Dr. Diana Natalicio Announces Her Retirement as UTEP President
In a move that has been rumored for some time, Dr. Diana Natalicio announced today her plans to retire as President of UTEP. A nationwide search will soon begin, and Dr. Natalicio did mention her desire to stay on as school president until her successor has officially been appointed to the position.
Dr. Natalicio has spent the last 30 years as President of UTEP and 45 years as a faculty member. She was recently named a Top 50 World leader by Fortune Magazine and her list of accolades is long and distinguished. When you look at how much UTEP has grown during her time leading the university, the results are staggering. Enrollment jumped from 15,000 to an all-time high of 25,078 last fall and the school's operation budget is now in excess of $450 million, compared to $65 million when Dr. Natalicio first took office. UTEP did not mention the time frame for finding her replacement, but the Director of Athletics search took about three months.