Office of the Dean

Hugo O Villar is currently the Dean of the Division of Extended Studies at UC San Diego. He oversees educational programs in areas as diverse as Arts and Languages, Engineering, Healthcare, Applied Math, Life Sciences, and Business for non-matriculated students. In addition, his office supports various service areas Corporate and Custom Programs, Innovation and Institutional Research and 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, Dr. Villar arrived at DES in 2008. Dr. Villar 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. 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. Dr. Villar holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina) and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. He holds multiple patents and peer-reviewed publications derived from his research.

Edward Abeyta is the Associate Dean for Education and Community Outreach, overseeing programming from early childhood to 50+ and specializes in the linkage between education, workforce development, and diverse communities across the globe. Abeyta began his service at UC San Diego as a counselor serving underrepresented students in San Diego high schools and later assumed the role of Registrar and Director of Academic Services at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. In 2008 he was selected to a two-year term as the Staff Advisor to The Regents. He later founded the pre-college programs department at DES, which merged with the teacher and professional development and 50+ programs now known as ECO. He has a B.A. from the University of New Mexico, an M.A. from the University of San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Post-Secondary Adult Education from Capella University. Ed has been recognized by UC San Diego and the UC Office of the President for his involvement in staff diversity and development initiatives, in addition to being a leader in donor stewardship. He serves on various community advisory boards and is a founding trustee of Urban Discovery Schools in San Diego, where he currently serves as the president of the UDA Foundation.

Morgan Appel is Assistant Dean for Education and Community Outreach (ECO) at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, overseeing a diverse array of programming for PK-post retirement, including opportunities for students, practitioners, administrators, parents, and community stakeholders. He previously served as Director of Education Programs at UC Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE) following a research appointment at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine. With expertise in education transformation and policy, Appel has worked with a number of school districts, universities, and research institutes to explore the impacts of legislated and organically-generated change agentry across segments of education. Professional specialties include gifted and talented education; the neuroscience of teaching and learning; arts integration; and organizational behavior in educational institutions. Beyond his current administrative appointment, Appel teaches a variety of courses at both UC San Diego and UC Irvine.

Laura Fandino also directs the university's public-facing Science & Sustainability programs. She is both a scientist and lawyer by training and received her Ph.D. in Marine Biology from UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. Laura's scientific research primarily focused on the molecular ecology of bacteria associated with marine phytoplankton blooms, and she is published in the field of microbial ecology.

Patricia Juza serves as the Associate Dean and Executive Director of Student Affairs and International Programs at the University of California San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, where she oversees domestic and international student affairs and services as well as the English Language Institute, international certificate programs, the University and Professional Studies program (non-degree credit program for international students), and custom international programs. She has 20+ years of experience in international, continuing, and professional education. Previously, Ms. Juza held leadership roles at the University of Colorado Boulder and the City University of New York. Her expertise includes: program and curriculum development, pedagogy, assessment, online education, intercultural communication, accreditation, education and immigration policy, student success and support services, and student and faculty recruitment. Ms. Juza is the former President of UCIEP (2017-2018) and the Vice President for Advocacy for EnglishUSA. She has served on several executive boards, including UCIEP, EnglishUSA, NAFSA Region X, and New York State TESOL. Ms. Juza earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University and Master of Arts in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Shapiro is responsible for using data and research to improve the performance and opportunities for DES as well as assisting with setting the strategy for the Organization’s future by identifying and leading innovation and development initiatives. Through his leadership with the Center for Research and Evaluation and Institutional Research Dr. Shapiro’s leverages his academic interests in workforce, economic development, and the jobs of the future to ensure alignment between courses, skills, and industry needs. Additionally, he has conducted a number of community-based research projects building indicators and dashboards to measure collective impact as well as working with non-profits throughout San Diego to demonstrate social change. Dr. Shapiro is deeply embedded in the Educational Technology community and continues to identify and deploy novel initiatives including micro-credentials and stackable credentials, virtual reality classrooms, and new delivery platforms to improve learning outcomes. Through his development role he was instrumental in the creation of the first Income Share Agreement between a DES school and a Workforce Investment Board. He has been awarded 3.5M in grants and philanthropy for this initiative and gained local and national media attention for this innovative program to serve underrepresented and unemployed individuals. He has taught classes on Research Methodology for UC San Diego and is trained in both Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies with a specialization in labor market data. Dr. Shapiro holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and a B.A. in Social Thought and Analysis from Washington University in St. Louis.