Victor B. Saenz

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
Educational Administration
Higher Education Administration Program

Office: SZB 310Q

Phone: +1 512-475-8585
Fax: +1 512-471-5975
E-Mail: vsaenz@mail.utexas.edu

Mailing Address

The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Educational Administration
1 University Station D5400
Austin, TX 78712-0374
UTMailCode: D5400

Office Hours

Wednesday: 2-4pm
Thursday: 1-2pm
Or by appointment

Profile

Victor B. Saenz, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Higher Education Administration program within the Department of Educational Administration (EDA). He is also a faculty associate with the Center for Mexican American Studies. Prior to UT-Austin, Dr. Saenz was the research manager for the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute, coordinating several national data collection efforts and studies of college students. In 2005, he received his PhD from UCLA in Higher Education and Organizational Change with a focus on access, equity, and diversity issues. His current research interests include: Border higher education issues; diversity & desegregation; college access and college readiness for Latina/o, first-generation, and low-income college students; policy issues in higher education; assessment issues in higher education. Dr. Saenz was a Spencer Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow while at UCLA. He received an M.A. in Education from UCLA in 2002. He also received a Masters in Public Affairs (1999) and a B.A. (1996) in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Saenz was recently named by Diverse Magazine (June, 2009) as one of "25 to Watch, Diversity Leaders in Higher Education." He was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.

Terminal Degree

PhD, Education, University of California, Los Angeles (2005)

MA, Education, University of California, Los Angeles (2002)

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

BA, Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin (1996)

Representative Publications

Saenz, V.B. & Ponjuan, L. (2009). The vanishing Latino male in higher education. Journal of Hispanics in Higher Education, 8, 1: 54-89.

Long, M., Saenz, V.B., & Tienda, M. (2010, forthcoming). 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 Sciences. (Estimated publish date: 2010).

Hurtado, S., Saenz, V.B., Santos, J.L, & Cabrera, N.L. (2008). Advancing in higher education: A portrait of Latina/o college freshmen at four-year institutions (1975-2006). Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

Hurtado, S., Saenz, V.B., & Dar, L. (2008). Low-income students of color in higher education and the Gates Millenium Scholars. In W.T. Trent & E. St. John's (Eds.), Resources, assets, and strengths among successful diverse sudents: Understanding the contributions of the Gates Millenium Scholars Program. Readings in Equal Educatin, Vol. 23. New York: AMS Press, Inc.

Saenz, V.B., Oseguera, L. & Hurtado, S., (2007). Losing ground: Exploring racial/ethnic enrollment shifts in freshman access to selective institutions. In G. Orfield, P. Marin, S.M. Flores, & L.M. Garces (Eds.), Charting the Future of College Affirmative Action: Legal Victories, Continuing Attacks, and New Research.Los Angeles: The Civil Rights Project at UCLA.

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.

Recent Awards

Spencer Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship
UCLA-HEOC Faculty Award

Boards, Committees and Associations

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)

Current Research Projects and Grants

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)

The Vanishing Latino Male in Higher Education (sponsor: American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education)

Current Courses

Fall: Quantitative Research Design and Analysis (EDA 381P)

Fall: Survey Research Methods in Postsecondary Education (EDA 383)

Spring: Legislative Issues in Higher Education (EDA 391K)

Spring: Public Policy Seminar (MAS 362)

Research Interests and Expertise

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

Last Updated : August 25th 2009, 10:48:27 PM

the university of texas at austin
the college of education
powered by modx . xhtml1.1 . css2