Dean Frances Contreras honored in San Diego with "Dr. Frances Contreras Day"
In December 2021, the San Diego City Council honored UCI School of Education Dean Frances Contreras by declaring December 17 “Dr. Frances Contreras Day” in the city of San Diego.
The proclamation came days prior to Contreras beginning her tenure as dean of the UCI School of Education. Prior to joining UCI, Contreras served as associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and as a professor in the Department of Education Studies at UC San Diego. As associate vice chancellor, Contreras provided campus leadership with guidance on faculty recruitment and retention, as well as campus climate. “Having been published in national, leading education journals for her focus on student equity and access for underrepresented students, and the role of public policy in ensuring these goals, Professor Contreras’s work in San Diego has made UCSD a welcoming, supporting campus for all students,” Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said. “While we will miss her in San Diego, the impact she has made will remain.” Contreras’s research focuses on issues of equity and access for underrepresented students in the education pipeline and the role of public policy in ensuring student equity across a P-20 continuum. Her work has been published in leading education journals and presses, and her books include Achieving Equity for Latino Students, Expanding the Pathway to Higher Education through Public Policy; The Latino Education Crisis; and High Achieving African American Students and the College Choice Process: Applications of Critical Race Theory. |
“Her focus on equity and diversity has ensured that students graduating from UCSD are well-rounded, equity-minded individuals,” said Councilmember Joe LaCava. “This work is important and valuable to who we are as a city, and who we are as a region.”
“We as a city are better because of the contributions of people like Dr. Contreras,” said Councilmember Raul Campillo. “I would like to thank Dr. Contreras for her immense contributions to the world of education and academia, and congratulate her on her appointment as dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Education.”
Contreras is currently a co-principal investigator on three advancing-faculty-diversity grants funded by the UC Office of the President and is co-chair of the UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council and on the UC Hispanic-Serving Institutions Initiative advisory board. Her research agenda on Latino students and HSIs provides an important contribution to UCI, which is classified as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.
"I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this recognition,” Contreras said. “During my time at UC San Diego, I was fortunate to engage in collaborative efforts and projects that led to institutional change and regional impact. It’s incredibly heartening to hear of the impact I had on students and the San Diego community. I know that the work for equity and justice transcends institutional affiliations. I am excited to bring this same passion, vision and focus to the UCI School of Education.”
“We as a city are better because of the contributions of people like Dr. Contreras,” said Councilmember Raul Campillo. “I would like to thank Dr. Contreras for her immense contributions to the world of education and academia, and congratulate her on her appointment as dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Education.”
Contreras is currently a co-principal investigator on three advancing-faculty-diversity grants funded by the UC Office of the President and is co-chair of the UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council and on the UC Hispanic-Serving Institutions Initiative advisory board. Her research agenda on Latino students and HSIs provides an important contribution to UCI, which is classified as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.
"I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this recognition,” Contreras said. “During my time at UC San Diego, I was fortunate to engage in collaborative efforts and projects that led to institutional change and regional impact. It’s incredibly heartening to hear of the impact I had on students and the San Diego community. I know that the work for equity and justice transcends institutional affiliations. I am excited to bring this same passion, vision and focus to the UCI School of Education.”
On January 1, upon assuming the role as dean of the UCI School of Education, Contreras became the first Chicana/Latina dean to head a school of education in the University of California system. She is a first-generation college student, having earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in education from Stanford University.
“I became interested in leading the UCI School of Education because of its community,” Contreras said. “This is the home to world-class research; partnerships that improve educational access and opportunity; a devoted and selfless staff; and talented students who are imbued with the knowledge and values to effect change in communities across the world. The School of Education is also a community where diverse viewpoints, backgrounds and aspirations are welcomed, and where individuals work together to produce unparalleled results. |
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“My vision is to lead the School of Education by placing equity, diversity and racial justice at the center of its priorities and build on the impressive record the school possesses on campus and with its community partners and schools,” Contreras added. “I plan to work with my fellow faculty to increase teacher diversity, support educational innovation, develop degree programs in higher education, and foster our collective research to benefit the Orange County region, state and nation.”