Nadia Alvarez Mexia
Director, Mexico Programs
Faculty Affiliate, Department of Teaching/Learning and Sociocultural Studies
Global Affairs
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939 N. Tyndall Avenue, Office #8
Tucson, AZ 85721
520-621-1784
Nadia Alvarez Mexia was born and raised in Mexico. She has an interdisciplinary background, with Information Systems bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) and her Ph.D. in Teaching & Teacher Education with a minor in Language, Reading & Culture from the University of Arizona. She is a recipient of the Erasmus Circle Award, one of the highest honors from the UA’s College of Education. Currently, Nadia is the Director of Mexico Programs at the UA in the UA Global office. In the last twelve years, Nadia has brought international students to the UA to conduct research, improve English proficiency, and learn about the academic culture in the United States—laying a strong foundation for graduate-level study. She has also developed short-term programs for first-generation college, native (indigenous), women in STEM, pre-service and in-service teachers, and domestic students in the U.S. and Mexico. Nadia’s research programs have been awarded by the UA (Peter W. Likins Inclusive Award, Staff Category, 2007), NAFSA (Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award, 2012), CONICYT (Chile – Grant 2014), IIE (Science Without Borders - Grant from Brazil 2014-2016), and KAUST Gifted Program (2018). Her work and vision have been recognized with the Edith Sayre Auslander Established Visionary Award 2018 and the Human Relations Commission of the City of Tucson Recognition 2018. She has a Faculty Affiliate position in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies in the UA’s College of Education and is one of the Hispanic Serving Institution Fellows 2019 (first cohort). Before joining the UA, Nadia worked for a decade in Mexico’s higher education system as a professor, mentor, and administrator within the ITESM Campus Monterrey and Mazatlán and other higher education institutions.