Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, Ph.D.

Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics and Political Economy and the Mary McDermott Cook Distinguished Chair for Undergraduate Education and Research at The University of Texas at Dallas.  In 2010, she became Dean of Undergraduate Education and received the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. At UT Dallas, Dr. Piñeres has led university-wide initiatives including the Comet Connection, the redesign of the first-year experience, strategic planning for undergraduate education, expansion of student success programs and undergraduate research.  In 2011-12, she was hosted by University of Central Florida as an American Council of Education Fellow. Her research focuses on Latin American development, and her current book project is Beyond State Capacity: Library Parks in Marginalized Urban Areas in Colombia. Dr. Piñeres received her Ph.D. in economics from Duke University in 1992.  She joined UT Dallas in 1996.  Previously, she was a faculty member at the University of Arkansas.