Noe Lozano : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Dr. Noé Pablo Lozano, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Engineering Diversity Programs Emeritus in Stanford’s School of Engineering, reflects on his career working in student affairs and on diversity initiatives at both Stanford and UC Santa Cruz. Lozano speaks about his upbringing as the son of migrant farmworkers and his path to UC Santa Cruz with the help of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). He recounts his time as a student and later staff member, leading the EOP to build opportunities and support for minority students. Transitioning to Stanford, Lozano describes his time as a graduate student in the School of Education; his PhD research at UC Berkeley; and the diversity programs he pioneered, including the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), the Stanford Summer Engineering Academy (SSEA), and Advanced Calculus for Engineers (ACE). He describes his intertwined efforts to recruit and support both undergraduate and graduate students; shares stories of students’ successes and struggles; and reflects on diversity strategies in higher education.
- Summary
- Part 1 [00:00:00 – 00:30:52] Parents’ backgrounds in Mexico • Growing up in Visalia, CA • Studying both Spanish and English • Parents’ immigration and citizenship process • Migrant farm worker experience • Father’s position as crew chief in Visalia meaning the family could stay in one place • Divisions between the Latino and white populations in Visalia [00:30:53 – 01:01:13] Values imparted by parents • Memories of Visalia’s Mexican American community • Running for student body president in junior high • College prep courses in high school; low expectations of Latino students • Impact of high school teachers and local optometrist • Decision to attend UC Santa Cruz; Tom Fisher’s recruitment efforts [01:01:14 – 01:28:18] Residential colleges at Santa Cruz • Tutoring and helping recruit minority students for Santa Cruz Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) • Teaching for Migrant Education Program • MEChA at UC Santa Cruz; bringing Cesar Chavez to campus • Psychology at UC Santa Cruz • Progressive nature of UC Santa Cruz • Interactions with Huey Newton • Transition to working with graduate students • Building pre-college programs • Meeting future wife, Vira [01:28:19 – 01:47:13] Getting Fisher Teaching Credential and teaching at Watsonville High School • Recruitment to graduate school at Stanford • Mentor Eugene Cota-Robles at UC Santa Cruz • Master’s program at Stanford School of Education (SUSE) • Influence of professors at Stanford: Robert Politzer, Hank Levin, and George Spindler Part 2 [00:00:00 – 00:34:46] Childhood household at the edge of Visalia • Additional information about growing the EOP at Santa Cruz, including graduate school advisor and pre-college programs • Psychosocial and cultural barriers in higher education • Black and Native American recruitment efforts at UC Santa Cruz • Improvements in minority student percentages at Stanford • Summer programs; connecting new students with student leaders • Collaborations with faculty to support minority students; research opportunities • Challenges students face when coming from under-resourced high schools [00:34:47 – 00:54:54] Stanford’s community centers compared to UC Santa Cruz EOP • Establishing graduate programs at UC Santa Cruz • Incorporating state and federal funding sources into EOP programs • PhD advisor Paul Heist and dissertation work on the relationship of graduate studies to ethnicity • Importance of students engaging with department and finding a lab early in graduate career [00:54:55 – 01:23:24] Transition to Stanford as assistant dean of graduate studies in 1980s • Establishing a summer undergraduate research program to prep students for graduate school • Importance of faculty champions • Recruiting top students from Hispanic-serving universities • LPIPE model: leadership, planning, incentives, procedures and processes, evaluation • Lozano’s role in the graduate admissions process; examples of intervening on behalf of minority students [01:23:25 – 01:52:16] Creating an environment of support for minority students • Funding sources • Advocating for minority graduate students; building trust • Move to diversity position in Stanford’s School of Engineering • New initiatives: summer undergraduate research program for minority students and Accelerated Calculus for Engineers (ACE) • Thoughts on academic enrichment vs. remedial education • Summer session grants to encourage students to build foundational skills outside of Stanford [01:52:17 – 02:14:14] Creation and success of the Stanford Summer Engineering Academy (SSEA) • Dovetailing undergraduate and graduate support programs • Corporate support • Computer Science Logic Institute for high schoolers • Engineering Opportunity Job Fair Part 3 [00:00:00 – 00:30:10] Approaches to diversity in higher education • Enrollment successes at Stanford • Retention of minority students • Legal challenges; theoretical advances • Competing for students with Berkeley and MIT • Graduation rate • National consortium efforts to support women and minority graduate students [00:30:11 – 01:02:50] Student-driven efforts to work with other California colleges and universities • Recruiting at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving institutions • Importance of faculty support for diversity efforts • Receiving the first Stanford President’s Award for Diversity and Excellence • Importance of using honorific titles, such as Dr. and Professor, when addressing underrepresented faculty and PhDs • Graduate Research Opportunities Program and the Graduate Professional Peer Advising Program [01:02:51 – 01:27:14] Diversity in Stanford’s staff and faculty; La Raza Staff Association • Establishment of a first-gen, low-income office at Stanford • Proudest moment of Stanford career--success of SSEA • Reflections on advising students and encouraging students to interact with faculty outside the classroom • Hopes for the [01:27:15 – 01:46:04] Wife Vira’s teaching career • Children and their connections to Stanford • Involvement with Palo Alto University Rotary Club and their international scholarship program • Work with Gardner Health Services • Impact of COVID-19 on Lozano’s family • Retirement
Description
| Type of resource | moving image, sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 3 video files; 3 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | December 9, 2020 - 2020-12-11 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Lozano, Noe | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Lozano, Noe | |
| Interviewer | Marine-Street, Natalie J. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford University. School of Engineering |
|---|---|
| Subject | Universities and colleges > United States > Admission |
| Subject | University of California, Santa Cruz Educational Opportunity Programs |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | Dr. Noé Pablo Lozano has over four decades of higher education experience in academic and student affairs administration, especially in outreach, recruitment, retention, and academic enrichment programs. He lectures on culture and technology, organizational behavior, psychosocial factors, cross-cultural-diversity education, and learning methods. His research involves educational learning and intervention programs with specialties in supplemental curriculum development and program innovation. Lozano served as the associate dean for student affairs and director of the Engineering Diversity Programs in the School of Engineering at Stanford University from 1989 to 2018. He guided the dean’s office policies and diversity affairs in the areas of academic assistance programs (including SSEA, ACE, and Summer Session grants); academic advising; fellowship and assistantship programs; tutorial and learning programs; and summer undergraduate research programs. He was also responsible for the Pre-college Math Institute; the Opportunity Job Fair; special co-op programs; faculty/PhD student exchanges; the Diversity Postdoc Program; and other academic assistance and advising services. He was an assistant dean of graduate studies at Stanford from 1983 to 1989. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, he served as assistant to the dean and director of the Graduate Admissions and Opportunity Program from 1979 to 1983 and in various capacities in the Educational Opportunity Program/ Student Affirmative Action Partnership Program. Lozano received a PhD with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley in Higher Education, Statistics and Curriculum Development; a master’s degree from Stanford University in Administrative Policy Analysis; and a teaching credential and bachelor’s degree with honors in Psychology with a Bio concentration from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is a Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education advisor of merit, and he has received advisor and lecturer of the year awards several times from the Stanford Terman Scholars, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, National Society of Black Engineers-Society of Black Scientists and Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers-Mexican American Engineers and Scientists-Stanford Society of Chicano/Latino Engineers and Scientists, Society of Women Engineers, and Stanford’s El Centro Chicano y Latino. He was the inaugural awardee of the Stanford University President’s Award for Excellence in Diversity. |
|---|---|
| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/sw494wt7557 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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