Kathryn Cruz-Uribe
Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, Ph.D.

Fourth Candidate for the President of Emporia State University

Dr. Kathryn Cruz-Uribe has been Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University, Monterey Bay since 2007.  CSU Monterey Bay is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution of about 5000 students.  Dr. Cruz-Uribe is responsible for leading the academic programs of the university, including four colleges and the university library.  She also oversees the Grants and Contracts Office, Information Technology operations, Institutional Research, and Enrollment Services, including Admissions and Financial Aid.  She serves as second-in-command of the university. 

During her tenure at CSU Monterey Bay, Dr. Cruz-Uribe has been a key player in the development of the new University Strategic Plan for 2008-2018 and the new five-year Academic Plan, which dovetails with the university plan and guides academic priorities.  She has overseen the implementation of eight new academic programs, as well as a significant revision of the university’s general education program, and the successful re-affirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Dr. Cruz-Uribe began her faculty career at the University of Rhode Island.  She moved to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1989, where she remained for 18 years as a faculty member and then administrator.  She is a recipient of the Northern Arizona University Teaching Scholar Award and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award.  Her administrative posts at Northern Arizona University included Interim Associate Provost of Research and Graduate Studies and Graduate Dean, as well as the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

An archaeologist, Dr. Cruz-Uribe was graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College (double major in art history and anthropology), and received an A.M. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.  Her area of expertise is the analysis of animal bones from archaeological sites, and she conducted field and laboratory research in South Africa for more than twenty years.  She has received numerous grants for both teaching and research, and has co-authored a book and more than 40 articles and chapters pertaining to her research.

Dr. Cruz-Uribe has served on the board of the Hozhoni Foundation, the Flagstaff Youth Orchestra, the Centennial Forest Advisory Board, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Grants Resource Center Advisory Board.  She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Monterey College of Law, and the Advisory Board for the California State University Summer Arts Program.  She is the Secretary/Treasurer of the University Corporation at Monterey Bay.  Dr. Cruz-Uribe is also a WASC evaluator and member of the WASC Annual Report Committee.