Pedro Reyes, Ph.D., is passionate about teaching and research on student success. In his writing, Dr. Reyes focuses on education and opportunity, particularly student success among children living in poverty. His work examines the intersection of leadership and policy, emphasizing educator and administrator turnover and burnout. His research centers on culturally and linguistically diverse and often marginalized students, including urban students, language learners, migrant students, and border students. His academic work has moved beyond "the blaming game" and focuses on what is possible for these students and their success in schools.

Research and Academic Interests
I am an education policy and leadership researcher, and my primary scholarly expertise is examining state or national policies that create educational inequality and opportunity gaps. I primarily use sociological theory and methods to study these problems. Broadly, my research focuses on education and opportunity. I conduct mixed-methods research on educational transitions from childhood to adulthood and on how these transitions relate to socioeconomic attainment and inequality among students, particularly those often marginalized in schools. Currently, I work on three interrelated themes. The first is educational transitions; the second concerns how principals and teachers affect students’ academic outcomes and how students manage and cope with language disparities. The third focuses on school policy efforts and how those reforms affect students experiencing poverty.

The first line of work focuses on improving student transitions from K-12 to postsecondary education and into adulthood. I am exploring three primary research questions: 1) To what extent are leaders and educators providing quality learning opportunities for children living in high-poverty communities? 2) What programs and practices enhance student success and opportunities? 3) What is the role of families and others in successful student transitions for students living in high-poverty communities?

The second line of work examines how principals and teachers affect students’ academic outcomes; I am studying the following questions: What leadership practices enhance student success in schools? How do teachers and other educators facilitate student success in the classroom? To what extent do educator and administrator turnover and burnout facilitate or impede the success of children experiencing poverty?

The third line of work focuses on how policy and reform changes affect marginalized students. In this area, I examine how urban students, migrant students, and English Language learners are affected by different organizational designs in schools; in particular, I study the policies that create those new structures and how they exclude or include children experiencing poverty. I also examine the intended and unintended outcomes of these policies and reforms. I also focus on the extent to which school policies and reforms facilitate learning opportunities for students experiencing high poverty.

Reyes has authored several books, including Resiliency and Success: Migrant Children in the US (2004); Lessons from High Poverty High Performing Schools: Creating Learning Communities (1999); and Teachers and Their Workplace: Commitment, Performance, and Productivity (1990). In addition, Dr. Reyes has authored more than 100 scholarly articles, book chapters, and monographs in several prestigious journals, such as Educational Researcher, Educational Administration Quarterly, the High School Journal, Journal of Educational Research, AERA Open, Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Educational Policy, Journal of Special Education Research, and the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. He has also presented numerous papers at national and international academic conferences and held editorial positions with several scholarly journals, including serving as editor of the book review section of Educational Researcher and as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.

Reyes has secured more than $25 million in research development grants from foundations including The Spencer Foundation, The Gates Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, The Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation, the Texas Education Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Houston Endowment, Inc., The Brown Foundation, and the U. S. Department of Education. Currently, he is the executive director of the Texas Education Research Center, whose mission is to maintain a longitudinal data system for the State of Texas and to provide social scientists and other researchers with secure access to this database to study and analyze significant questions to improve educational policy, educational outcomes, and labor outcomes.

He holds the Ashbel Smith Professorship (university-wide appointment) in Education Policy and Administration at UT Austin. Reyes began his career as an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Kansas at Lawrence from 1985 to 86. He returned to the University of Wisconsin as a faculty member; later, he moved to the University of Texas at Austin, where he has served for the past 35 years.

Academic Leadership and Service at The University of Texas System
Dr. Reyes served as an executive leader at The University of Texas System, first as associate vice chancellor, then as interim, and finally as executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs from August 2003 to August 2016. He also served as senior special advisor to Chancellor William H. McRaven. As executive vice chancellor, Reyes oversaw nine academic institutions and their presidents. He advised university presidents, the chancellor, and the Board of Regents on policy, higher education finance, capital construction, and other aspects of higher education.

As executive vice chancellor, he helped establish the Dell Medical School, which is already playing a pivotal role in positioning The University of Texas at Austin to become America's finest public university. He also led the effort to establish a new university and collaborated to create a new medical school in South Texas, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). By 2016, UTRGV had become one of the nation's largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and for the first time, universities in this region of Texas became eligible to receive Permanent University Funds (PUF) from the oil and gas proceeds derived from UT's University Lands.

Before UTRGV was created, academic campuses in South Texas were ineligible for these funds due to constitutional restrictions; this significant inequity needed to change. After the legislature established UTRGV, it became eligible for PUF, marking a new era of educational opportunity and healthcare for this underserved region of Texas and the nation. In addition, he helped draft legislation to establish and fund emerging research universities in Texas to become Tier One Universities (Research Intensive) through STARS (30M annually) funding allocated by the UT Board of Regents, along with additional state funding. Finally, he collaborated with the chancellor to develop and implement The Framework for Advancing Excellence, which received national recognition from the White House. These successes were achieved by implementing a unified vision, fostering alignment with the UT Board of Regents and campus presidents, empowering campus leadership, working closely with state legislative leadership, and a hard, unrelenting personal work ethic.
As associate vice chancellor and a member of the Executive Officers at UT System, Dr. Reyes worked primarily in education policy and in enhancing the research capabilities of multiple academic institutions. He also directed the Student Learning Assessment Project for academic institutions and Academic Initiatives for Academic Affairs, including managing a multimillion-dollar fund to improve research infrastructure and capacity across institutions. Dr. Reyes helped execute the University of Texas System's annual tuition and fee plan and annual budget presentations. He served on System Task Forces addressing issues such as capital planning and admissions. Dr. Reyes also served on the boards of external education organizations, including the P-16 Council and the Texas Education Reform Foundation. Dr. Reyes helped create and lead the Institute for Public School Initiatives, which spent $10 million annually on research.

Before his roles as an executive at UT System, Dr. Reyes served as associate dean of Graduate Studies and professor of Education Policy and Administration at The University of Texas at Austin from 1996 to 2003. As associate dean, Dr. Reyes assisted the vice president and dean of the Graduate School with overall graduate academic policy, inter-institutional collaboration, student recruitment, fellowship administration, and reviewing and evaluating graduate programs in the social sciences and professional schools. He managed multimillion-dollar budgets and significant resources for fellowship awards. During this period (Post-Hopwood), Dr. Reyes helped develop race-neutral fellowship programs to comply with the Supreme Court decision on university admissions (Hopwood v. University of Texas, 1996).

Academic Leadership at The University of Texas at San Antonio
Recently, Reyes concluded his tenure as president ad interim of The University of Texas at San Antonio and served as the university's chief executive officer until September 2017. He oversaw a $550 million budget. The university enrolled more than 30,000 students and comprised 10 fully accredited colleges and schools. It boasts major research centers and institutes focused on economic development and community engagement, as well as the Institute of Texan Cultures, which houses cultural and historical artifacts from those who founded the State of Texas. Drawing on a career in teaching, research, and administration, Reyes' work focused on defining UTSA's strategic academic goals and priorities to advance university excellence, enhance undergraduate student success, and develop a vision to integrate the university with local, state, and global communities.

Education and Awards
Dr. Reyes received a B.A. in Latin American History and Education and a Ph.D. in Education Policy & Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1985 to 1986, Dr. Reyes served on the faculty at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, then returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he stayed until 1990. In December 1990, Dr. Reyes joined The University of Texas at Austin, serving as a member of the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy.

Dr. Reyes has received several notable professional honors. In 2018, he received the Roald Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award from the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), a national consortium of higher education institutions dedicated to improving education policy and administration. He served as UCEA president in 1991. In 1992, he received the Past President's Award for his leadership of UCEA. The National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation selected Dr. Reyes as a postdoctoral fellow. He also received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education. He has served on numerous national committees reviewing the quality of university programs, including the Ohio Board of Regents Review for Education Programs.

Personal Information
Dr. Reyes is married to Gloria C. Reyes, a former kindergarten teacher. They have two adult sons, Pedro Jr., who works for Travis County, and Adalberto Damian, who works for the federal government. They live in Austin and San Antonio, respectively. In his spare time, Reyes enjoys reading and traveling with his family. Museums are always at the top of his list. Outside of work, Dr. Reyes enjoys teaching and playing with his grandchildren.