Kyle Reyes, Ph.D., serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement, CEO of UVU Foundation, and Associate Professor at Utah Valley University (UVU)—the largest university in the state of Utah with over 43,000 students. Before this appointment in October 2022, Dr. Reyes served for five years as VP of Student Affairs and from 2014-2017, Kyle served as UVU’s Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer. In that role, he led the development and implementation of UVU’s nationally recognized Strategic Inclusion Plan consisting of nearly 40 initiatives focused on making UVU a more inclusive campus. He has been at UVU for 19 years in various offices and programs: TRIO Upward Bound, GEAR UP, Multicultural Student Services, Student Success & Retention, the School of Education, and the Office of the President.
Dr. Reyes is also a tenured Associate Professor of Education at UVU and taught courses in Multicultural Education, Family & Community Partnerships, and Arts-based Integration. His research focuses on arts-based student empowerment; leadership for equity and access; and institution-wide inclusion and diversity strategic planning.
Kyle has consulted with, and presented to, organizations in 27 states* and Canada in various sectors including: K-12 education, higher education, business, community task forces, and faith groups. He has given more than 550 presentations over the past 17 years on issues of diversity, inclusion, art, cultural competence, voice, identity, multiculturalism, and leadership.
In addition to serving on the board of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education, Kyle serves on the Utah Governor’s Multicultural Commission. He is the past president of the Utah chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education. Dr. Reyes has also served as the co-chair of the College Access Network for the Utah System of Higher Education and a member of the board of directors for the United Way of Utah County and American Indian Services.
Dr. Reyes has received a number of awards including: UVU’s Board of Trustees Award; the Exemplary Educator for Diversity Award from the National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME); Inclusion Cultivates Excellence Award from CUPA-HR, Utah Valley Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40; and the top 50 Diversity Executives in the Nation from Diversity MBA Magazine. Kyle received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah and was the recipient of the Bennion Morgan Fellowship.
Most importantly, Kyle and his wife, Michele, have seven children and deliberately try to build their cultural heritage (Hawaiian, Navajo, Filipino, Japanese) into their family learning and engagement.
For his work in community outreach, service learning, and inclusive initiatives, Kyle has received a number of awards including: the Civically Engaged Staff Member Award from the Utah Campus Compact; UVU’s Board of Trustees Award; Adjunct Faculty of the Year Award; and the 2013 Exemplary Educator for Diversity Award for the state of Utah from the National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME). Dr. Reyes is also an Assistant Professor in the School of Education and teaches courses in Multicultural Understanding, Intercultural Communications, and Community and Family Partnerships. His research focuses on conditions for underrepresented student success and leadership for social justice throughout P-20 educational institutions.
Kyle received his Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah and was the recipient of the Elmo R. & Frances Bennion Morgan Fellowship. He is the advisor to the Hip Hop and Graffiti clubs at UVU and has been involved in cultural and urban performing and visual arts for nearly 25 years. Kyle attributes his loves of educational advocacy and the arts to his Hawaiian/Japanese educator mother and his Filipino artist father.