Laura M. Sáenz, Ph.D.
Dr. Laura M. Sáenz is the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Institutional Assessment in the Division of Academic Affairs. She is a Rio Grande Valley native and has worked at UTRGV and one of its legacy institutions (UTPA) for more than 20 years in teaching, research, and administration positions. Since 2009, she has held several administrative positions as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the College of Education (2009-2012), Associate Provost for Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment (2012-2014), and Interim Dean of the College of Education (2014-2015), and her current position of Vice Provost for Curriculum and Institutional Assessment. In these positions, she has developed expertise in many aspects of higher education such as program development, specialized accreditation, program review, undergraduate curriculum and advisement, student learning outcome assessment, P-16 partnerships, college readiness initiatives, community engagement, institutional policy development, articulation agreements, and resource management. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s in Education from Texas State University and a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with teacher certification in K-8 general education and K-12 special education. She was a special education teacher in McAllen ISD and Weslaco ISD in her early career prior to beginning her faculty role in 1999 at UTPA. Her teaching and research have focused on effective literacy practices for at-risk population including students with disabilities and English learners. She has extensive experience conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials in public school settings.