On Wednesday, the Arizona Board of Regents approved the contract of José Luis Cruz to be the 17th president of Northern Arizona University, effective June 14.
Cruz met with the executive team on Thursday and said he is looking forward to the transition process, which will be led by Laurie Dickson, vice provost for curriculum, assessment, and accreditation. Within the next several days, a larger Presidential Transition Commission will be announced. For transition updates, visit nau.edu/presidential-transition.
Read Dr. Cruz’s message to campus.
More information about the transition will be released in the coming days and throughout the course of the transition, including information about how to participate in the “Hitting the Ground Learning” events that Dr. Cruz announced. All members of the NAU community are invited to participate in these events, which will be both online and in-person as allowed under the university’s COVID-19 protocols.
Cruz is currently the executive vice chancellor and university provost at The City University of New York. Previously, he served as provost of California State University, Fullerton, vice president of higher education policy and practice at The Education Trust in Washington, D.C., and chief student affairs officer for the University of Puerto Rico system. His full curriculum vitae is available at ABOR’s website.
Starting Monday, a Presidential Transition Portal will be the updated source of information related to the transition. Members of the community can email presidential.transition@nau.edu to ask questions and offer comments of the core administrative team.