Dr. Florencio U. Aranda III

Dr. Florencio U. Aranda III, a frontera native of Presidio, Texas and Ojinaga, Chihuahua, México, has dedicated his life to leadership, service, advocacy, and research. With the passing of his baby sister, he turned his life toward education and achieved five postsecondary education degrees. Dr. Aranda obtained a B.A. in Spanish & Political Science, M.A. in Romance Languages, M.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Texas Tech University and a M.L.S. in Legal Studies from Arizona State University.

His extensive education has allowed him to advocate for underrepresented and underserved students while being called upon to share his life’s narrative and academic research in political and educational settings. Currently, Dr. Aranda works as a student affairs professional at South Dakota State University, where he focuses on the retention and degree completion of Latinx students. Moreover, he advocates for diversity, inclusion, access, and multiculturalism as the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the South Dakota Higher Education Association and as the Chair of the Mentorship Program for Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education.

Dr. Aranda strives to be an agent of change for diverse communities and has made it his mission to serve others and to lead by example in the educational, political, and cultural arenas he navigates.