Northern Arizona University President José Luis Cruz Rivera was formally inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday. This honor acknowledges his nearly 30 years of dedication to broadening participation in and improving the outcomes of higher education.
Founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock and other leading figures of the day, the Academy’s mission is to honor excellence and convene leaders from every field to explore new ideas, address issues of national and global importance, and collaborate “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.”
President Cruz Rivera is one of 250 intellectual leaders elected to the Academy in 2024. Other university presidents and chancellors inducted this year include those from the California State University System, the University of Texas System, the University of Southern California, the University of Pittsburgh and the University at Buffalo. They join other notable members inducted since the Academy’s founding, including political leaders, social activists, academic scholars, performance artists and more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.
“I am deeply honored to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” President Cruz Rivera said. “The contributions of past and present members in fostering more just, peaceful, and prosperous societies are immeasurable. Their dedication to expanding knowledge, igniting creativity, and celebrating our shared humanity continues to inspire my work.”
Cruz Rivera has devoted his career to connecting talent with opportunity and positioning students from all walks of life for careers of consequence and lives of purpose. He serves as a professor of electrical engineering at NAU, is a patented inventor, a published scholar and a thought leader on equitable educational policies and practices who has testified numerous times before the United States Congress. His leadership roles have spanned the University of Puerto Rico, California State University, the City University of New York and The Education Trust. His service extends to more than 20 boards, commissions and advisory groups, including the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity and the Arizona State Board of Education.
Cruz Rivera’s induction highlights NAU’s efforts under his leadership, including initiatives like the Access2Excellence tuition program and the Arizona Attainment Alliance, which aim to broaden access and redefine the value of a college degree.
“This honor reflects the dedication of our NAU community to advancing a shared vision where public higher education is a fundamental right,” Cruz Rivera said. “I am proud that NAU is recognized as a leader in delivering on that promise.”