Marie Mora will join UMSL on July 1 as the associate provost for academic affairs. (Graphic by Wendy Allison, photo courtesy of Marie Mora)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis has selected Marie Mora, who has most recently been associate vice provost for faculty diversity at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, to become the associate provost for academic affairs.

Mora will assume the role July 1.

“I am so pleased that Dr. Mora will be joining our team to help meet our strategic goals and advance our mission,” said Kristin Sobolik, UMSL’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “She is a dynamic leader with an extensive background in faculty development, inclusion initiatives and large-scale institutional grants that support leadership development and faculty collaboration.”

In her role, Mora will serve as the point person in the provost’s office for strategic planning, assessment and accreditation as well as programs and curriculum. She will also be a key partner in ongoing diversity and equity initiatives, faculty engagement, development and academic personnel matters.

“This is an exciting time to be at UMSL with its new strategic plan and goals as well as its dynamic and inspiring mission statement: We transform lives,” Mora said. “I am also excited about the broad range of strategic and operational responsibilities the position encompasses and look forward to working with Provost Kristin Sobolik and the rest of her team in academic affairs to transform lives.”

At UTRGV, she oversees a variety of innovative programs, including the Women’s Faculty Network, ADVANCE Associate to Full Professor Program, ADVANCE Women’s Leadership Workshop, Faculty Travel Support Program and Faculty Excellence Awards. She also serves as a professor of economics and is director of the American Economic Association Mentoring Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

She’s been an active researcher during her career, earning $3 million in external funding as a principal investigator or co-PI. She’s also penned two books on Hispanic socioeconomic outcomes, was named one of the “75 Top Economics Influencers to Follow” by FocusEconomics and served as past president and founding member of the American Society of Hispanic Economists.

Mora earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of New Mexico and a PhD from Texas A&M University.

Prior to her appointment at UTRGV, Mora served as vice provost fellow for faculty affairs at the University of Texas–Pan American, MBA program director at UTPA and as an assistant, then associate professor of economics at New Mexico State University.

“I look forward to working with Marie to advance our collaborative efforts across campus and increase developmental programming and outreach,” Sobolik said. “She will be an excellent partner and resource for our academic community.”