When Diana Natalicio steps down as president of the University of Texas–El Paso this summer, she will leave behind an impressive legacy. Over the course of her 31 years at the school’s helm, UTEP—long known for its distinctive Bhutanese architecture—has gone from offering 1 doctoral program to 22 and seen its annual research expenditures increase nearly twentyfold. In January the school reached a milestone when it met its long-awaited goal of becoming an R1 doctoral university, a designation attained by less than 5 percent of the nation’s institutes of higher education.

During her time as president, the 79-year-old Natalicio, who is easily recognized by her iconic updo hairstyle, has notched up another notable accomplishment: she has amassed a collection of more than four hundred different UTEP T-shirts, dating from her days as the dean of liberal arts to her final months at the school. To mark her departure, UTEP recently exhibited 392 of the shirts.

Inspired by the exhibit, we chose a small selection of the garments and asked Natalicio to use them to reflect on her time at UTEP.

This interview was edited for clarity and length.

Early 1980s “Becoming a dean really changed the trajectory of my role at UTEP. I began to think strategically about how we could use our assets to serve the students and the surrounding community. That was the birth of all of that in my head, that I could make a difference at that level.”
Early 1980s“Becoming a dean really changed the trajectory of my role at UTEP. I began to think strategically about how we could use our assets to serve the students and the surrounding community. That was the birth of all of that in my head, that I could make a difference at that level.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
1986 “This project attempted to generate energy through a large pond of water heated by the sun. Unlike most regional public universities, which often arise from teachers’ colleges or small liberal arts schools, we started as a mining school. We were definitely a STEM school for quite a long time.”
1986“This project attempted to generate energy through a large pond of water heated by the sun. Unlike most regional public universities, which often arise from teachers’ colleges or small liberal arts schools, we started as a mining school. We were definitely a STEM school for quite a long time.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
1987 “Logos stimulate a lot of conversation. Everyone has ideas about how to convert our logo into something better. Over the past twenty years we’ve tried to settle in. You have to be recognizable. You can’t have a hodgepodge of logos.”
1987“Logos stimulate a lot of conversation. Everyone has ideas about how to convert our logo into something better. Over the past twenty years we’ve tried to settle in. You have to be recognizable. You can’t have a hodgepodge of logos.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
1989 “Our seventy-fifth anniversary was an exciting time because we had just reached agreement on our mission—to turn a regional comprehensive institution into a research university committed to educating the population of a historically underserved region. It closed the book on UTEP as it existed before then.”
1989“Our seventy-fifth anniversary was an exciting time because we had just reached agreement on our mission—to turn a regional comprehensive institution into a research university committed to educating the population of a historically underserved region. It closed the book on UTEP as it existed before then.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
1998 “Most university presidents last five or six years at most. When I reached my tenth anniversary I knew that we were just beginning to reach the goals we had set for ourselves. And I decided, ‘I need more time to do this. I’ll just keep doing this until somebody says stop.’ And nobody did.”
1998“Most university presidents last five or six years at most. When I reached my tenth anniversary I knew that we were just beginning to reach the goals we had set for ourselves. And I decided, ‘I need more time to do this. I’ll just keep doing this until somebody says stop.’ And nobody did.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
2008 “The story behind UTEP’s Bhutanese architecture goes that the wife of the first dean saw a photo essay in National Geographic and thought that the Himalayas looked just like the Franklin Mountains. I’ve always joked that she had to be from a really flat place to think that, but we’ve adhered to that style.”
2008“The story behind UTEP’s Bhutanese architecture goes that the wife of the first dean saw a photo essay in National Geographic and thought that the Himalayas looked just like the Franklin Mountains. I’ve always joked that she had to be from a really flat place to think that, but we’ve adhered to that style.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
2014 “By the time of our centennial we realized we were on track to achieve the goals we had so boldly set in 1988. I love this T-shirt because of the different versions of Paydirt Pete [UTEP’s mascot]. That’s another way of measuring progress—the first Pete looks like he’s on his way to tend to his tomato plants.”
2014“By the time of our centennial we realized we were on track to achieve the goals we had so boldly set in 1988. I love this T-shirt because of the different versions of Paydirt Pete [UTEP’s mascot]. That’s another way of measuring progress—the first Pete looks like he’s on his way to tend to his tomato plants.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
2015 “UTEP works with our students to build pride in who they are and what they can do, because when they compete with other students for jobs after graduation, they’re going to be competing with people from very affluent backgrounds. Those students have a lot of confidence. Sometimes more than is warranted.”
2015“UTEP works with our students to build pride in who they are and what they can do, because when they compete with other students for jobs after graduation, they’re going to be competing with people from very affluent backgrounds. Those students have a lot of confidence. Sometimes more than is warranted.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
2018 “I really like this shirt celebrating my thirty years at UTEP. It’s funny, and I like that because I believe that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. I try very hard to show students that I am not impressed by my own importance. I’m human and humble, just like them.”
2018“I really like this shirt celebrating my thirty years at UTEP. It’s funny, and I like that because I believe that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. I try very hard to show students that I am not impressed by my own importance. I’m human and humble, just like them.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera
2019 “Often, institutions that want to be designated R1 compromise their commitment to accessibility by, for example, raising their admission requirements. We’re never going to sacrifice opportunities for the young people in our community. We’re going to stick to our guns.”
2019“Often, institutions that want to be designated R1 compromise their commitment to accessibility by, for example, raising their admission requirements. We’re never going to sacrifice opportunities for the young people in our community. We’re going to stick to our guns.”
Photograph by Nick Cabrera