Sisterhood Spotlight

What led to your decision to become an educator?

After graduating from college, I worked at Florida Power and Light and had a very technical job – I was responsible for coding the computer model that simulates the reliability of the power system grid. I loved my job and found it challenging, but I missed the ‘people’ aspect of the job. So, I volunteered to teach a course on statistical quality control as a corporate instructor, and I fell in love with adult education and really found my calling. I then went back to school to get my doctorate in Electrical Engineering, and I became a Professor of Computer Information Systems.

What’s a piece of advice that has impacted the trajectory of your career?

When I was just eight months old, my parents and I fled our native Cuba with nothing. But I learned from my grandparents that no matter what happens, no one can ever take away your education. That’s why I have devoted my life to higher education, and I want to make sure that young people coming after me will have the same opportunities that I had to achieve a higher level of education and a better future for themselves and their families.

Tell us one thing you’d like people to know about the school you serve.

Marymount offers an innovative curriculum with a unique mix of health, STEM programs and liberal arts fields that provides market-driven educational opportunities in a wide range of disciplines at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. We are committed to student success as well as faculty and staff excellence, and we promote career preparation and the education of the whole person. Marymount is the most diverse institution in Virginia, the DMV region and among Regional Universities of the South, and we recently became the only Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in Virginia. All of these things combined form an educational experience that you can’t find anywhere else, and one that is second-to-none. We are ready to join our local, state and federal government agencies in solving the problems that our communities are facing, as well as joining industries in mutually beneficial initiatives.

What to you is an exciting opportunity in education right now?

What I’ve always found exciting about education is the ability we have as professors, staff and administrators to transform the lives of our students – and that’s what continues to motivate me as a university president today. Like many industries, education is going through a period of reflection and dramatic change caused not only by technology but also by changing demographics. This, combined with an increased need to deliver on return of investment, has made it more important than ever for higher education to be innovative. This is something we’re doing now at Marymount, a university that has always offered a practical education, and we’re excited to focus on preparing students for the careers of the 21^st century.

What would you say to young women who are considering entering your field?

I studied Electrical Engineering at a time when I was often the only woman in my classes – and indeed, I was the first-ever woman to receive a Ph.D. in that field from Florida International University. Today, in contrast, we’re seeing gender parity in areas like law, medicine and business – fields that used to be considered ‘male dominant.’ There are also great opportunities for women in the STEM fields, and we have to continue to encourage women to enter these fields if our country is to have the adequate numbers of engineers, computer scientists and IT specialists that we need to stay competitive on a global scale.

How can government and the education community better serve Hispanic and Latino students?

Scholarships and funding for the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) are incredibly important in allowing Hispanic and Latino students to succeed in college. Equally important is having faculty, staff and administrators at higher education institutions who can serve as role models to these students and symbolize what they can accomplish. We must continue to mentor those who come after us, and give them the confidence that they too can be successful.

What has spurred your focus on career readiness for students and innovative partnerships?

The ‘university of the future’ is one that is no longer seen as an ‘ivory tower,’ but one that works closely with industries and government to help change society for the better and accomplish mutually beneficial goals. For example, here at Marymount, we established a partnership with both Netflix and 2U to increase diversity in the tech fields by offering for-credit, fully-online tech boot camps in Data Science, Java Engineering and UX/UI Design to Marymount undergraduates, all at no cost to accepted students. This experience gives them essential credentials that provide a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Similarly, we just established a joint effort with Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., with the goal of creating a nursing pipeline in which our students receive need-based scholarships and participate in internships at Sibley with the aim of successfully transitioning to full-time employment there. This program not only helps Marymount and Sibley, but also addresses the shortage of nursing professionals that is a national concern today.

About President Becerra

Dr. Irma Becerra took office as the seventh President of Marymount University in Arlington, Va., on July 1, 2018. In her first six months in the role, she launched the University’s new Strategic Plan, “Momentum,” which will guide the University over the five-year period from 2019 to 2024. The plan calls for Marymount to achieve national and international recognition for innovation and commitment to student success, alumni achievement and faculty and staff excellence.

In her four years as President, Dr. Becerra has introduced several initiatives with long-lasting effects in support of Marymount’s mission and vision for the future. This includes adding market-driven academic programs that prioritize career preparation, overseeing the transition to a new academic structure, acquiring The Rixey luxury apartment building next door to Marymount’s Ballston Center and improving the university’s IT infrastructure through the implementation of the state-of-the-art enterprise resource planning application, Workday. She has also navigated the school community through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also leading efforts at the state and federal levels to advocate for legislative solutions to the DACA program that will protect Dreamer students at Marymount and across the country.

Dr. Becerra is known for expanding educational access for students and keenly targeting programming to meet societal needs and changing demographics. Her academic career, both as student and professional, has blended mathematics, engineering and systems thinking and processes in her studies, teaching and administrative leadership. An educator who began her career in the private sector and the holder of four patents and copyrights, Dr. Becerra is an ardent advocate for a STEM-educated workforce and holds the mindset of a trained scientist and seasoned entrepreneur. Catholic-educated throughout her primary and secondary years, she understands the great importance of faith-based instruction and plans to raise Marymount’s profile and spur growth in enrollment and academic programs. This will be accomplished, in part, through innovative partnerships, scholarship opportunities and broad initiatives.

A Cuban-born American, Dr. Becerra immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was an infant, living in Puerto Rico through high school. Those formative experiences ignited her mind, imbuing her with a passion for knowledge along with a deep-seated belief that “no one can take away your education.” She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Miami and went on to become the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Florida International University (FIU).

Prior to Marymount, she served as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., and also spent three decades at FIU in a variety of positions that include Vice President, Vice Provost, Entrepreneurship Center Director and tenured professor in Management Information Systems. She founded FIU’s Knowledge Management Lab and led major projects as principal investigator at the National Science Foundation, NASA (Headquarters, Kennedy, Ames and Goddard Space Flight Centers) and the Air Force Research Lab. She was also a Sloan Scholar at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research.

Dr. Becerra has authored four books and numerous journal articles in the areas of knowledge management and business intelligence. Her original research has also spanned such areas as enterprise systems, disaster management and IT entrepreneurship, making her a sought-after speaker and presenter both in the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Becerra is the mother of two adult children. Her son, Anthony, earned his J.D. and M.B.A. at St. Thomas University, and received his undergraduate degree from Emory University. Her daughter, Nicole, is a former director at Macy’s and earned her MBA from the University of Michigan.