For 25 years, Yolanda Treviño has served the IU community and given back to students in remarkable ways.
Treviño began her IU career as a Ph.D. student in the higher education and student affairs department in the IU School of Education in 1994. Since then, she has never left IU and continues to call it home.
“I came here as a student and thought, like so many people, I would have an amazing experience here and will get all of the skills, tools and experiences I need for me to be able to do and serve in my career,” Treviño said. “Then, like what happens to many people, I never left. Everything I was doing had me staying here at IU.”
Before coming to IU, Treviño worked at a women’s college where her boss was an IU alumni who convinced her to come to IU.
“My boss said, if you want to work with talented students and help create infrastructure and pathways and opportunities for students to achieve what they want to, IU is the place to go,” Treviño said.
During her time as a dean in the University Graduate School, Treviño worked to recruit new students and continues to encourage all students to seize the endless opportunities which exist at IU like studying abroad.
Treviño currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Planning, and Assessment in the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. In this position, Treviño is able to advocate for the needs of students and feels privileged to be able to do so.
“I asked the GPSG (Graduate and Professional Student Government) to recognize people who are not being told to do something but are doing it on their own,” Treviño said. “This is about heart, passion, and care.”
As a Latina and first generation college student, Treviño understands the impact of service and inspiring others into action. The Graduate and Professional Student Government created a service award and named it in her honor.
The “Dr. Yolanda Treviño Service Award” was created to uplift and shed light on the individuals who provide service selflessly and are oftentimes not seen or recognized.
The GPSG presented Treviño with a crystal award to recognize the work she has done at IU and her impact on so many lives.
What makes Treviño stand out in her role as a campus administrator is the fact she can relate to the backgrounds of many students.
“When I think about what my experience was here as a student, I wanted people to relate to the different parts of me, knowing that I was of Mexican descent, and had Midwestern and southern roots having grown up in Minnesota and Texas,” Treviño said.
Treviño has worked relentlessly to ensure students' needs are met, regardless of their background, and they are able to succeed not only while they are here at IU but for the remainder of their lives.
