Biography

In Fall 2004, Dr. Juan Sanchez Muñoz was appointed in the College of Education as an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. He is also the Director of the College of Education, Center for Research on Leadership and Education. In addition to his faculty appointment, he serves as the Vice President for the Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty & Undergraduate Academic Affairs and is the founding Director of the TTU Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center. Prior to joining Texas Tech, Dr. Muñoz was a faculty member in the Department of Secondary Education at California State University Fullerton.

Dr. Muñoz has taught courses in classroom management, instructional methods and curriculum development, multicultural education, bilingual education, and critical social theory. His research interests include alternatives education for at-risk students and the learning needs of ethnically and linguistically diverse students in public schools. His academic work has appeared in scholarly journals, books, encyclopedias and national conferences.

Dr. Muñoz earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. After returning from military service in the U.S. Marine Corps during the 1990-91 Gulf Crisis, he attended California State University, Los Angeles where he earned an M.A. degree in Mexican-American Studies with an emphasis in literature and literary theory. He earned his Doctorate of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied Curriculum & Instruction in the Division of Urban Schooling. At UCLA he received the Chancellor's Fair & Open Academic Environment Award and fellowship from the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty and the Institute of American Cultures. Prior to attending UCLA, he taught as a high school English teacher in Montebello, California. Dr. Muñoz has been the Assistant Director of A World of Difference Institute, Executive Assistant to the Chair of UCLA Community Educational Resource Centers, a consultant with Los Angeles County Office of Education, a public school teacher, an instructor in the California Community College system, adjunct faculty at Pacific Oakes and Whittier Colleges. In 2002 he received the Los Angeles Archdiocese Youth Employment Division Distinguished Alumni Award.

When in California, he served on the Board of Directors of several non-profit agencies, was appointed to the Los Angles Workforce Investment Board- Youth Council, served on both the Parks & Recreation and Substance Abuse Commissions in San Bernardino County, and was Chair of the 2001 City of Los Angeles CrossRoad Symposium for at-risk youth.

In Texas, he is currently on the Board of Directors for Covenant Health System, Advisory Board of American State Bank, Texas Diversity Council, and Director in the Texas Lyceum. He is past president of the Lubbock Boys and Girls Club, past board member and vice president of the South Plains Boy Scout Council, former commissioner of the Lubbock Housing Authority and Texas Youth Commissioner. In 2008 was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to the Board of Directors for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. His community service has been recognized through numerous certificates of commendation from local, state, and congressional offices.