Mary Larson Diaz begins her role as Chief of Staff at UTSA on March 5.
(Feb. 27, 2018) -- President Taylor Eighmy today announced the appointment of Mary Larson Diaz as his Chief of Staff in the Office of the President at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
Diaz brings over a decade of experience working directly with university presidents and chancellors as a chief of staff, planning strategist, chief communications officer and executive advisor. She begins her new position on Monday, March 5.
“Mary’s extensive experience and leadership will be tremendous assets, helping us to move forward with our initiatives and realize our vision for UTSA as San Antonio’s university of the future,” said Eighmy. “She has a proven track record of working with presidents to advance the upward trajectory of their institutions, and I am delighted to welcome her to our Roadrunner community.”
Diaz served on the executive leadership teams at several of her past institutions, including the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) where she was Chief of Staff from 2005-2007, and Texas Tech University where she was Associate Vice President for External Relations and Chief Communications Officer from 2009-2012.
More recently, Diaz served as Special Assistant to the President for External Relations at The University of Alabama, and Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. At earlier points in her career, Diaz worked as a special assistant to Kansas City’s mayor (now U.S. Congressman) Emanuel Cleaver, and in various community affairs roles at Kansas City Power & Light Company.
Currently Diaz is Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Two West Advisors, a financial services firm in Overland Park, Kansas. Her work there involved assisting with the launch of their higher education division and developing partnerships with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and statewide higher education associations.
Diaz’s career distinctions include serving as the presidential representative on committees of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and The Coalition for Urban Serving Universities. Her ability to build relationships within the university community and among local civic leadership has had impactful results, including the creation of Time to Get it Right, a strategic plan for UMKC's role as Kansas City's urban serving university.
As Chief of Staff and a member of Eighmy’s Senior Leadership Team, Diaz will be responsible for overseeing many presidential initiatives, assisting with external relations and directing all administrative and operational activities for the Office of the President.
“I am thrilled to have an opportunity to work with this outstanding team to help bring President Eighmy’s vision to fruition,” said Diaz. “My husband and I look forward to returning to Texas and joining the Roadrunner family.”
While at UMKC Diaz worked under Dr. Guy Bailey—UTSA’s Provost from 1998-2005 and current president of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley—where she first become familiar with UTSA.
“I was fortunate to visit UTSA with Dr. Bailey to see its success first-hand” she said. “We used UTSA as a model for public/private partnerships, and went on to implement similar partnerships at UMKC, deepening the institution’s role as an urban serving university.”
Diaz holds a Masters of Science in Management from Baker University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Hastings College in Nebraska. She and her husband Paco Diaz have a 21-year old son, Ryan, who is attending college in Kansas City.
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
