May 30, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
It is with heartfelt appreciation that I share the news that Roberta Espinoza, Ph.D., will be moving on from her role as associate provost for International Programs and Partnerships (IPP) as of May 31, 2025. Concurrently, I am pleased to announce that she will be joining the LMU faculty, following a much-deserved sabbatical year, during which she will hold visiting scholar appointments at the USC Rossier School of Education (fall 2025, faculty sponsor: Dean Pedro Noguera, Ph.D.) and Stanford Graduate School of Education (spring 2026, faculty sponsor: Associate Dean of Faculty, Amado Padilla, Ph.D.).
Since arriving at LMU in 2018 as the inaugural vice provost for Global-Local Affairs, Dr. Espinoza has been a visionary and forward-thinking leader whose work has advanced LMU’s global reach and deepened our local community presence. As the university’s inaugural senior international officer, she played a pivotal role in positioning LMU as a national model for mission-centered, equity-minded internationalization.
As a social justice leader, Dr. Espinoza has consistently grounded her work in equity, access, and community-centered values, ensuring that LMU’s global engagement strategies reflect institutional priorities of inclusive academic excellence and commitment to global learning experiences for all. Dr. Espinoza’s leadership, enriched by depth of experience and scholarly breadth, has yielded a wide array of impactful and lasting contributions:
Strategic Internationalization and Institutional Leadership
- She led LMU through the American Council on Education (ACE) Internationalization Laboratory, resulting in the university’s first strategic plan for institutional comprehensive internationalization.
- She launched the Global Engagement Directory, enabling the campus to visualize and track institutional partnerships.
- She institutionalized the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for student and faculty global-local teaching, learning and engagement.
Global Partnership Development and International Recognition
- She secured numerous new memoranda of understanding (MOU) with international partners and developed protocols for partnership creation and delegation hosting.She hosted dozens of international delegations and led the creation of systems to support future visits.
- She received national recognition through the Institute of International Education (IIE) Heiskell Award and American Passport Project, expanding access to global learning for underrepresented students.
- She led LMU to be recognized as a Top Producing Institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program before the pandemic, and increased the number of Gilman Scholarship recipients through the LMU Gilman Incentive Grant.
- She represented LMU globally through participation in the Fulbright International Education Administrator (IEA) Fellowship in France.
Programmatic Impact and Global Visibility
- She expanded Study Abroad participation and revenue, overseeing a comprehensive program portfolio assessment and a risk gap analysis in international travel, health, safety, and compliance with new team members.
- She oversaw programming such as International Education Week (IEW) and the U.S.–Mexico Binational Lecture Series.
Sustainability and United Nations Engagement
- She successfully secured LMU’s status as a non-governmental observer (NGO) with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).S
- She enabled LMU faculty participation in the U.N. Conference of the Parties (COP), positioning LMU as the largest L.A. County institution with such access.
Dr. Espinoza has modeled what it means to lead with mission, purpose, and inclusion — ensuring that LMU’s global learning initiatives not only promote academic excellence, but also reflect the university’s deepest commitments to justice, equity, and the education of the whole person. With Dr. Espinoza transitioning out of her current role, I will serve as the point of contact for IPP. Please join me in recognizing Dr. Espinoza for her exemplary leadership, vision, and service. We look forward to her continued impact on LMU and the field in her next chapter of teaching, scholarship, and mentorship.
With sincere gratitude,
José I. Badenes, S.J., Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Academic Programs
Professor of Spanish
