Dr. Elsa M. Núñez
VICE CHAIR, PRESIDENT, EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Elsa M. Núñez is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at the Foundation.
In August 2022, Dr. Elsa M. Núñez began her 17th year as the president of Eastern Connecticut State University. She came to the University in 2006 following more than 20 years as a senior administrator at such institutions as City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Maine System.
Dr. Núñez has been a tenured faculty member of English at Ramapo State College, the College of Staten Island (CUNY), and Lehman College (CUNY). She also holds a faculty position as Professor of English at Eastern.
Author of two books, “Pursuing Diversity” (1992) and “Hanging Out and Hanging On: From the Projects to the Campus” (2014), Dr. Núñez also has published numerous articles on language acquisition, diversity, and other education issues.
Dr. Núñez has firmly established Eastern’s reputation as Connecticut’s only public liberal arts university. Academic enhancements range from an increase in full-time faculty positions to the development of new majors. Under Dr. Núñez’s leadership, Eastern is ranked by U.S. News and World Report as being among the top 20 public institutions in the North Region, the most competitive region in the country. During her tenure, U.S. News has also ranked Eastern as the top public regional university in all of New England three times, as well as the #1 public regional university in New England for “Best Value.” The Princeton Review has named Eastern a “Best College” in the Northeast, as well as listed it in its “Guide to Green Colleges” 13 years in a row.
Eastern recently received its first Gold rating for sustainability by STARS—the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. Eastern has one of only three Gold ratings in Connecticut and is one of 138 colleges and universities nationwide to be Gold-rated by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Dr. Núñez received her B.A. from Montclair State College, her M.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and her doctorate from Rutgers University.
