Dr. Juliet Villarreal García, the 2006 Hispanic Heritage Foundation Honoree for Education, became the first Latina president of a U.S. college or university when she was named president of Texas Southmost College in her hometown of Brownsville, Texas in 1986.  In 1991, she led the college in establishing a unique partnership with The University of Texas system, designed to consolidate resources, increase efficiency, and eliminate barriers to improve the impoverished lower Rio Grande Valley’s educational system.

Dr. García became President of the University of Texas Brownsville (UTB) and Texas Southmost College in 1992, and under her leadership, these institutions have thrived.  UTB has grown from 7,600 students to 13,300 students,  expanded its degree offerings to multiple new graduate programs, and initiated several other major projects including new state-of-the-art facilities.  In 2002, Dr. García was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in Education.

A graduate of the University of Houston with an M.A, and B.A. in Speech and English, Dr. García earned her Ph.D. in Communications and Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Postdoctoral studies have included work at the Institute for Educational Management and the JFK School of Government at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the London School of Business Study for International Business Fellows. She also received an honorary doctorate of laws from Notre Dame University.  Dr. García has received several national awards for her leadership in higher education, including multiple honors by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the most influential Hispanics.