Named the first Latina to serve as president of a college or university in the United States, Dr. García spearheaded the creation of The University of Texas at Brownsville and then served as its president for 22 years. In 2011, she consolidated two UT universities, established a medical school, and created The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  

She has served on the Clinton and Obama presidential transition teams, chaired the Advisory Committee to Congress on Financial Aid and in 2021, served on the panel to select White House Fellows under President Biden. 

After the election of President Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid, Dr. García was selected to work in South Africa to help integrate higher education. She has served on the boards of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. 

In 2009, Time magazine named her one of the Top 10 College Presidents in the US and in 2014 she was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. She has received honorary doctorates from Notre Dame, Brown, Smith, and Princeton. In July of 2022, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. 

Dr. García currently serves on the board for LLILAS, the Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies at UT Austin, Audubon Texas, and Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Annually, she lectures at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education IEM program for professionals seeking to become university presidents and with HACU – Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Leadership Academy. She is currently working with Texas 2036. 

In 2022, Dr. García was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe R. Biden for “transforming her hometown University of Texas Brownsville into a center of excellence for countless of students who were inspired by her example.