The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley announced last week that Luis H. Zayas will serve as the institution’s new provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.
Zayas, a former dean of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin and a current chair there, will start at UTRGV on June 1.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Dr. Zayas’s caliber fill this role for UTRGV,” UTRGV President Guy Bailey wrote in a release. “Dr. Zayas is respected nationally as a higher education administrator and as a successful practitioner and researcher in the field of social work. I am confident that his background and experience will help to enhance UTRGV’s vision of becoming one of the nation’s leaders in higher education.”
A native of Puerto Rico, Zayas began his career as a social worker in New York City, serving as a clinician in the mental health field.
After joining academia, Zayas, who holds a doctorate, taught at a variety of universities, authored three books and over 130 papers and chapters, and lectured internationally on children’s mental health issues.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to be appointed the next provost of UTRGV, a university with an unlimited future,” Zayas wrote in the release. “I am grateful to President Bailey and the search committee for placing their confidence in me.”
Zayas writes that he has a set of priorities that are in line with those of the university.
“Focusing on student success, bringing talented faculty and supporting their development, raising our research output and deepening our engagement with the Rio Grande Valley region are the key priorities,” he wrote. “UTRGV is and will continue to benefit from and contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of the Valley. UTRGV has all the parts needed to become a global innovator and enrich the region both in the United States and Mexico. I am deeply committed to seeing us reach that greatness.”
Janna Arney, who currently holds the posts of executive vice president and provost, will step down as provost at the end of the academic year and retire from the university this summer after assisting with the Zayas’ transition, Bailey announced earlier this month.
Arney, who had worked at the University of Texas Brownsville, was the third person officially hired by UTRGV and instrumental in that institution’s formation in 2014.
“I’ve worked with a very large number of people over the last 30 years as an academic administrator, but none that I admire and appreciate as much as Dr. Arney,” Bailey wrote. “She is as selfless as anyone I have ever met, and when she takes on a task, she puts herself into it completely and relentlessly. She simply won’t quit until it is done and done right. I’ve worked with some excellent administrators, but none quite like her.”
