Hugo Villar Ph.D., MBA

As Dean of the University of California (UC) San Diego Division of Extended Studies, Hugo Villar oversees educational programs for non-matriculated students in areas as diverse as Arts and Languages, Engineering, Healthcare, Applied Math, Life Sciences, and Business. In addition, his office supports various service areas, including Corporate and Custom Programs, Innovation and Institutional Research, Instructional and Student Services, International and Precollegiate programs, and UCTV.

After a successful entrepreneurial career in the biopharmaceutical industry, where he held various senior-level positions at different companies in San Diego and the Bay Area, Dean Villar arrived at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies in 2008. He focused on developing new programs that provide the necessary skills to maintain a vibrant workforce. Through this process, he discovered a passion for the challenges in higher education. He understood the importance of making available to the community the resources of the university to facilitate economic development through workforce training, ensuring healthy communities, and enriching the lives of individuals through a variety of experiences.

Dean Villar holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Argentina and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. He has published extensively on technological solutions to diverse problems in the life sciences at the interface between information technology, chemistry, and biology. This interest in using technology to improve processes and outcomes is now ingrained in his view that a balanced use of technology can be part of the solution to problems in higher education without neglecting the human interactions that enhance the individual experience. He holds multiple patents and peer-reviewed publications derived from his research.