Stetson University alumna Vasti Torres has been named Dean of College Education at the University of South Florida, it was announced in the spring by USF Provost Ralph Wilcox.

Torres leaves her position as director of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University-Bloomington, and begins her new position at USF this summer.

Wilcox noted Torres’ experiences in issues concerning higher education and her “personal research concentration on the college experience of Latino students” as playing a major role in choosing her for the position.

Torres graduated from Stetson in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication. Torres spoke highly of her Stetson undergraduate experience helping prepare her for the position.

“My undergraduate education made me a good thinker – while some may not value this aspect of education, to me it has been the most important skill I could have learned,” Torres stated. “As a dean of a College of Education, I understand that our role is to help others become good and thoughtful thinkers.”

Torres earned her master’s degree in student personnel, and a Ph.D. in student affairs administration at the University of Georgia.

Torres expressed excitement in returning to her home state.

“I think education as a whole is really being looked at with a microscope,” Torres said. “As faculty and researchers at an institution, we need to respond with evidence-based practices that will really make a difference with student-based learning. That’s where we really need to shepherd the learning with students in the classroom.”

In addition to being a top university administrator, Torres is a critically acclaimed conference speaker, author and co-author. Her upcoming work, The Latino College Student Experience: Understanding Developmental and Environmental Influences, incorporates her personal research.

She has received numerous honors including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ Contribution to Research and Literature Award.

by Maurie Murray