Congratulations to Montana State University president and former NWCCU commissioner, Waded Cruzado, for her receipt of the 2024 ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award.
The Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award is given annually to acknowledge the substantial role of mentors in the success of ACE Fellows Program participants. Cruzado has mentored four Fellows and nominated two Fellows.
Since 2010, Cruzado has served as president of MSU, the state’s first land-grant institution. Cruzado, well known for her understanding of the land-grant university system, is a passionate champion of the land-grant university’s tripartite mission of education, research, and outreach to communities, as well as the critical role higher education plays in the development of people, the prosperity of the nation, and the vitality of democracy.
During her tenure, Cruzado has transformed the institution into one of the nation’s fastest-growing universities. University enrollment has increased by more than 40 percent under Cruzado’s leadership, and the university’s first-year retention rate recently hit a 30-year high. Additionally, graduation rates in 2023 set modern institutional records, spurred by initiatives Cruzado instituted to encourage students to enroll in more credits per semester to graduate on time with less debt. She also founded the MSU Hilleman Scholars Program, named for MSU alumnus and renowned vaccinologist Maurice Hilleman, to provide opportunities for Montana students to grow their leadership and academic potential. The university, which is home to 300 laboratories, 44 research centers, and seven agricultural research stations, recently marked 10 consecutive years of at least $100 million in research expenditures.
Throughout her career, Cruzado has found various ways to apply her leadership skills. In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed Cruzado to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, and she was reappointed in 2017. She has chaired the board of directors of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and HERS, and she has served on a variety of other boards. She has received the Hero Award from the Montana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Michael P. Malone Educator of the Year award, among other awards.
