As a first-generation undergraduate student, Joaquin Becerra struggled to find his place at UC Santa Barbara. Roughly 20 years and three graduate degrees later, he is the new dean of students at UCSB.
According to the Student Life website, the Dean of Students Office oversees holistic student development both in and out of the classroom. The office responds to “individual and community-wide student needs” and addresses student concerns that impact academics.
The previous Dean of Students, Katya Armistead, held two positions that combined dean of students with other leadership roles, assistant vice chancellor and dean of student life. In light of her promotion to associate vice chancellor of student life and belonging and the Division of Student Affairs’ decision to return to a traditional DOS role, Becerra was announced as the new DOS in September.
Becerra was born in Mexicali, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. He grew up in Brawley, California.
“I grew up in really low socioeconomic status, where I think a lot of people consider themselves poor. But I always said, ‘I don’t actually feel poor,’” Becerra said. “I may be low in resources, and we needed finances, but we were very rich in culture, rich in sort of love and appreciation for community and like engaging with family and identity.”
In 2001, Becerra entered UCSB as an undergraduate with a declared pre-major in computer science, becoming the first person in his family to attend college. Due to difficulties with S.T.E.M. classes and his found community in other departments, Becerra changed his majors to Chicana and Chicano studies and psychology.
“I was ill-prepared to be successful in S.T.E.M. academically and didn’t find my place in that space, and where I saw myself actually reflected in [was] academia and then research,” Becerra said. “I leaned towards Chicano Studies, and I had taken some things in psychology and found the notion of how the mind works [interesting]. And those two things connected really spoke to me.”
As an undergraduate, Becerra was a resident assistant, member of Latino/a organization Hermanos Unidos, a part of the Upward Bound program and the Stephen S. Goodspeed intern for former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Michael Young.
“I found a love for supporting students, because a lot of the time I was supporting myself and others to graduate,” Becerra said. “ I basically got this [internship] connection from Student Affairs staff, who actually helped me survive this space.”
After graduating in 2005, Becerra became an assistant resident director at UCSB from 2006 to 2008. According to Becerra, his undergraduate experience helping students inspired him to pursue a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs at Indiana University Bloomington and another masters in education from UCSB.
Through his higher education and student affairs master’s program, Becerra gained experience in University Housing, S.T.E.M. diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services, multicultural affairs and student conduct, according to his Student Life profile.
“I focused my efforts and my studies around identity, specifically supporting Latinx students and other underrepresented minorities,” Becerra said. “There’s a way where that information centering other people’s stories helps you inform your practice.”
According to Becerra, UCSB staff contacted him upon finishing his master’s to discuss open positions on campus. He worked at various campus departments, including Student Housing as the Santa Cruz Residence Hall resident director and the Student Conduct office as the assistant dean and director.
“I have such a passion for working with students in a humanistic way and engaging them with a lot of compassion when they go through tough situations,” Becerra said.
In 2024, he completed his doctorate in education from the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. His dissertation centered around how university administrators perceive campus climate, as well as aid initiatives for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
UCSB falls under the HSI criteria, meaning that at least 25% of undergraduate students identify as Hispanic.
“If you’re engaging in what’s called ‘servingness,’ [it] means not just enrolling 25% of students because that’s one of the metrics that you need to do, [but also] really engaging and addressing the needs that you have,” Becerra said.
Becerra said he plans to inform his work as dean of students with his past experience in administrative roles and as a first-generation student.
“There’s a way where that information centering other people’s stories helps you inform your practice,” Becerra said. “In everything that I’ve done, it’s been sort of [through] this social justice lens of going ‘who’s excluded and how do we include?’”
According to Becerra, he aims to connect directly with students and find out what they need help with. As his first goals in the position, Becerra is focused on understanding student needs and expanding the campus restorative justice program through restorative alternatives to punitive measures and community grief circles.
Currently, the UCSB Restorative Justice program focuses on community building, conflict resolution and “positive” reintegration into campus to reduce re-offenses.
“I consider this place home, right? And I didn’t for a long time when I was an undergrad, but I do now, and [I] did toward the end of my academic journey,” Becerra said. “I’m here to help make home more of a space [within the university] and [make] a home for all students.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Oct. 24, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.