UCSB professor receives the Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Education Award

SANTA BARBARA — For the second time, Aída Hurtado, a professor and Luis Leal Endowed Chair in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, was selected to receive the Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Education (Research Institutions) Award from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE).

Presented at the AAHHE’s ninth annual conference held March 6-8 in Costa Mesa, Calif., the award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated excellence in both research and teaching and has provided significant contributions to his or her academic discipline.

“This award honors Professor Hurtado’s vision and innovative research in Chicano/a and Latino/a studies,” said Denise Segura, chair of UCSB’s Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and a professor of sociology. Segura received the same award in 2009.

“I’m deeply humbled and honored by receiving this honor,” said Hurtado. “I’m especially gratified that I’m receiving this award for my research on education: given the changing demographics in California and beyond, giving access to higher education to underrepresented students is an urgent social and economic issue.”

A social psychologist whose research focuses on race, class, ethnicity, sexuality and gender, Hurtado came to UCSB from UC Santa Cruz, where she spent more than 20 years as a scholar in the psychology department. Hurtado, who earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is the author of several books.