Elsa M. Nunez

Dr. Elsa M. Núñez served as Eastern Connecticut State University’s sixth president for 19 years. She became President of Eastern in 2006 following more than 20 years as a senior administrator at higher education institutions, including the City University of New York and the University of Maine System, where she served as Vice-Chancellor. Dr. Núñez also has been a tenured faculty member of English at Ramapo State College, the College of Staten Island (CUNY), Lehman College (CUNY), and Wheelock College in Massachusetts. She also held a faculty position as Professor of English at Eastern. Dr. Núñez is the author of two books and several book chapters and has published numerous articles on language acquisition, access, equity, academic attainment in higher education, and cultural differences in education and retention as it relates to the role of public universities in the 21st Century. Over the past 19 years, Dr. Núñez has firmly established Eastern’s reputation as Connecticut’s only public liberal arts university. Under her leadership, Eastern has climbed steadily in U.S. News and World Report’s annual Best Colleges rankings and was recognized as one of the best colleges for Veterans in New England in 2022. Eastern has been recognized for many years as a Green Campus, and a number of academic programs have also achieved national recognition. In addition, the University is recognized as one of the best colleges in the Northeast by The Princeton Review. Under Dr. Núñez’s stewardship, Eastern has a well-earned reputation for environmental sustainability. The University has been awarded "Green Campus" status by the Princeton Review 13 years in a row, its Science Building is Silver LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, and Eastern recently received a Gold STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Eastern has one of only three Gold ratings in Connecticut and is one of 138 colleges and universities nationwide to be Gold-rated. Present and past board appointments for regional and national organizations include Liberty Bank, The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, The President's Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, and Second Nature. In her current appointment as President-in-Residence at The Harvard Graduate School of Education, she teaches public policy in higher education.

Publications

Balancing Access and Quality: The Ultimate Presidential Challenge
Balancing Access and Quality: The Ultimate Presidential Challenge
Elsa M. Nunez. © 2022. 29 pages.
Dr. Elsa M. Núñez, president of Eastern Connecticut State University, describes her personal and professional journey to bring the promise of a college degree to underrepresented...