William Vela
As director of El Centro Chicano, William Vela promotes the academic and personal success of USC’s Latino students in addition to mentoring and working with the university’s Latino student leaders.
“I enjoy working at a top-notch university where I can continue to work for more diversity, address social justice issues and serve as a cultural change-agent,” said William.
El Centro Chicano highlights the diversity in USC's Latino community and identifies opportunities to work with other student groups. One goal of the department is to retain and support the Latino student body through graduation. In addition, William works closely with other members of the USC community to promote interculturalism and build cross-cultural awareness.
William, who has worked at USC since June 2005, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Occidental College and his master’s degree in student personnel administration with an emphasis in multiculturalism from Teachers College at Columbia University. He belongs to the American College Personnel Association and serves as historian of the California Council of Cultural Centers in Higher Education. In addition, William is a member of the Latina/o Caucus for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity and serves as vice president of the Occidental College Latino Alumni Association.