Rate My Professor Sergio Pena

Dr. Sergio Peña serves as Faculty of Instruction in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Texas at El Paso, contributing to social science education through public administration and policy studies. He holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Florida State University and a B.A. in History from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1991, with a thesis titled Economic Policy and Regional Development: Agriculture in Sonora 1920-1929. Peña's career history encompasses a Lecturer position at the University of Texas at El Paso beginning Fall 2000; Teaching and Research Assistant in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University from 1996 to 1998, where he designed and taught upper-level courses in Introductory Urban Planning, Planning for Developing Areas, assisted with research methods, and taught SPSS to graduate students; Research Assistant at the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, The Florida Legislature from August 1998 to March 1999; Adjunct Professor at the School of Communications, University of Sonora from 1988 to 1991; Spanish Instructor at Crestview Independent School from 1992 to 1993; Substitute Teacher for ESL and Spanish at Leon County Community Education in 1993; and Freelance Writer for weekly newspapers in Hermosillo, Sonora from 1989 to 1990.

Sergio Peña's research specializations include urban planning in Mexico, cross-border planning, governance, and cooperation processes between the U.S. and Mexico. His key publications feature 'Recent Developments in Urban Marginality Along Mexico’s Northern Border' (Habitat International, 2005), 'Collateral Damage—The Impact of 9/11 on the U.S.-Mexico Border: El Paso-Ciudad Juarez' (Journal of Law and Border Studies, 2003), 'Land Use Planning on the USA-Mexico Border: A Comparison of the Legal Framework' (Journal of Borderlands Studies, 2002), 'Comercio Transfronterizo y su Impacto en la Región El Paso-Juárez: Una Propuesta de Financiamiento de la Planeación Binacional' (Frontera Norte, 2003), 'Public Participation and Water Supply: The Case of two Communities in Chihuahua' (Water International, 2001), and 'Regulating Informal Markets: Informal Commerce in Mexico City' (International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 2000). He co-edited Planeación Binacional y Cooperación Transfronteriza en la Frontera México-Estados Unidos (2005) and authored monographs such as 'Modeling the Institutional Framework Governing Land Use and Water Rights in the U.S.-Mexican Border Region' (2005). Peña served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Borderlands Studies for eight years and teaches courses including Applied Statistics for Public Administration, Comparative Public Administration, and Seminar in Policy Analysis and Decision Making.