University President

Dr. Pablo Arenaz is the sixth president of Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and was affirmed by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in November 2016. Prior to assuming the President’s role, he served as eight years as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

He holds his Ph.D. in Genetics and Cell Biology from Washington State University and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR).  His B.S. in Education was also earned at UNR. He conducted postdoctoral research at Temple University’s School of Medicine, Fels Research Institute. His academic appointments have included assistant, associate, and full professor of Biology.

Since arriving at TAMIU, Dr. Arenaz has focused on enhancing academic quality, building research capacity and scholarship, and increasing both curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students, including internship and research opportunities.

Prior to joining TAMIU as Provost in 2008, Dr. Arenaz served as Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).  Other UTEP posts included Vice Provost, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean for the Colleges of Science and Engineering.

He has been active in securing research grants in excess of $35 million from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of America, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, among others.

His research interests have been tightly focused on cell cycle regulation of DNA repair gene expression, with particular interest in the observable physical characteristics associated with the so-called “mutator” phenotype and its relationship to cancer.

He is fascinated by the ever-growing intersections between science and business, and is personally committed to encouraging students of all ages to broaden their STEM experience and take on research opportunities, no matter their chosen higher education degree journey.

Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dr. Arenaz’ family traces their ancestry to the Basque Country of northern Spain.

He has been married to Norma Arenaz for 33 years.  The couple has four children:  Jonathan, Cristina, Rebekah, and Pablo III.