Dr. Adela de la Torre became the 9th president of San Diego State University in 2018, following a distinguished career of more than three decades as an accomplished economist, public-health researcher and higher-education leader in both California and Arizona. She is the first woman and first Latina to serve as the president of the university. This followed a distinguished career within the California State University system and at both the University of Arizona and the University of California, Davis. President de la Torre brought to SDSU a global perspective, and a mission of building on the university’s unique leadership role in bridging the San Diego region’s and world’s diverse communities. In 2020, she launched the university’s strategic plan to grow its research enterprise and global presence and impact, while enhancing access and expanding academic programs at its locations in San Diego; Imperial Valley; Mission Valley; the Republic of Georgia; Oaxaca, Mexico; and its dozens of other onsite and online global programs. President de la Torre’s student-centric strategy focuses on driving student opportunity and success through university growth and resiliency, while emphasizing equity, access, sustainability and community engagement.
Under President de la Torre’s leadership, the university has reached new heights and broken records with its rapid growth of faculty research, regional expansion, economic and community impact, and also student access, success and social mobility while nearly eliminating achievement gaps for underrepresented, first-generation and financially disadvantaged students. Under her leadership, the university has set new records in enrollment, athletic competitiveness, philanthropic giving, external funding of research, and national rankings.