Greetings! My name is Dr. Mario Torres and I proudly serve as Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at UTSA.
As a San Antonio native and UTSA alumnus, I am thrilled to lead this extraordinary college as it takes on the most profound educational and human development challenges and engages in discovery and innovation in practice, policy, and research that directly impacts our local community and beyond.
Since its inception, the College of Education and Human Development at UTSA has deeply invested itself into transforming lives through its research, teaching, and service. Despite our prominent R1 designation and ongoing efforts to become a great public research university, we have not wavered any from our student serving legacy. We aim to provide preparation of the highest caliber to our future educators, community leaders, scholars, practitioners, counselors, clinicians, community activists, and research professionals so they are job-ready and ready to take on the grand challenges of the present and future. While the impact of our academic programs on the local San Antonio community are extensive, we aspire to transcend borders and broaden our impact as a research university and top provider of school professionals in the region and across the world.
Our ethos rests on clear and mutual obligations to preparing future generations of critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, disruptors of the status quo, and socially responsible citizens and are all dominant themes across our 6 departments, 7 research and service centers, and 3 strategic educational partners. The college is both a national and international model for academic excellence, research, and community service, offering students across all demographic groups the tools and skills to become transformative leaders, practitioners, and scholars. We offer 4 undergraduate degrees, 14 master’s degrees, 6 doctoral degrees, 10 graduate certificates, and 5 graduate professional certifications. I invite you to further explore our website and dig deeply into our cutting edge undergraduate and graduate programs.
I hope you discover that our vision for education and human development is broader and more ambitious than the typical educational college. We recognize there are many facets to the human experience that have direct and indirect implications for learning and human development. Our Mental Health Counseling program, for instance, prepares responsive clinicians and professionals to work effectively across diverse contexts to improve access to services but also to destigmatize mental health. Additionally, programs in our Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department, aim to cultivate future generations of activist scholars/educators to confront enduring social problems and design strategies to improve life outcomes for the historically marginalized and underserved. These programs symbolize our expansive vision of education and human development and perhaps more importantly the college’s desire to be a catalyst writ large for human and social improvement.
To learn more about our map for the future of the college, please visit our COEHD strategic plan. Here you will become acquainted with the goals and strategies that align to our institutional strategic destinations of becoming a model for student success, a great public research university, and an innovative place to work, learn, and discover. The College of Education and Human Development at UTSA is uniquely positioned to play a prominent role in the San Antonio, regional, and state economy. UTSA is nested in one of the fasted growing metropolitan corridors in the country, if not the world, which is very likely to unleash new and unexpected opportunities for the college.
The future is bright for our college. Our promise and potential are limitless in what we can achieve. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our college and the world-class degree options we offer. I look forward to realizing our destinations and working towards a more prosperous future for generations of San Antonians and fellow Texans to come.
Contact
Dean, College of Education and Human Development, President's Distinguished Professorship
College of Education and Human Development
