Dr. Richard Nicholas, Vice President of Student Life
Dr. Richard Nicholas holds a Master's degree in College Student Personnel Administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He has been at TWU since 1996 and has served as Vice President since 1998. TWU is a special place that allows him to serve as leader of a very talented Student Life team and still be able to work directly with many students. Dr. Nicholas has one daughter who presently serves as Dean of Students at another university. He and his wife, Anne, enjoy traveling, collecting antiques and raising African violets.
Dr. Monica Mendez-Grant, Associate Vice President of Student Life
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Dr. Mendez-Grant holds a doctorate degree in Higher Education Administration, a masters degree in Counseling, and a bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of North Texas. She has over 20 years experience in various areas of Student Life including Student Access and Success, Student Development, Orientation, Judicial Affairs, and Auxiliary Services. Dr. Mendez-Grant has three main research interests: (1) first-generation college students and best practices for retention (2) increasing the college-going rate of first generation high-school students, particularly Hispanic students and (3) developing best practices in at-risk high schools which will increase the college-going rate of first generation high-school students, particularly Hispanic students. Dr. Mendez-Grant through various partnerships within Student Life actively seeks funds to support outreach efforts within the Dallas and Fort Worth communities. Dr. Mendez-Grant enjoys time with her family, her many animals, and her horses. She is originally from San Antonio, Texas.
Gary Ray, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services
Gary Ray is the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at Texas Woman’s University, which includes supervision to the following units: the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar and Student Records. Ray completed his graduate studies in Educational Leadership. Before assuming his current position, he served as the Vice President for Administration, Director of Admissions, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Vice President of Enrollment & University Relations at Lee University. Ray’s specialty is enrollment research, recruitment, web marketing trends and retention. He also participated in Harvard University Graduate College of Education’s Institute for Educational Management during the summer of 2000. Ray is originally from Madison, Alabama. His graduate studies include University of Tennessee and West Georgia University. They have two children, Kevin and Jessica.
Dr. Heather Speed, Dean of Students
Dr. Heather Speed holds a Doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration, a Master’s degree in History from the University of North Texas and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. She has over 14 years of Student Affairs experience including Student Development, Student Leadership, New Student Orientation and Student Code of Conduct. Dr. Speed's main research interest on first-year Hispanic students particularly female.
Lisa Quinones, Executive Assistant to the Vice President
Lisa Valle, Assistant to the Dean
Lisa Valle graduated from Texas Woman's University with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. She joined Student Life in 2008, assisting the Dean of Students with the Code of Conduct and Disciplinary process for Academic Dishonesty Hearings. Lisa enjoys cooking and hosting family events. Her hometown is El Paso, Texas.
page last updated 4/9/2013 12:31 PM