Eduardo Contreras Jr., Ed.D., Associate Provost for International Education, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Portland (UP), has been selected as Baylor University’s Vice Provost for Global Engagement, effective July 1, 2023. As vice provost, Dr. Contreras will serve on the Provost’s leadership team and as the University’s senior international officer, overseeing the Center for Global Engagement, including Study Abroad, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Global Baylor, the Global Scholars Program and the Global Gateway Program.
Dr. Contreras’s depth of senior-level leadership experience, his national visibility as a scholar practitioner in DEI and global education, and his commitment to Baylor’s Christian mission.Dr. Contreras joins Baylor from University of Portland, a Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers university in Portland, Oregon. Over his 20-year career as an educator – spanning from UP to Harvard, MIT to the University of Texas at Austin – he has been a successful teacher, facilitator, curriculum developer, advisor and collaborative administrator. Throughout his career, he has been committed to upholding internationalization and inclusive excellence in U.S. public and private higher education.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UT-Austin, Dr. Contreras earned his B.A. in history and master’s degree in Asian cultures and languages from the university, followed by his Ed.M. and Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is fluent in Spanish and is a Texan native.
Dr. Contreras has presented his research extensively at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the American Educational Research Association, the American Historical Association and the Global Inclusion Conference. He has been a committee member for the annual Diversity Abroad Conference since its inception in 2013 and a conference committee chair since 2016. Professionally, he serves on the Forum on Education Abroad Board, North American Advisory Board for Education New Zealand and on the IES Abroad Academic Council and Curriculum Committee.His writing appears in peer-reviewed journals, professional blogs and international education publications such as the University World News and IIE Networker. He has a chapter in the 2018 book, “Promoting Inclusion in Education Abroad: A Handbook of Research and Practice,” as well chapters in books published in 2022, “Historically Underrepresented Faculty and Students in Education Abroad: Wandering Where We Belong” and “In a House Where All Belong: Redesigning Education Abroad for Inclusive Excellence.” He is an editorial board member for Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal for Study Abroad.
