UTEP Faculty Members Earn Hispanos Triunfadores Award
Recognized with entrepreneurs, artists and public officials for professional achievement, service
EL PASO, Texas (Sept. 20, 2023) – Two members of the faculty at The University of Texas at El Paso have been selected as recipients of one of the highest awards in the Paso del Norte region for professional achievement and service to the community.
Eva Moya, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Social Work, and Ivonne Santiago, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, are part of this year’s cohort of McDonald's Hispanos Triunfadores. They were celebrated along with this year’s other honorees at the 22nd annual awards luncheon on Tuesday at the Starlight Event Center in central El Paso.
Moya, who was born in El Paso and raised in Ciudad Juárez, has dedicated her career to advancing health and social justice along the U.S.-Mexico border for more than 42 years. She has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on several research and service projects focused on tuberculosis, partner violence and sexual assault, homelessness, human papilloma virus education and immigrant health.
“I am humbled and honored by this recognition,” Moya said. “Our fellow borderland residents on both sides of the international boundary continue to face challenges like food and housing insecurity, health disparities and many others, so I am thankful for the opportunity this award presents to bring attention to these issues.”
Santiago, who is also a recipient of El Paso Inc.’s 2023 Women of Impact award, is a professional engineer licensed in both Texas and New Mexico. She is also chair of the Public Service Board, which oversees El Paso Water. She has dedicated her career to increasing access to safe drinking water in communities across the Paso del Norte region and in areas such as Haiti, Puerto Rico and Colombia, which have been stricken by poverty, drought, natural disasters and other issues.
“I’m grateful to McDonald’s for this award, and I’m honored to be among a group of people with such a history of service,” Santiago said. “I see the engineering profession as a call to service, and I hope that whatever successes I’ve achieved bring lasting improvements to people’s lives and inspiration to others, especially our students.”
Other recipients of the Hispanos Triunfadores award this year included Ysleta Independent School District Superintendent Xavier De La Torre, Ed.D., El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and muralist Albert “Tino” Ortega.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving University. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on September 22, 2023 at 12:00 AM | Originally published September 22, 2023
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
