Office of the Provost Staff

In her role as senior vice provost at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso), Dr. Paton is responsible for accreditation, institutional research and effectiveness, faculty development, libraries and Hispanic-Serving Institution-related activities. Additionally, she serves as interim assistant vice president for TTUHSC El Paso’s Office of Student Services and Student Affairs, and holds a concurrent appointment as a tenured professor in the College of Education at Texas Tech University (TTU), where she teaches higher education policy, law, leadership and research courses. Her research interests include community engagement, community college-to-university transfer success and online learning.

Dr. Paton brings a wealth of higher education experience to our university. Prior to her appointment as senior vice provost in our office in 2018, Dr. Paton served as vice provost at TTU, where she led institutional initiatives related to community partnerships, strategic planning and success, academic and administrative assessment, academic program review, institutional research, and accountability. As interim dean of TTU’s University College, Dr. Paton led the transition of organizational structure to increase productivity and effectiveness in online degree and certificate offerings, off-campus site operations, interdisciplinary academic offerings, K-12 offerings for TTUISD, and institutional outreach and engagement activities.

Just a few of the honors Dr. Paton has held are as a fellow with the American Council of Education (2012-2013), co-chair for the 2013 Engaged Scholarship Conference and executive committee member of Texas Women in Higher Education. She currently serves on the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Board of Commissioners. Dr. Paton received her B.A. in American Studies at San José State University, her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University and her Ph.D. in Education at the University of Southern California.

Ms. Castro is the executive associate to the provost and reports to the assistant to the president at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso).  In her role, Ms. Castro provides total support to the provost and manages the daily operations of the Office of the Provost. She also supports many administrative functions in the areas of human resources, budgeting and finance, contracts, reporting, employee development and more. She also provides administrative support for the Academic Council.

Prior to joining the TTUHSC El Paso family, Ms. Castro held administrative and research positions in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas where she was also the ACGME Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Coordinator. In 2018, she transferred to our office from the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine where she was responsible for the fiscal oversight of the department’s sponsored funding.

Ms. Rodriguez provides administrative support and reports directly to the senior vice provost at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso). In her role as section coordinator, Ms. Rodriguez contributes to various functions related to Office of the Provost projects and assists the interim assistant vice president for the TTUHSC El Paso Office of Student Services and Student Affairs with institutional operating procedures.

With over 20 years of experience in the administrative field, Ms. Rodriguez brings a wealth of experience from both higher education and the private sector. Prior to joining our TTUHSC El Paso family in 2011, Ms. Rodriguez held several positions at the University of Texas at El Paso. Before transferring to the Office of the Provost, she served our university in the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness and in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Office of Medical Education. Outside of her normal duties, she enjoys interacting with students, faculty and staff as an active Spanish Lab tutor and member of the Campus Health Initiative Committee.

Ms. Rodriguez is a proud graduate of Ysleta High School and a CompTIA-certified network administrator