[Image.jpeg] I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Dr. Alonzo Flowers as Department Chair for the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department. Dr. Flowers currently serves as Associate Professor in Higher Education and Student Affairs and Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Drexel University. He is an accomplished scholar with over 20 peer refereed journal articles, 2 books, and numerous book chapters. Dr. Flowers is an experienced scholar at an R1 institution, Drexel University, with a strong research profile. You may be aware that Dr. Flowers hails from San Antonio, attended Jefferson HS and UTSA, and has a deep commitment to Latinx communities; plus he is quite familiar with the city and South Texas. During his on campus interview, Dr. Flowers elaborated on the many ways UTSA COEHD departments could be leveraging national grants now that it is an R1 institution. Dr. Flowers identifies as a P-20 Educator with particular expertise in higher education. This includes practical and administrative experiences within K-12 (serving as a former teacher), Community College (specifically as a practitioner at Alamo Colleges), and undergraduate and graduate postsecondary higher education. He is especially interested in developing a curriculum pipeline from undergraduate programs to the master's in Higher Ed Student Affairs program. In my communication with Dr. Flowers, he expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude for this opportunity to advance a department that is "committed to advancing equity and justice in society through educational change." Dr. Flowers shared the following: " I am committed to furthering the collective goals of building a culturally diverse, anti-racist pedagogy, and an inclusive educational environment within the UTSA campus community. In addition, I will work to amplify the voices of all members of the department by fostering an environment that supports equity, advocacy, and opportunities for professional growth. Thus, my aim as department chair is to build on the current departmental vision of culturally diverse and excellence in educational change by problematize the status quo and existing policy that impact underrepresented and systemically minoritized college students, faculty members, staff, and community stakeholders that are often unrecognized and often omitted from the educational landscape. As such, I have an unwavering commitment to supporting any efforts to cultivate community outreach, justice-oriented programs and curriculum development that promotes inclusivity as a foundational principle of all aspects of strategic planning." I am thrilled for what the future holds for ELPS under his leadership. Mario Torres, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education and Human Development President's Distinguished Professorship The University of Texas at San Antonio