Department of Educational Administration

Victor B. Sáenz, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin (associate professor with tenure, as of September 2013). He also has a faculty appointment with the UT Center for Mexican American Studies, he is a Faculty Fellow with the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, and he is a Faculty Associate with the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute. Dr. Sáenz has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and also has three book projects underway, including one on Latino males in higher education (Stylus Publishing). His current research on this topic examines their experiences at both two-year and four-year institutions as they navigate their college pathways. He has spoken about his research and programmatic work on Capitol Hill and at conferences across the country, and he continues to work closely with the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and the College Board’s Policy and Advocacy Center on their campaigns to raise awareness about the crisis facing young men of color in Education.

In fall 2010 he began a new initiative called Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success), a research and mentoring effort based within DDCE at the University of Texas at Austin. Project MALES has received state and national acclaim due to its innovative intergenerational approach to mentoring young Latino males, and in summer 2013 the project will launch a new initiative called the Texas Education Consortium for Male Student Success.

Dr. Saenz has received several notable accolades in his young academic career. In 2009 he was named by Diverse Magazine as “One of 25 to Watch” diversity leaders in American higher education. In fall 2010, he was recognized as one of seven “ING Professors of Excellence” among over two thousand faculty members at the University of Texas. Over the years, he has been quoted and cited in numerous news stories, policy reports, and scholarly publications, and his research work on Latino males in higher education continues to gain national attention. He is a member of two distinguished editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals in his field, and he is an active member of several national associations focused on higher education issues, including ASHE, AERA, AIR, AAHHE, TACHE, and the College Board. 

In 2005, Dr. Saenz received his PhD from UCLA in Higher Education and Organizational Change with a focus on access, equity, and diversity issues in post-secondary education. Dr. Saenz was a Spencer Foundation pre‐doctoral fellow while at UCLA, where he also completed a Master’s in Education in 2002. He also received a Master’s degree in Public Affairs (1999) and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (1996) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Saenz was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, and he is proud graduate of La Joya High School.

Ph.D., Education, University of California, Los Angeles (2005)

M.A., Education, University of California, Los Angeles (2002)

M.PAff., LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin (1999)

B.A., Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin (1996)

Saenz, V.B., Hatch, D., Bukoski, B., Kim, S., Lee, K., & Valdez, P. (2011). Community college student engagement patterns: A typology revealed through exploratory cluster analysis. Forthcoming in the Community College Review, 39, 3: 235 – 267.

Saenz, V.B. & Wasielewski, M. (2011). Natural advantages? Texas higher education funding and financial aid. Enrollment Management Journal (Spring 2011): 120-131.

Saenz, V.B. (2010). Breaking the segregation cycle: Examining students’ pre-college racial environments and college diversity experiences. Review of Higher Education, 34, 1:1-37.

Long, M., Saenz, V.B., & Tienda, M. (2010). Policy transparency as a means of democratizing access? The effect of Texas' top-10% policy on broadening entry to flagship universities. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 627, 82-105.

Saenz, V.B., Ngai, H.N. & Hurtado, S. (2007). Factors influencing positive interactions across race for African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and White college students. Research in Higher Education, 48, 1, 1-38.

• I.N.G. Professor of Excellence, UT-Austin Graduate School (Fall 2010)
• Faculty Fellow, Division of Diversity & Community Engagement (DDCE), UT-Austin (May 2010 – current)
• "Top 25 to Watch" Diverse Leaders in Higher Education, Diverse Magazine (May 2009)
• Faculty Fellow, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (March 2009)
• Spencer Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship (UCLA, 2001-2004)

Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success). http://www.projectmales.org.

Community College Surveys of Student Engagement (CCSSE) research study focused on Latinos at Community Colleges

ENCORE College Readiness research project, Rio Grande Valley (partners: Gates Foundation, Texas Valley Communities Foundation)

Latina/o College Access in the South Texas Border Region (sponsor: UT Center for Collaborative Educational Research and Policy)

Higher education policy issues; Educational benefits of racial/ethnic diversity; Desegregation issues; Access, transition, and retention issues for underrepresented college students, especially Latino males in higher education; Policy impacts of affirmative action and remedial education policies; Assessment issues in higher education (learning outcomes)

• Editorial Board Member, Enrollment Management Journal (2010-current)
• Editorial Board Member, College Student Affairs Journal (2010-current)
• Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
• Association for Institutional Research (AIR)
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
• American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE)