Dr. Victor Sáenz

Victor B. Sáenz, Ph.D. is the W. K. Kellogg Professor in Community College Leadership and the Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at University of Texas at Austin. He holds courtesy appointments with the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Center for Mexican American Studies, and various other research centers across the University. His current work advances research-informed best practices and policy solutions that improve educational outcomes for underserved students in education, with a special emphasis on boys and young men of color. In 2010 Sáenz co-founded an award-winning mentoring initiative at UT-Austin called Project MALES, a multi-pronged effort focused on advancing educational outcomes for male students of color (based within the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement).

Sáenz has co-authored three books and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and 20 book chapters, and his work has been cited over six thousand times in numerous policy reports, scholarly publications, and by local and national media. He has presented his research at countless conferences, meetings, and institutions across North America, including at the White House, the National Press Club, on Capitol Hill, and in Puebla, Mexico. Dr. Sáenz earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change in 2005 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also completed a Master's in Education in 2002. He also earned a Master's degree in Public Affairs (1999, LBJ School of Public Affairs) and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (1996, College of Natural Sciences) from the University of Texas at Austin.