CUNY’s Cruz named next NAU president
Dr. José Luis Cruz, the executive vice chancellor and university provost at The City University of New York, is set to become the next president of Northern Arizona University, the Arizona Board of Regents announced late Thursday.
Cruz was named as one of two finalists the regents would interview earlier this week, alongside Bret Danilowicz, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida Atlantic University.
The regents still need to finalize Cruz’s appointment and put contract terms in place, which is expected to happen in the near future. On Friday afternoon, Cruz is expected to deliver his first address to the NAU campus community.
NAU President Rita Cheng announced in September that she planned to leave her position, saying it was “time to step away from this role.” Her contract wasn’t set to end until 2022. Her planned departure set off a nationwide search for a replacement, culminating in Cruz as the finalist.
Her departure announcement came amid a backlash over an audit that found her use of travel funds didn’t comply with policies. The university also faces major challenges with declining enrollment and relationships with Flagstaff residents, some of whom take issue with the university’s growth.
Cruz would be the 17th president of NAU. He told The Arizona Republic on Friday that he and his family were excited to be part of the Lumberjack and Flagstaff communities.
“We look forward to building a life there and contributing to the fortunes of NAU and Flagstaff for years to come,” he said.
Who is Cruz?
Before his positions at the City University of New York, Cruz served as provost at California State University, Fullerton. He also worked at the Education Trust in Washington, D.C., and at the University of Puerto Rico system.
His training is in electrical engineering, and he received a bachelor’s degree in the field from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, followed by master’s and a doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology, according to his CV.
City University of New York is one of the world’s largest urban universities and mostly serves commuter students, Cruz said, a contrast to NAU’s mountain, residential campus in Flagstaff. He said the values of the institutions are similar, however.
“I would bring all of those lived experiences to bear in this new, exciting chapter of leadership and a chapter that we, my family and I, hope will be one that will lead us well into the future,” Cruz said in an interview.
Cruz’s “record of academic leadership” made him the right fit for the next leader of NAU, regents chairman Larry Penley said in a statement.
“His unsurpassed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, coupled with a long track record as a leading national advocate to improve educational outcomes for all students — especially those who have historically been underserved — will serve Arizona and NAU well,” Penley said.
How will he do the job?
Cruz said his first steps toward confronting the challenges NAU faces begin with listening to people in the campus community and in Flagstaff to gain understanding and make them feel like they have a stake in the university’s future.
On enrollment, he said he would work with the campus community to dive deeply into the current state of affairs and chart a path forward.
On relations with the Flagstaff community, he said there are many shared goals, and he will create an open line of communication with community members.
On leading a university during the COVID-19 era, which has disrupted nearly every facet of society, including higher education, Cruz said he would lead with health and safety, while allowing students to meet their full potential.
“My commitment is to hit the ground learning,” he said. “I will be meeting with as many community members and organizations as I can early on, establishing structures and routines that will ensure that there’s continuous communication.”