Juliet V. García, former longtime President of The University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB), received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors.

García is the first Mexican-American woman to serve as a college president in the United States. During her tenure, García pioneered a partnership between UT Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, a community college where she served as president from 1986 to 1992, when she assumed the presidency of UTRGV’s legacy institution UT Brownsville. She stepped down as UTB president in 2014 when UTRGV was established.

García is the recipient of numerous awards. TIME magazine named García one of the top 10 college presidents in the nation in 2009, and she was named one of the top 50 world leaders by Fortune magazine.