Posted on August 29, 2023 by Honors College
This week, UTSA Vice Provost for Honors Education Jill Fleuriet announced the appointment of faculty members Hector Aguilar and Gina Amatangelo as associate deans for the Honors College.
This week, UTSA Vice Provost for Honors Education Jill Fleuriet announced the appointment of faculty members Hector Aguilar and Gina Amatangelo as associate deans for the Honors College.
“Both Hector and Gina served as Faculty Fellows for the college last academic year and their contributions have been tremendous,” said Fleuriet. “We are delighted that these two outstanding faculty members will continue to help us grow and advance our impact with students.”
Aguilar and Amatangelo are both award-winning educators who have shown years of dedication to UTSA students and the university’s advancement to become a model Hispanic thriving research university where aspiring students from all backgrounds experience a life-changing education leading to a bold future. They are both recipients of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the highest teaching award in the University of Texas System, and are members of the UTSA Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars.
Aguilar, a distinguished teaching professor in the UTSA College of Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, will serve as associate dean for academic affairs for the Honors College.
With a focus on undergraduate and faculty affairs, Aguilar will help develop and oversee courses that will continue to advance the college’s exceptional experiential learning opportunities and high impact teaching practices. He will also work closely with UTSA’s degree-granting colleges to advance honors education across the university. Lastly, he will oversee the college’s Faculty Fellows initiative, a program that affords faculty members from across the university the opportunity to gain valuable administrative experience and lead innovative projects aimed at supporting the honors student experience. Aguilar will continue to teach in the chemistry department, as well.
Amatangelo, an associate professor of practice in the UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy’s Department of Public Administration, will serve as the Honors College’s first associate dean for strategic initiatives.
In this new role, Amatangelo will work with internal and external partners to develop honors initiatives that offer new pathways for students to benefit from the signature experiential learning offerings UTSA Honors is known for. She will focus on local communities that are underrepresented at UTSA, in particular. In addition, she will oversee the development of assessments of student outcomes, curriculum and belonging in honors. In addition to this administrative role, Amatangelo will continue to teach in the public administration department.
Together, Aguilar and Amatangelo will also work with partners across campus to help facilitate the growth of an honors undergraduate research infrastructure at UTSA.
Home to roughly 2,000 hardworking, achievement-oriented, conscientious students across all majors, the UTSA Honors College offers one of the most unique experiential honors curricula in the nation. Its practical, hands-on approach to learning allows students to chart their own path and achieve their highest potential.
Students can be invited to join the Honors College either when they enter UTSA as either first-time college students or transfers. In addition, current UTSA students are eligible to join the college if they have completed between 12 and 45 credit hours and earned a 3.5+ GPA.
Honors College students enjoy many benefits, including priority registration, eligibility for honors scholarships, access to competitive funding opportunities, participation in a residential honors experience, networking with top students and employers in the region and beyond, mentoring from special counselors and peer coaches, priority consideration for special programs like Citymester and Legislative Fellows, and participation in uniquely designed experiential courses that encourage them to gain practical skills beyond their majors.
Learn more about the UTSA Honors College.
— Honors College
