Victor B. Sáenz serves as the Associate Dean for Student Success, Community Engagement, and Administration in the College of Education and as the L. D. Haskew Centennial Professor in Public School Administration in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds courtesy appointments with the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Center for Mexican American Studies, the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, the Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute, the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis, and the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute.
Sáenz's current work advances research-informed best practices and policy solutions that improve educational outcomes for underserved students in education, with a special emphasis on boys and young men of color. In 2010 Sáenz co-founded an award-winning initiative at UT-Austin, a multi-pronged effort focused on advancing educational outcomes for male students of color. Under Project MALES he launched a nationally recognized Student Mentoring Program that partners with local schools to connect undergraduate peer mentors with middle school and high school male students. He also co-created a network of K-12 and higher education institutions called the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color that focuses on advancing educational outcomes for this critical student population. Supported by grants from the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF), the Trellis Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation, this statewide collaborative focuses on improving educational outcomes for male students of color across the state of Texas. The Consortium is made up of over thirty institutional partners in K-12 and higher education, and it seeks to align and coordinate existing programs and services across the education continuum.
Over the years, Sáenz has received various research and service recognitions for his support of schools, students, and communities (e.g., Somos Austin, Seedling Mentors, Catch the Next). In 2009 he was named by Diverse Magazine as "One of 25 to Watch" diversity leaders in American higher education. In fall 2010, he was recognized as one of seven "ING Professors of Excellence" among over two thousand faculty members at the University of Texas. In 2018 he received a Research Award from the AERA Hispanic Research Issues SIG, and in 2022 he received the Mentoring Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education. He has also earned several faculty fellowships at UT-Austin and is currently the holder of the W.K. Kellogg Professorship in Community College Leadership.
Sáenz has co-authored three books and has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and his work has been cited in numerous policy reports, scholarly publications, and by local and national media. He has presented his research at countless conferences and meetings across the country, including at the White House, the National Press Club, and on Capitol Hill. Sáenz is a member of two distinguished editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals in his field, and he is an active member of several national associations focused on higher education issues, including ASHE, AERA, AIR, AAHHE, and TACHE. He has also served on the national boards of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, the National Resource Center for the First Year Experience, the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium, and the Texas Puente Project (Catch the Next). Locally he serves on the UT Elementary School Management Board, the Ann Richards School Foundation Board, and the Texas Lyceum Board. He is currently the Board Chair of AAHHE, a national association committed to advancing leadership opportunities for the Latinx community in higher education.
Dr. Sáenz earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change in 2005 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also completed a Master's in Education in 2002. He also earned a Master's degree in Public Affairs (1999, LBJ School of Public Affairs) and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics (1996, College of Natural Sciences) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Sáenz is a fourth-generation Texan and a second-generation Longhorn.
Ph.D.
in Education, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A.
in Education, University of California, Los Angeles
M.P.A.
, The University of Texas at Austin
B.A.
in Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin
Leads the Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success Initiative focused on Latino males in education; seeks to advance research-informed policy solutions that enhance educational outcomes for students in secondary and post-secondary education.
Board Member,
Austin PBS (2022 - 2025)
Board Chair,
American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (2021 - 2023)
Board Member,
Texas Lyceum (2020 - 2023)
Board Member,
Executive Committee, Ann Richards School Foundation (2019 - 2022)
Board Member,
American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (2016 - 2021)
Board Member,
University of Texas Elementary School Management Board (2016 - 2022)
Board Member,
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) (2015 - 2017)
Board Member,
National Resource Center for the First Year Experience (2014 - 2018)
Board Member,
Texas Puente Project (Catch the Next) (2014 - 2017)
Board Member,
Hispanic Scholarship Consortium (2013 - 2017)
Secretary,
Division J, American Educational Research Association (2013 - 2015)
Member,
Editorial Board, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education (2012 - Present)
Member,
Editorial Board, College Student Affairs Journal (2010 - Present)
Member,
Association for the Study of Higher Education
Member,
American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education
Rodriguez, S.., Massey, K.. & Saenz, V.B.. (2017). Engaging Latino men in community colleges: The role of student-faculty interactions. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College.
Hatch, D.K.., Garcia, C.E.. & Saenz, V.B.. (2017). Latino men in two-year public colleges: State-level enrollment changes and trends over the last decade. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College.
Ozuna, T.., Saenz, V.B.., Ballysingh, T.. & Yamamura, E.. (2016). Increasing Latina/o student success. Examining culturally responsive college readiness in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.. Journal of School Leadership, 26(154-182).
Saenz, V.B.. (2016). The Latino agenda is the national agenda. Chronicle of Higher Education.
Saenz, V.B.., Mayo, J.., Miller, R.. & Rodriguez, S.. (2015). (Re)defining masculinity through peer interactions: Latino men in Texas community colleges.. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 52(2), 1-12.
Saenz, V.B.., Ponjuan, L.., Segovia Jr., J.. & Del Real Viramontes, J.. (2015). Developing a Latino mentoring program: Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success). New Directions for Higher Education, Mentoring as Transformative Practice: Supporting Student and Faculty Diversity.
Santos, J.L.. & Saenz, V.B.. (2014). In the eye of the perfect storm: The convergence of policy and Latina/o trends in access and financial concerns, 1975-2008.. Educational Policy, 28, 393-424.
Saenz, V., Bukoski, B., Lu, C. & Rodriguez, S. (2013). Latino males in Texas community colleges: A phenomenological study of masculinity constructs and their effect on college experiences.. Journal of African American Males in Education.
Reddick, R. & Saenz, V. (2012). Coming home: Hermanos académicos reflect on paths and present realities as professors at their alma maters.. Harvard Educational Review, 82(3), 353-380.
Saenz, V., Hatch, D., Bukoski, B., Kim, S., Lee, K. & Valdez, P. (2011). Community college student engagement patterns: A typology revealed through exploratory cluster analysis.. Community College Review, 39(3), 325-267.
Saenz, V. & Wasielewski, M. (2011). Natural advantages? Texas higher education funding and financial aid.. Enrollment Management Journal.
Saenz, V. (2010). Breaking the segregation cycle: Examining students pre-college racial environments and college experiences.. Review of Higher Education, 34, 1-37.
Saenz, V., Ngai, H. & Hurtado, S. (2007). Factors influencing positive interactions across race for African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and White college students.. Research in Higher Education, 48, 1-38.
Mentoring Award
- Association for the Study of Higher Education (2022 - 2022)
University Faculty Award
- Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) (2022 - 2022)
Austin Fab Five
- Seedling Mentor Program (2021)
Hispanic Service Award
- Austin Independent School District (2019)
Somos Austin Award
- Austin Community Foundation (2019)
Research Award in Elementary, Secondary, or Postsecondary Education
- AERA Hispanic Research Issues SIG (2018)
A.M. Aikin Regents Chair in Junior & Community College Education Leadership
- UT-Austin College of Education (2015 - 2016)
Distinguished Alumnus Award
- National Hispanic Institute (2013)
Corazon Award
- The University of Texas at Austin, Con Mi Madre (2013)
Sid W. Richardson Regents Chair in Community College Leadership
- UT-Austin College of Education (2013 - 2020)
"Top 25 to Watch" Diverse Leaders in Higher Education
- Diverse Magazine (2009)
Faculty Fellow
- American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (2009)
Pre-doctoral Fellowship, UCLA
- Spencer Foundation (2001 - 2004)
