Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation
Rebecca Villarreal, Ph.D.
Rebecca C. Villarreal, Ph.D. is the new director of education grantmaking in the Community Investments Division of the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation (GLHEC). This position will have her leading a team of program officers and grant administrators to best help the underserved students of the region access postsecondary education and be successful in obtaining degrees. She joins GLHEC in Wisconsin from a three-year stint as an education program officer at the Michigan-based Kresge Foundation. Prior to that, Villarreal served as a project manager at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities for nearly two years. Her career leading to this was dominated by her time in various positions in over a nearly seven year period in administration at the University of Maryland, College Park.
She was first hired while attending the university as a graduate student, working towards a master’s degree in higher education administration. She served as graduate assistant in the office of undergraduate admissions before moving to the department of resident life as a graduate coordinator for human resources. After the completion of her master’s degree, Villarreal decided to stay at the University of Maryland to earn a doctorate degree, also in higher education administration. She continued to work there as well through the completion of her degree, spending the majority of this time as the graduate administrative coordinator in the department of resident life.
Pre-graduate school career experience includes over a year as a national college fair event manager at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. As a first-generation college graduate, Villarreal has always tried to steer her career towards helping others realize the same dreams she has.
Dr. Rebecca C. Villarreal began work as director of education grantmaking at GLHEC on Oct. 15, 2018.
