Associate Dean for Admission and Financial Aid

Reyes Aguilar, the associate dean for admission and financial aid at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, has a long history with the college. He received a B.A. in political science from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the U of U. He assumed his present duties in 1992, shortly following graduation. Of his job at the law school, Aguilar says he particularly enjoys the variety of constituent groups he works with, the cyclical nature of the process, and university environment.

In his time as a law school administrator, Aguilar has been Director of the Rocky Mountain Region CLEO Summer Institute, and has been active since 1994, with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). He served a three-year term on the Board of Trustees for the LSAC, and has also worked on various committees and workgroups for the organization. In addition, he has recently been appointed by the American Bar Association to an on-site inspection team for the provisional accreditation review of law schools.

Aguilar is also active on the national level in the area of financial aid. He has served on the Law Financial Aid Advisory Group and was a member of the advisory committee for the development of Access Advisor software for The Access Group - a nonprofit educational loan provider. Aguilar has been engaged in the community, having served on the Youth Leadership and Unity Conference Committee for the Utah Coalition of La Raza, an organization focused on and addressing issues affecting the Latino community. He has also served the Citizens Advisory Board for the Salt Lake County Division of Youth Services as well as the Board of Directors of the University of Utah Young Alumni Association. Aguilar regularly presents at national conferences and workshops, speaking on topics that include law school admissions, financial aid, debt management, diversity, and academic support. In 2003 the Utah Minority Bar Association recognized Aguilar as its Honoree of the year, and he has received honorary induction into The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for outstanding contributions to the classroom, the campus, career achievement, and community service.

Aguilar finds that his involvement in professional organizations contributes to his ability to fulfill his job responsibilities because it provides a great opportunity to maintain a national perspective as well as having an impact on a national level regarding law school admission policies. In addition, he notes that conferring with his professional counterparts increases his ability to keep informed and understand trends on a nation, regional and local level. He further believes that giving back to the community is vital to maintaining the responsibility one assumes when provided the privilege of completing a legal education, and stresses that with this unique knowledge and training, one has a responsibility to give back.

Aguilar reflects that his favorite part of his job is interacting with candidates, students and faculty because it affords him the opportunity to be surrounded by extremely bright, energetic people who are passionate about their interests and the work in which they are engaged. During his time at the Quinney College, he has witnessed many changes in how recruitment is conducted, the most dramatic of which is the impact technology has had on the process.

Aguilar's future professional aspirations include keeping his enthusiasm for the work that he does do and maintaining a strong belief that the work he is engaged in is having a positive impact. He has found that working in higher education has proven to be an ideal setting to pursue those aspirations.