Although the Hispanic population has become the largest minority group in the United States, this fact has not been reflected in their presence as tenured or non-tenured professors at the country's colleges and universities. And this is especially aggravated in the case of Hispanic females. The decreasing number of Hispanic female professors in Higher Education in the United States foretells this delicate situation. A major concern associated with the Hispanics' lack of involvement in higher education is the seeming lack of awareness among the general population that such a problem exists. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to examine some specific outstanding and representative cases. Hispanic women professors continue to remain underrepresented in faculty and leadership position in the country.
TopIntroduction
Although the Hispanic population has already become the largest minority group in the United States, this fact has not been reflected in their presence as tenured or non-tenured professors at the country’s colleges and universities (Lacomba, 2022). This is especially aggravated in the case of Hispanic females (Mora, 2022). The decreasing number of Hispanic female professors in Higher Education in the United States foretells this delicate situation.
A major concern that is typically associated with the Hispanics’ lack of involvement in higher education is the seeming lack of awareness among the general population that such a problem exists (Scherer & Mayol García, 2022). In general terms, Hispanic groups have yet to attain recognition of the existence of educational barriers for them on most US campuses (Krogstad et al., 2022).
Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to examine why there are so few Hispanic women in Higher Education in the United States as well as to research on some specific outstanding and representative cases. Despite the increase in their representation among college and university employees, Hispanic women professors continue to be underrepresented in faculty and leadership positions in the country.
Diana Natalicio (1939-2021) was an American academic administrator who served as the 10th president of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1988 to 2019. After growing up in St. Louis, Natalicio studied Spanish as an undergraduate, completed a master’s degree in Portuguese, and earned a PhD in linguistics. She became an assistant professor at UTEP in 1971 and was named the university’s first female president in 1988.
As a sign of her relevance, her 31-year tenure in the university’s highest office stood as the sixth longest of any doctoral/research university president in history at the time of her retirement. It was also the longest term for a female president of a four-year public university at the time. Sadly, Diana Natalicio died in El Paso on September 24, 2021.
Before taking the helm as president, during her long and distinguished career at the university, Natalicio also served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of liberal arts, chair of the Department of Modern Languages, and professor of linguistics, among other academic appointments. The University of Texas System Board of Regents named her President Emerita in August 2019 in recognition of her outstanding career. According to Contreras et al. (2018), this clearly reflects the excellence of her resume and professional worth.
Her sustained commitment to providing all residents of the Paso del Norte region with access to excellent higher education opportunities helped make the UTEP a truly national success story. In addition, she was honored to have been the first woman, and therefore of Hispanic origin, to hold such a prominent position in higher education in the United States (Arciniega, 2012).
Natalicio served on numerous boards, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the Rockefeller Foundation, Trinity Industries, Sandia Corporation, US-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC), American Council on Education, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Besides, she was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to membership on the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and by President Bill Clinton to the National Science Board (NSB), where she served two six-year terms including three two-year terms as NSB vice-chair.
During Natalicio’s tenure as president of the institution, UTEP’s enrolment grew from 15,000 to nearly 24,000 students, reflecting the demographics of the Paso del Norte region, from which nearly 90% of them hail. More than 80% are Mexican American, and the other 5% travel to campus from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (Nora & Crisp, 2019).