TAMIU Names Dr. Claudia E. San Miguel Its Provost, VP for Academic Affairs
With the Fall semester on the horizon, Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has announced that long-time faculty member and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Claudia E. San Miguel will be the University’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
TAMIU President Dr. Pablo Arenaz said that after an exhaustive national search, the University has found its Provost close to home.
“Our search committee conducted a nationwide search, attracting some very impressive candidates, but determined that our most qualified candidate was someone with an extensive knowledge of our campus, our culture, and our community. Dr. San Miguel will be our first female and first Hispanic Provost. She has already achieved a remarkable legacy of teaching, research, and service to the University, and we believe she is keenly positioned to continue that legacy as our new Provost,” Dr. Arenaz said.
Dr. San Miguel said she is honored and eager to serve.
“It is my sincere honor to serve as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. As an alumna of TAMIU and part of the first cohort of students to take classes on this beautiful campus when it opened its doors in 1995, I am immensely proud to be a TAMIU graduate. I am equally proud to serve as both a faculty member and administrator for the past 20 years. This University has been a trailblazer for student success across the region, state, and nation. Accolades continuously demonstrate that TAMIU offers an accessible and exceptional education at an affordable price. Our graduates are also leaders in their chosen professions and have blazed a trail of success across diverse industries and professions,” San Miguel observed.
San Miguel noted that Academic Affairs impacts student and faculty success.
“Academic Affairs plays a crucial role in student success as it offers an array of course offerings to ensure education remains accessible to all students, traditional and non-traditional. Together with faculty, Academic Affairs assesses workforce needs and proposes new degree programs, such as those in business, education, nursing and health sciences, as well as in the arts, engineering, and sciences,” she explained.
The Provost also leads efforts to attract the University’s gifted faculty, she noted.
“Academic Affairs recruits outstanding faculty to provide world-class education inside and outside the classroom for our students. Our faculty are also trailblazers, earning acclaim for teaching effectiveness, research, and service to their field. To affirm outstanding experiences and successful outcomes for our students, I must also prioritize faculty and provide the resources and necessary support to be successful in and outside the classroom,” she said.
San Miguel said she is resolute about her top priority as Provost.
“As Provost, my top priority is advancing the success of our students, first through enabling affordable and accessible courses for them to pursue their dreams, and by actively supporting their academic path to timely graduation via effective student support services such as advising, mentoring, and tutoring. TAMIU is an amazing University, and daily demonstrates an unwavering commitment to its students, staff, and faculty. Together, we will continue to serve as a beacon of higher education for all,” she concluded.
This Fall the University is readying for both degree and facility expansions.
Last March, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents greenlighted authorization of $71.2 million in planning funding for the respective construction of the Health Sciences Education and Research Center and expansion of the Western Hemispheric Trade Center.
With the close of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, TAMIU also secured $4 million in funding for the creation of new degree programs in Clinical Lab Sciences and Occupational Therapy. Coursework is set to begin in Fall 2024.
San Miguel holds her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Her M.S. and B.S., also in Criminal Justice, were earned at TAMIU. Her research and areas of specialization include the administration of justice, border and homeland security, the death penalty, domestic violence, ethics, human trafficking, immigration, justice policy, juvenile delinquency/prevention, border and homeland security, law, policing, and society.
Before becoming Provost, San Miguel served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Chair of the Department of Social Sciences, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, and Director of the Border Studies Institute/Texas Military Forces. Her research efforts have secured over $5.7 million in external grants and she is a five-time recipient of The Texas A&M University System’s Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award.
The first female and first Hispanic President of the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice, she has also earned the Senator Judith Zaffirini Scholarship and Leadership Award and the University’s Largest Sponsored Research Award. She currently leads the University’s federally funded Center for Countering Human Trafficking, focused on conducting research to produce evidence-based curricula to help future educators and healthcare workers likely to encounter human trafficking victims in South Texas.
She has co-authored five books on criminal justice and related Constitutional issues and has taught courses in human trafficking for the U.S. State Department at the International Law Enforcement Academy.
Dr. San Miguel follows retiring Provost Dr. Tom R. Mitchell, who completed over 50 years of service in higher education and retired earlier this month.
Registration for TAMIU’s Fall 2023 is now underway. View the registration schedule here: https://www.tamiu.edu/registrar/registration.shtml.
To learn more about TAMIU’s Registration processes, visit the dedicated Registration Hub at https://go.tamiu.edu/registration.
As a result of actions taken by the Texas Legislature to address affordability in higher education, all resident undergraduate academic costs, including tuition, mandatory academic fees, all academic-related general fees, and college course fees, have been frozen for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years at TAMIU. This is the third consecutive year that the University has not increased these fees.
University news and information can also be found online at tamiu.edu and on TAMIU’s social channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
