Dr. Jorge A. Moreno is the Dean of the American University of Antigua College of Arts and Sciences (AUACAS) and Professor of Biology, leading the undergraduate health sciences programs that prepare students for the MD pathway at AUA College of Medicine. Manipal Educations America is member of the esteemed Manipal Education and Medical Group. A Puerto Rican biologist, field ecologist, and conservation ornithologist, Dr. Moreno pairs two decades of academic leadership in Antigua with a pioneering scientific career in Caribbean wildlife conservation.
Dr. Moreno earned his B.S. in biology from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, completed post-baccalaureate studies in evolutionary biology at the University of Miami, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, with doctoral research on genetic and morphological variation in introduced African finch populations in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Moreno joined American University of Antigua in 2005 as Associate Dean of Pre-Medical Sciences and Professor of Biology at AUA College of Medicine. From 2008 to 2024 he served as Dean of the American International College of Arts and Sciences – Antigua (AICASA), and since 2024 he has led its successor institution, AUACAS, as Dean. Earlier, he was a Senior Instructor in Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder (1996–2004), where he also coordinated research programming for the Minority Arts and Sciences Program — experience that continues to inform his commitment to expanding access to careers in science and medicine.
Before entering academic leadership, Dr. Moreno built a distinguished career at the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, rising to Chief of the Terrestrial Ecology Section, where he directed endangered species programs, supervised a staff of 24, and led censuses, habitat assessments, and management strategies for coastal wetlands, game species, and state forests. His research on endangered birds, reptiles, and Caribbean biodiversity has been funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Denver Zoological Foundation, among others.
A key figure in founding the Puerto Rican Ornithological Society, Dr. Moreno was appointed the first President of the Society of Caribbean Ornithology in 1988 — the organization known today as BirdsCaribbean — helping transform Caribbean bird conservation into a coordinated regional scientific movement. His honors include the American Ornithological Union’s Alexander Wetmore Award (1988), Employee of the Year at the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (1992), and a 2026 Recognition of Achievement from the Puerto Rican Ornithological Pavilion honoring his lifetime contributions to conservation.
At AUACAS, Dr. Moreno brings a scientist’s rigor and a conservationist’s vision to prepare the next generation of physicians and health professionals.