty-two.
Natalicio served on the boards of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, Trinity Industries, Sandia Corporation, U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, American Council on Education, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Internet2. She also served on the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and the National Science Board.
In 2011, the president of Mexico presented her with the Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca. She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at The University of Texas at Austin.
Natalicio earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University, and master’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Texas at Austin.
