The University of Texas at El Paso is pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Gonzalez as the University’s Vice President for Asset Management and Development.
In this new position, Gonzalez will be responsible for leading innovative efforts to refresh traditional institutional advancement, broadening its scope to incorporate a range of new revenue-generating strategies and leveraging the University’s many assets, from educational programs and intellectual property to real estate holdings.
“I’m very pleased to welcome Ben Gonzalez back home to UTEP as a member of the leadership team,” said UTEP President Diana Natalicio. “He brings to our campus a wealth of experience from his successful international banking and finance career, and a deep understanding of UTEP’s important public research university role. His charge will be to leverage the University’s many assets, including educational programs, students, alumni, faculty and staff, research, real estate holdings, auxiliary business operations and our endowment, to stimulate more robust revenue-generating opportunities in what has become a highly dynamic 21st century higher education funding environment.”
A native El Pasoan, Gonzalez graduated from UTEP in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He has extensive experience in banking and financial management focused in the areas of financial restructuring and corporate finance.
Additionally, Gonzalez has represented major financial institutions in transactions that included Brazilian media conglomerate TV Globo, U.S. Airways, Fruit of the Loom, Barneys and Bank of America.
Most recently, Gonzalez served as the vice president of economic development for The Borderplex Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at economically enriching the Juárez, El Paso and southern New Mexico region.
“UTEP is one of the most innovative research universities in the country, well-positioned to influence not only the direction of higher education in the 21st century but public education at all levels,” Gonzalez said. “As an alumnus and now a vice president, I consider it a privilege to return to my roots and be working for the University.”
He added, “I’m especially proud of the fact that UTEP ranks first among all U.S. universities in the number of Hispanic baccalaureate degree recipients who complete doctoral degrees. That’s just one of many points of pride that validate UTEP’s role as a regional powerhouse. UTEP’s skill at building and fostering meaningful partnerships has created synergies in this region that will continue to attract national and international attention to El Paso’s potential. I look forward to contributing to the future of this institution and the region we serve.”