Leadership
Dr. Lynda Y. de la Viña is the director of the Center for Global Entrepreneurship and the Peter Flawn Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics. De la Viña served as the dean of the UTSA College of Business from 2004 to 2012. She was the first Hispanic and female dean of a business school in the UT System. As dean she created and developed the Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship in coordination with the College of Engineering.
Prior to UTSA she served as associate dean of the School of Professional Studies; developed and led the Division of Business and Management (Carey School of Business, 2007) and chaired the Department of Finance and International Business at Johns Hopkins University.
In 1998, she was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy until 2001. Although her work portfolio was expansive dealing with domestic and international economic policy issues, she led Treasury teams on issues of personal commitment in financial literacy, entrepreneurship development and U.S.-Mexico border development. She led the team from the National Economic Council and U.S. Treasury to form, via Executive Order, the President’s Task Force on the Economic Development of the Southwest Border.
De la Viña has co-founded several companies including Operational Technologies Corporation (OpTech) in San Antonio, TX. Under her tenure on the Board of Directors, OpTech rose from a small incubator operation in downtown San Antonio to one of the largest minority-owned businesses in San Antonio and currently includes OpTech de Mexico. She is dedicated to entrepreneurship and has formed new ventures including Pronucleotine Biotechnologies in San Antonio.
De la Viña received her master’s and doctorate in economics from Rice University and her bachelor’s from UT-Pan American. She also did graduate work at Columbia University. She was the first Mexican-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in economics in the United States and the first Mexican-American woman at the secretarial policy level at the U.S. Treasury.
Affiliated Faculty
Jennifer Alexander, assistant professor of public policy. Visiting Fulbright Scholar in 2011 at La Universidad de los Andes y la Universidad Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia. Research interests include nonprofit management and leadership, history, theory, and political roles of nonprofits and ethics in public and nonprofit service. Ph.D. Virginia Polytechnic and State University.
Onur Bayar, assistant professor of finance. Research interests include entrepreneurial finance and venture capital. Ph.D. Boston College.
Pepe Chang, associate professor of management and business ethics. Research interests include practical corporate social responsibility and governance, leadership and moral philosophy. Ph.D. University of Utah.
Mansour El-Kikhia, professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography. Areas of specialization include international relations, foreign policies of less developed countries and Middle Eastern politics. Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Mathias Hofferberth, assistant professor of political science. Research interests include private actors in international relations, global governance and globalization and theories of international relations. Ph.D. Goethe-University Frankfurt.
Dennis Lopez, associate professor of accounting. Research interests include non-profit organizations and forensic accounting issues. Ph.D. University of Arkansas.
Saeid Mahdavi, associate professor of economics. Research interests include issues related to developing countries and government finances. Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lisa Montoya, senior lecturer and associate dean for professional development and international business programs. Research interests include social enterprise, economic impact of microlending and economic development policy. Ph.D. Washington University.
