During his tenure as the president of the University of Houston-Downtown, Dr. Max Castillo provided dynamic leadership for this unique, thriving, public, liberal arts university with a passion for providing access and opportunity to each generation. President Castillo served for 17 years, and his long tenure provided the foundation for this university to grow as it responds to the needs of its city. Under Dr. Castillo’s leadership, UHD expanded its campus from a single building, to a campus of five state-of-the-art buildings located along the Buffalo Bayou.
Dr. Castillo holds a B.A. and an M.A. degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and he earned a doctorate from the University of Houston. He served as president of San Antonio College for 10 years until 1992, when he assumed leadership of UH-Downtown.
He has held leadership positions on the Commission on Minorities in Higher Education of the American Council on Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He served on the board of the American Council on Education (ACE), the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP); and the Texas Campus Compact. Dr. Castillo served as the chairman of the Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors (CPUPC) in Texas, as president of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities (ATCU), on the boards of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and remains an active member in most of the organizations.
Dr. Castillo was recognized by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County with the “La Familia,” award in Spring 2003. And he was honored by the U.S. Army Medical Command for significant accomplishments in education in 2003, among other honors. He has forged partnerships in the international arena, at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Tamaulipas in Tampico, Mexico, and with the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; Taiwan, the United Kingdom and established the International Young Sounds of Houston, Jazz Program between UHD and the Universite De Bordeaux III, in Bordeaux, France.
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