On August 22, Dr. Cristian Aquino-Sterling will become the inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity and International Affairs in the College of Education. The position represents a first not only for the COE, but for San Diego State University — both in having a dedicated administrator focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the college level, and in its blending of diversity and international affairs responsibilities.
Aquino-Sterling brings perspective relevant to both aspects of the dual role. Born in the Dominican Republic, he came to the United States as an adolescent and attended public school in Manhattan. After pursuing undergraduate degrees in philosophy and Spanish literature at Fordham University, he obtained a master’s degree in Hispanic cultural studies and literatures at Columbia University, and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction at Arizona State University.