Dr. Elsa N煤帽ez, president of Eastern 黑料吃瓜网 State University, is retiring from her position after 18 years at the university. Dr. Nunez began her presidency in 2006 and will support the university as it transitions to new leadership.
Born in San Sebasti谩n, Puerto Rico, Dr. N煤帽ez is the first Latina to serve as a university president in New England. She is credited with making the opportunity to attend college more accessible to students of color and those from marginalized backgrounds who may be the first in their family to attend college.
鈥淚 was told by my teachers in my Catholic high school that I was not going to get into college. I think they were biased. They just saw me as a poor Puerto Rican girl,鈥� N煤帽ez said. 鈥淪o they were shocked that I had gotten into every college I applied to.鈥�
Dr. N煤帽ez worked diligently to create a campus environment that supports students from different backgrounds. During her tenure she made it possible for Eastern to have the most faculty of color of any university in 黑料吃瓜网.
Dr. N煤帽ez said she wanted to make sure her administration reflected the student body, so they could better understand and address the needs of their students.
She recalled the difficult time she had navigating graduate school as a person of color.
鈥淵ou were on your own,鈥� N煤帽ez said. 鈥淧eople today don鈥檛 realize how hard it was for young people in those days to break down barriers and be the first.鈥�
In 2010, Dr. N煤帽ez created through Hartford Public Schools and Quinebaug Valley Community College where students who are first generation, low-income, or undocumented, can attend Quinebaug but live in Eastern dorms and eventually get the chance to transfer there after a semester, depending on their grades.
Dr. Nunez said the program allows students from Hartford a chance to leave their communities and experience going to college.
Under Dr. N煤帽ez鈥檚 leadership, the graduation rate among Latinos who received their degrees from a four-year university improved. More than 1,200 students have graduated through the program.
Dr. N煤帽ez accomplished many benchmarks throughout her tenure as president. Eastern recently achieved the highest four-year graduation rate in the history of the university, the college has the highest six-year graduation rate among 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 state universities and it has been ranked in the top 20 among public regional universities in the North by .
鈥淚 remember the first time I uttered to someone, I think I want to be a college teacher. They laughed at me. To them it was ridiculous that a person, a girl of color, would have that aspiration. And in a way, I鈥檓 glad I thought beyond my boundaries鈥� she said.
Following her retirement at Eastern, Dr. N煤帽ez will be teaching her books 鈥淧ursuing Diversity鈥� and 鈥淗anging Out and Hanging On: From the Projects to the Campus鈥� at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
This story has been updated.
