At its May 2025 meeting, the Board of Trustees of Seminary of the Southwest accepted leadership’s recommendation and unanimously approved tenure and promotion for Dr. Maria Reyna, advancing her to the rank of Associate Professor of Counselor Education. The promotion will take effect in the summer of 2025.
Dr. Scott Bader-Saye, dean and president, praised the promotion as a well-earned recognition of Dr. Reyna’s scholarly contributions and her ongoing impact on the institution. “Maria is an outstanding scholar and teacher,” said Dr. Bader-Saye. “She is deeply committed to her students and to the distinctive ethos of the counseling department. She is also a highly capable administrator, having significantly improved our departmental assessment practices—no small feat. We are fortunate to benefit from her gifts and dedication as she continues to help form future counselors.”
Reflecting on the milestone, Dr. Reyna expressed deep appreciation for her professional community and the personal significance of the moment. “I’m filled with gratitude and joy to be promoted and granted tenure as an Associate Professor of Counseling at the Seminary of the Southwest,” she said. “This moment feels incredibly meaningful—not just as a professional milestone, but as a reflection of the relationships, growth, and purpose that have shaped my journey so far. I feel honored to wear the legacies of my ancestors, and I am humbled at the opportunity to participate in the sacred work of counseling and counselor education.”
Dr. Reyna is a licensed professional counselor supervisor (LPC-S) in Texas. She came to Southwest in 2019 from a position as a full-time senior lecturer in the UNT Counseling Program, where she taught didactic courses and provided clinical supervision for master’s counseling students in multiple stages of clinical development. Her research and teaching interests include counselor development, attachment theory, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in clinical and educational contexts. She completed her doctoral work at the University of North Texas, where she received advanced training in play and filial therapy. Her clinical experience spans a range of settings, including inpatient psychiatric facilities, substance use recovery programs, and community mental health agencies.
