José Luis Cruz Rivera

José Luis Cruz Rivera has spent three decades transforming postsecondary institutions across urban, suburban, rural, and coastal landscapes. As Northern Arizona University (NAU) president, he achieved R1 and Hispanic-serving institution status, launched NAU Health, founded the Arizona Attainment Alliance, implemented tuition-free Access2Excellence, secured historic philanthropic investments, and delivered record student success outcomes. Previously, as City University of New York (CUNY) Lehman College president, he cemented its national reputation for economic mobility; as CUNY executive vice chancellor and university provost, he guided 25 campuses and 500,000 students through COVID-19. His trajectory spans professor to systemwide chief student affairs officer at the University of Puerto Rico, vice president at The Education Trust leading the nation’s largest voluntary student success initiative, and provost at California State University, Fullerton. Cruz Rivera earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in optical interconnections for massively parallel systems. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, patented inventor, and National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipient, he teaches freshman digital logic circuits at NAU.