Danny Hernandez

As Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Success, Dr. Danny Hernandez leads a broad portfolio of student success initiatives designed to strengthen access, academic progression, retention, and degree completion. His areas of responsibility include the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA), the Office of Undergraduate Success, Major Exploration & Success Advising (MESA), and the Pre Law program. He also serves as a liaison to the Graduate School and provides institutional leadership through the Paul L. Foster Success Center Leadership Team, the Baylor Compliance Leadership Group, and committees focused on academic operations and student success.

Dr. Hernandez joined Baylor in October 2024 as Director of OALA, bringing a student centered, data informed approach to accessibility and institutional expertise in ADA and Section 504 compliance. He became Baylor’s Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Success in August 2026. He brings more than a decade of higher education leadership at the intersection of academic affairs, student support, and institutional strategy. Before joining Baylor, he held dean, faculty, and senior director roles at the University of Southern California, Scripps College, Pitzer College, and within the California State University system. Across these institutions, his leadership has encompassed disability and learning support, student wellbeing, case management, first generation student success, career development, student conduct, academic policy, and retention initiatives. Throughout his career, he has focused on building coordinated systems of support and cultivating an approach to leadership that pairs accountability with care.

A licensed clinical social worker and scholar practitioner, Dr. Hernandez holds bachelor’s degrees in international relations and political science, a Master of Social Work, and advanced doctoral training in educational psychology and organizational leadership through the University of Southern California and California Baptist University. His research and teaching focus on meaning making, identity formation, trauma and resilience, and the relationship between leadership, persistence, and the organizational cultures and institutional conditions that help students, leaders, and institutions flourish. This work informs his commitment to creating environments in which students feel known, supported, and equipped to persist, develop, and thrive.