José Luis Cruz Rivera recently completed his first year as the 17th President of Northern Arizona University (NAU). To mark this anniversary, we asked him about key initiatives during his first year, NAU’s niche in the higher ed marketplace, what local restaurants he’s discovered, and his upcoming formal installation in September. You can see the full interview here.
Q: What do you feel your biggest success has been this first year?
A: Well, that’s an easy answer. The fact that I survived the Running of the Freshman at the first home football game!
In all seriousness, while there have been many success stories, I think my biggest success has been learning about and connecting with the people and organizations who live and work at NAU, in Flagstaff and throughout northern Arizona. It has been important to me from day one to understand the values here. Time will be the judge of my success leading and supporting the efforts of our awesome university community, but I have truly enjoyed listening and learning and still feel it is a privilege to serve as the President of NAU and live is this amazing and beautiful community.