Ft Worth Times

The Fort Worth campus of Tarleton State University has a new dean in Dr. Rachael Capua, according to a report from Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS. 

Her official title being the vice president for external operations, Capua’s first day on the job was Monday, March 20.

Capua told KXAS she considers her position an honor.

"It's an honor … I am a community college graduate and former transfer student,” she said. “A second-generation Mexican American and just feel so strongly and passionately about the work we're doing here."

The station reported that Capua emerged the successful candidate in a nationwide search.

KXAS reported that as the granddaughter of a man who has a fourth-grade education, Capua earned four degrees from educational institutions in the region.

Her journey began when she earned an associate degree from Collin College, which was followed by a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University (TCU) and a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma (OU), and ultimately, a doctorate from Southern Methodist University (SMU).

According to the station, she has worked at TCU, Tarrant County College (TCC) and education-focused nonprofit organization Tarrant To and Through (T3), to which she said prepared her to lead Tarleton-Fort Worth.

Per Capua, KXAS reported, her grandfather attributed to that journey, as did her mother, who raised her and her sister on her own while running a business.

“[It] instilled this sense of what education does for you,” she said in the report. “It allows access and a seat at the table where you may not have otherwise. At the end of the day, it's afforded me opportunity."

Capua added that her husband, with whom she is raising two foster daughters, is her biggest cheerleader.

“He assured me, marriage is about meeting each other where we are professionally and personally and that we can do this and we can do it together," she said.

According to KXAS, chief among Capua’s new responsibilities are helping distinguish Tarleton’s role in regard to Texas A&M University (TAMU) System research and innovation center in Downtown Fort Worth, overseeing online learning for the university, and ensuring students who seek an education beyond a two-year degree receive the assistance they need. 

“Nothing fills my bucket more than helping students cultivate grit and celebrating their big and small victories along the way,” Capua said on her website.