Biography

Rumaldo Z. Juarez, a native of Robstown, became the 17th president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville in August 2002 and retired in 2010. Juarez served as dean and professor in the College of Health Professions at Southwest Texas State University (Texas State University) from 1994-2002. From 1981 to 1994 he worked at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, where he served as department chair and professor of the department of sociology and social work and also as Executive Director of the UT System Texas-Mexico Border Health Coordination Office. Juarez also has taught at the University of Arizona and has had adjunct appointments at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, UT Medical Branch-Galveston and the University of North Texas. Between 1979 and 1981 he was a social science analyst in the Office of Evaluation and Technical Analysis, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. Post graduate experience includes the W.K. Kellogg Fellowship, the Gerontological Society of America Fellowship and the Management Development Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Juarez' subject areas of special interest are sociology of health, social gerontology, health services research, sociological theory, minority populations, social change and environmental health. He has published research pertaining to the Hispanic elderly, vital and health statistics, Texas-Mexico Border demographics and health statistics, diabetes in Hispanic populations and educational aspirations of Hispanic youth. He is a member of the Gerontological Society of America and has served on numerous local, state and national advisory and editorial boards. He has received several awards, including the Association of Schools of Allied Health Cultural Pluralism Award, the Texas Society of Allied Health Professions Outstanding Service Award, LULAC Outstanding Service Award, UT-Pan Am Service Award and UT-Pan Am Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Penn State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Distinguished Alumnus. Juarez received his doctoral degree in rural sociology from Penn State University and has bachelors and masters degrees in sociology from Texas A&M University in College Station. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps and is a Vietnam Veteran.