Dr. Max Castillo is president of the University of Houston-Downtown, a public, liberal arts university in the UH System and the most diverse of its kind in the western U.S. He has a B.A. and an M.A. degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio and an Ed.D. from the University of Houston . Dr. Castillo served as president of San Antonio College for ten years until 1992, when he assumed leadership of UH-Downtown.

Dr. Castillo has positioned the institution as part of the economic, social and civic well-being of the metropolitan area. Since 1993 he has:

• Corrected a severe shortage of space through construction of three new buildings, including the Academic Building and Jesse H. Jones Student Life Center (1997); the Commerce Street Building (2004); and redevelopment of the historic Willow Street Pump Station which serves as community meeting and exhibition space.
• Worked to lift a statutory prohibition on graduate programs at the university, which led to the development of masters programs in criminal justice, teaching, professional writing and security management.
• Eased the seamless transition into UHD from two-year colleges through articulation and joint admissions agreements with local community college systems, increasing transfer student enrollment to UHD by more than 33%.
• Extended educational access to UH-Downtown by adding the Weekend College, expanding on-line and off-campus course offerings, and creating the Urban Teacher Education program, the College of Public Service, and the University College Learners Community for first-generation-in-college students.
• Expanded pre-college preparatory programs and corporate/community collaborations; relationships with local school districts; and implemented matching scholarship funds to aid UH-Downtown students with financial needs.
• Advanced the university's corporate, foundation and federal funding support for academic programs such as the Scholars Academy in the College of Sciences and Technology, increasing the university's endowment by 83% in the past ten years and positioning the university for future growth and greater financial solvency.
• Established a center for transfer students.

Dr. Castillo continues to establish the institution's distinction as Houston's Downtown University . In the immediate future the university will:

• Construct a new building for the College of Business by Fall 2007
• Develop a masters degree program in the College
  of Business.

Professional Involvement:

• Holds leadership positions on the Commission on Minorities in Higher Education of the American Council on Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
• Served on the board of the American Council on Education (ACE), and the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP); the Texas Campus Compact.
• Serves on the board of the Intercultural Development and Research Association (IDRA) and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Foundation
• Forged partnerships in the international arena, at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Tamaulipas in Tampico, Mexico, and with the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; Taiwan, the United Kingdom and France.
• Served as the Chairman of the Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors (CPUPC) in Texas, as President of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities (ATCU), on the boards of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and remains an active member in most of the organizations.

Civic Involvement

Salvation Army, Acres Home Citizens Chamber of Commerce, Central Houston, Inc., Houston Zoological Society, Project GRAD

Honors and Awards

• Featured in Hispanic Magazine March 2005
• Recognized by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County with the "La Familia," award in Spring 2003
• Honored by the U.S. Army Medical Command for significant accomplishments in education in 2003
• Received Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Houston College of Education in 1991
• Received Meritorious Service Award from the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education in 1990
• Was recognized in 1987 as one of the nation's top influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine
• Honored with the Angel Award for creating scholarship opportunities by the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Consulate General of Mexico, and the Consejo Empresarial Mexicano en Houston