Dr. Vilma Fuentes

Dr. Vilma Elisa Fuentes serves as the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe College where she provides leadership for the College’s international education and baccalaureate programs. She has directed or helped administer multiple federal grants with an international focus, including a Capacity Building Grant, 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant, and 10 Community College Administrator Programs (CCAPs). She earned a Ph.D. in political science with a regional specialization on Latin America in 2003 and an M.A. in International Studies in 1997. Dr. Fuentes began teaching at Santa Fe in 2003 and earned a NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. She helps host numerous international scholars and delegations every year and has led study abroad trips to Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. She has hosted five Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence at her college and has served as program co-director for CCAPs with Egypt, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine, and a group of Latin American countries.