Latina University Presidents
Empowering Communities through Education
By Nilda Melissa Diaz
Latinas are making their mark in education as presidents of Universities across the country.
While their journeys to the presidency are vastly different, their fierce commitment
to their communities through quality education and beyond ties them together, as does their
view on obstacles — or opportunities to learn and innovate.
Dr. Waded Cruzado
Montana State University
12th President
It’s a long journey from a first-generation college
graduate in Puerto Rico to president of Montana
State University. Dr. Waded Cruzado was the first
person to graduate college in her family. Just before
her graduation, the department director called to ask
about her life plans post-graduation and suggested
she continue her studies.
“When you’re the first person in your family
to graduate college, everything is new: the language,
the customs, the culture,” she shares. “That
conversation was very important.”
Dr. Cruzado moved to Texas, made a life there,
and as she was finishing her degree, her alma mater
contacted her with a teaching position.
“The student saw herself as a professor,” she
says. After teaching a few years, she became
auxiliary dean, with more fear than shame.
Soon after, the University of New Mexico called
and Dr. Cruzado became their Dean of Arts and
Science, eventually Provost and finally, their interim
president. During that time, Dr. Cruzado was
contacted three times by headhunters to add her name to the pool for the presidency
at MSU. She was skeptical. The state Latino population was then at two percent.
“I asked him, ‘Do you know where I’m from? I don’t look nor sound like
anybody there! What is it that you see in me?’ And he replied, ‘What we see in you
is your experience in land grand universities, your passion for minorities and we are
looking for someone full of energy.’ Well, he shut me up,” she says.
Dr. Cruzado decided, with the help of her family, to go for it. Later, she learned
she was the last candidate, in fact, number 59.
Today, Dr. Cruzado has made Montana and MSU her home. Since January
2010, Dr. Cruzado has served as the 12th President of Montana State University.
During this time, she has significantly reshaped the face and future of the state's first
land-grant institution.
She is well known for her understanding of the Morrill Act, which created the
land-grant university system nearly 160 years ago.
In 2016, MSU welcomed its inaugural class of
Hilleman Scholars. She holds the Hilleman Scholars
Program close to her heart. Named after MSU alum
and microbiologist Dr. Maurice Hilleman, the program
gives mentorship and resources to 50 local students
whose life or educational experiences might deter
them from pursuing higher academics. The program
is motivated by a desire to provide Montana students
with more opportunities.
“Most of them are first-generation college
students, part of the rural population,” she shares.
“From the first group, we already have two students
in the school of medicine.”
In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed
President Cruzado to the International Food and
Agricultural Development Board, a seven-member
advisory council that advises USAID on agriculture,
rural development, and nutrition issues related to
global food insecurity. She was reappointed in 2017
and served on the board until 2020.
In 2015, President Cruzado received the “Hero”
Award from the National Alliance on Mental
Illness – Montana Chapter for her initiative and
commitment to establishing the MSU Center for
Mental Health Research and Recovery. She also
received the Chief Executive HR Champion Award
from the College and University Professional
Association for Human Resources. In that same year, President Cruzado was
appointed to the inaugural Hispanic Advisory Board for TIAA-CREF.
In 2014, President Cruzado was elected to serve a three-year term on the
APLU Board of Directors, the governing and policymaking body of the oldest
university association in the nation.
President Cruzado serves on the board of Campus Compact, U.S. Bank, The
Burton K. Wheeler Center, and as a commissioner of the Northwest Commission on
Colleges and Universities.
A passionate champion of the land-grant's tripartite mission of education,
research and public outreach, as well as the important role of higher education,
Dr. Cruzado advises everyone to “Accept the challenge, échale ganas,” she shares.
“You have the intelligence and capacity to move forward.”
14 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 27, No. 5, 2021
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