Dr. Michelle Lopez

Michelle Lopez (she/her) has 20 years of higher education practitioner experience working with diverse students. She currently serves as Senior Assistant Dean for Student Success in Academic Affairs at San Diego State University (SDSU). In this student success role her work centers around undergraduate advising, retention, and student persistence to graduation. Prior to being an Assistant Dean, she worked for over a decade as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program administrator and obtained specialized experience working with first-generation, transfer students, and diverse students majoring in STEM. During this period, Michelle helped secure 2.8 million dollars from the National Institute of Health General Medical Sciences to mentor and increase underrepresented student participation in research and to build a culture of excellence and student engagement in biomedical and behavioral research. Additionally, Michelle served as a former program consultant to bridge and mentor community college transfer students to four-year universities for successful admission and post-transfer success in STEM pathways.

Michelle received her baccalaureate degree in Biology, Masters in Educational Leadership, and is a Doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership. Her research interests include post-transfer student success, building a diverse transfer receptive culture, and Filipina/o/x student retention in higher education. Her work continues to prioritize historically underrepresented and underserved students. She has presented at the National Institute for the Study of Transfers, NASPA, NACADA, and the CSU Student Success Network. She served as the first NASPA Center for First-Gen Student Success SDSU co-chair for the Southern California/Pacific West Region and currently leads the SDSU Advising Council, serves on the university-wide student success committee, Undergraduate Council and represents SDSU on the CSU Success Network Advisory Board. For questions about SDSU’s post-transfer student success work, contact mlopez@sdsu.edu.