Luis Alcázar

Adult and Higher Education
Oregon State University

Luis Alcázar is a scholar-practitioner who was raised in Vallejo, California by two loving Xingonas – his mother and grandmother. After starting his higher education journey at Napa Valley College, he went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley and his master’s degree in engineering management from CSU East Bay. Alcázar left his engineering career to pursue his passion for serving students and has worked at four public HSIs in California and Washington. He currently manages multiple student affairs programs as a dean at Napa Valley College and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Adult and Higher Education program at Oregon State University. His research interests focus on Indigenous methodologies, Indigenous Mexican students, storytelling, Critical Latinx Indigeneities, and community college education and his dissertation will center the stories of California community college P'urhépecha students about their experiences navigating multiple, layered liminalities. Alcázar’s future goals include leading a local community college as their president and continuing his involvement in higher education research. Alcázar is passionate about spending time with his wife and two children, serving his community, fighting for social justice, and integrating Indigenous ways of being and doing into his personal, familial, professional, and scholarly spaces.