June 6, 2022

HACU names Paul Machen executive director of the Institute for Professional Leadership

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has announced the appointment of Paul Machen, Ph.D., as executive director of the Institute for Professional Leadership.

Machen will oversee HACU’s vision for increasing diversity in leadership roles at colleges and universities and provide strategic direction for the Institute for Professional Leadership. Machen will also provide  administrative oversight for the Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo, as well as events and grants, workshops, webinars, presentations, and information sessions for conferences and events with a leadership-focus.

Machen has 31 years of higher education faculty, curriculum development, and student affairs experience.  He served previously at St. Philip’s College for 12 years in various administrator roles: assistant to the president, director of the Quality Enhancement Plan, dean for student success, and interim vice president for student success. He has served as a faculty member at both graduate and undergraduate levels for West Texas A&M University, University of Phoenix at San Antonio, Southern Illinois University, and the Department of Defense Louis F. Garland Fire Academy. Machen is a decorated retired U.S. Air Force veteran and has served on numerous nonprofit, school board, and city-appointed positions.

He earned a doctorate from Kansas State University, a master's from City University, and a bachelor's from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.