AHSIE announces Dr. Paloma Vargas as new Council President
April 4, 2022 2:00PM PDT
The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) is pleased to announce the election of Dr. Paloma Vargas as AHSIE Council President for the 2022-2025 term. We look forward to Dr. Vargas’s leadership and expertise in achieving AHSIE’s mission of supporting practitioners through sharing best practices, collaboration, engagement, and professional learning.
About Dr. Paloma Vargas:
Dr. Paloma Vargas (she/they/ella) is currently the Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at San Diego Mesa College, a 2-year public Hispanic-Serving (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). In her capacity as Dean, Dr. Vargas works with administration, faculty, and staff to determine best practices in serving a diverse student population. Dr. Vargas received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College (HSIs), and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Medical and Molecular Parasitology from The Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at New York University. Her graduate and post-doctoral work focused on host-pathogen interactions of both parasitic amoeba (E. histolytica) and Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaire’s Disease. Dr. Vargas has previously served as a biology faculty member, researcher, HSI Director, Science Coordinator and STEM Advisor at private and public institutions.
Dr. Vargas has extensive experience in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work. Her focus has been on dismantling policies that negatively affect Black, Latinx, and Native American/Indigenous students in higher education. She has served as a facilitator and trainer for faculty in DEI work including work focusing on Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Dr. Vargas is an anti-racist in training and centers culturally relevant pedagogy in her work. Dr. Vargas is an active member of both the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and of the Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institute Educators (AHSIE).
About AHSIE:
The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) exists to support the work of the nation’s Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) as they seek to provide quality, relevant educational opportunities to large and growing numbers of underserved populations, particularly Hispanic students. All of the Alliance’s activities directly benefit practitioners and educators at HSIs through measures that involve cooperation, networking, partnerships, information-sharing, technical assistance and collaboration.
AHSIE Website: https://ahsie.org/