Jorge F. Figueroa Flores, Ph.D., is the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Strategic Initiatives at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and Professor of Bilingual and ESL Education. He is a seasoned leader with over 23 years of experience in higher education, occupying different positions. As part of his role, he provides leadership for institutional curriculum development, undergraduate education, core curriculum, transfer agreements, and scheduling. He oversees first-year seminar instruction, college readiness testing, the university curriculum committee, the university course inventory, compliance with state and university policies for undergraduate education, and facilitates academic partnerships that support the university’s strategic mission.
Before his Vice Provost appointment, Figueroa served as the Associate Dean for Research, Inclusion, and Innovation for the College of Professional Education (COPE) at TWU, where he oversaw COPE’s international education partnerships, the COPE’s Emerging Leaders Program and all research, inclusion, and innovation activity in the college. A native of Puerto Rico, before coming to TWU, Figueroa served as an Associate Professor for the School of Social and Human Sciences in the Department of General Education at Universidad del Este, now UAGM-Carolina, and as Director of the Student Leadership Institute.
His research focuses on the intersection between emergent technologies and emergent bilinguals, emphasizing extended realities (XR), critical pedagogies, and culturally responsive/sustaining teaching. It has appeared in multiple academic journals, including Contemporary Educational Technology, Educación XX1, International Journal of Technology and Educational Innovation, NABE Journal of Research and Practice, Expert Systems, and Digital Education Review. He advocates for inclusive excellence and belonging toward student success and has presented at national and international conferences. He has trained many pre-service and in-service teachers in Latin America, the continental United States, and Europe.