Trustee Profile

Special Note: Orcilia Zúñiga Forbes was featured as a role model of what one can achieve through dedication and hard work in a show on Spanish-language KUNP Univision Portland. Her story also reveals the importance of education. View the video here: http://kunptv.com/multimedia/destino-éxito-edúcate/39242/5812/destino-éxito-orcilia-zúñiga-forbes
Orcilia Zúñiga Forbes was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico to Lorenzo and Anita Zuniga, the first of eight children. She received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of New Mexico and master’s degrees in Nursing Education and Public Health Administration from the University of Oregon Nursing School and the University of California School of Public Health in Berkeley. Her doctorate was in Educational Policy and Management from the University of Oregon. In 1965, Orcilia began a long and distinguished career in higher education administration. She has held the positions of Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs at Portland State University, Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Advancement at the University of New Mexico and Vice President of University Advancement at Oregon State University, retiring in 2004. She has also served on the boards of many community organizations, including the Albuquerque and Portland Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, Providence Health and Services System, National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation and Spanish Colonial Arts Society. In 1991 she received the MANA de Albuquerque, Brindis a la Mujer Hispana Award and the NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Award. In 2009 UNM’s Alumni Association honored her contributions as an alum. Orcilia was married to the late Richard Bryan Forbes, PhD, and has a daughter Eryn and son Bryan.