Maria Teresa Velez, associate dean of the Graduate College at the University of Arizona, died on April 13. She was 69 years old and had suffered from cancer.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Dr. Velez came to the United States as a young child and settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated from the University of New Mexico and earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the Wright Institute in Los Angeles.
Dr. Velez join the staff of the counseling and psychological services division at the University of Arizona in 1984 and she taught in the departments of psychology, family studies, Mexican American studies, women’s and gender studies as well as the Center for Latin American Studies. She was named associate dean of the Graduate College in 1996.
The university has established the Dr. Maria Teresa Velez Diversity Leadership Scholarship in her honor.