Eduardo Pagán appointed associate dean of honors college at ASU West campus

Eduardo Pagán, the newly appointed associate dean of Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University’s West campus, said he wants students to know this about him:

“I believe in the transformative power of education and I believe there’s room in academia and at this university for all kinds of learners.

“Your success matters to me. Where you came from matters to me.”

This philosophy has been the foundation of Pagán’s work for over a decade in several positions at ASU, including vice provost for academic excellence and inclusion, associate dean for community engagement at the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, president of the West campus faculty senate and faculty council chair for the Arizona Board of Regents. 

Pagán currently is the Bob Stump Endowed Professor of History at the West campus in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies. Now he is stepping into a new role heading up Barrett, The Honors College at ASU West. He replaces Professor Ramsey Eric Ramsey, associate dean at Barrett West since 2010, who will focus on writing a scholarly book.

Pagán grew up in Phoenix and obtained a bachelor’s degree from ASU, a master’s degree from University of Arizona, and both a master’s degree and a PhD in U.S. history from Princeton University. 

He served as an assistant dean of students at Princeton, a faculty member at Williams College and a senior program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. He has held an NEH Fellowship and was a postdoctoral fellow at Wesleyan University and at the University of California, San Diego.

Pagán may look familiar to history buffs; he was a host on the television program "History Detectives" and a historical consultant with "American Experience," both on PBS, and has appeared in national and international documentaries and television shows.

He has served as a panelist for the Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Arizona Humanities Council, as a committee member for the Organization of American Historians, and as a judge for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Pagán said his passion lies in mentoring and teaching.

“One of my great joys is sharing what I’ve learned and helping students grow. I hope to continue to do that for students in Barrett Honors College,” he said.

Mark Jacobs, vice provost and dean of Barrett, The Honors College, said Pagán is uniquely qualified for his new position.

“Professor Pagán, an ASU alum, is a faculty member from West, for West and of West and thus a great person to head up Barrett’s efforts on the ASU West campus. He has a great deal of administrative experience already at both the West campus and serving all of ASU in various capacities and is serving as the president of the ASU faculty senate now,” Jacobs said.

“He is particularly interested in helping with the recruitment and retention of first-generation students and those from underserved populations to aid as he was aided with good guidance and supportive mentoring.”