Laura I. Rendón has been announced Distinguished Alumni Award for Postsecondary Education by the University of Michigan. 

Laura I. Rendón is a Gardner Institute Board Member and Professor Emerita and Co-Director of the Center for Research and Policy in Education at University of Texas-San Antonio. A native of Laredo, Texas, Rendón’s scholarly endeavors have focused on college access and success especially for low-income, first-generation students. Rendón is credited with developing the theory of validation that academic and student affairs practitioners have employed as a student success framework.