1 minute read
Looking Forward
Message from the Dean
Hello, my name is Dr. Mario Torres and I am pleased to be the new dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
I am joining the college at a time of promise and change. We are focusing on safe return to in-person activities, and I am eager to meet the talented group of students, faculty, and staff of COEHD, as well as our community partners and generous donors. As a San Antonio native and UTSA alumnus, I look forward to giving back to the community and university.
I am proud to have the opportunity to join UTSA, a premier Hispanic Serving Institution, at a point when the university is accelerating toward becoming one of the premier research universities in the country and perhaps the world.
Throughout the pandemic, we witnessed the impact and significance that education and mental health wellness has in our communities. Looking back to when I was a student at UTSA, it was the encouragement of several faculty that helped instill my passion for education research. To this day, it serves as a powerful reminder of the life-changing impact educators and educational leaders at all levels can have on students.
I have dedicated my research to students’ rights, the ethics of education reform and discipline policy, and organizational inclusion. I realize the importance of remaining adaptable in a rapidly changing technological world. As program chair at the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M from 2010 and 2013, I led the effort to create the current fully online master’s program for school principal preparation. I am proud to have served as co-director of the Texas A&M University Administrative Leadership Institute, an annual conference for Texas school leaders focusing on critical issues in K–12 education.
I look forward to the many years to come at UTSA and COEHD and I am elated to be returning to the Roadrunner family. There is so much promise and potential in what we as a college can achieve. Together, along with our community partners and donors, we will chart a course to help advance the university toward R1 status, while maintaining our commitment to supporting social mobility for generations of San Antonians and Texans.
