MSU News Service
Bozeman -- The Montana Board of Regents on Friday finalized an employment contract with Waded Cruzado as the new president of Montana State University.
Cruzado was offered the position after a national search that drew more than 60 candidates. She will formally take the office at the beginning of January, but is scheduled to visit MSU and the state's agricultural leaders at MSU's Ag Appreciation Weekend Nov. 12 - 14.
As MSU's new president, Cruzado will be paid $280,000 annually. Additionally, she will receive use of the president's house, a car and a deferred compensation package, the details of which are still being finalized.
The seven-member Montana Board of Regents has sole authority over the salary of Montana university system leaders, including the Montana Commissioner of Higher Education.
"Dr. Cruzado was a highly sought after candidate and could have many opportunities at significantly higher pay, but happily, she chose us. The students, faculties and staffs at our four campuses are extremely fortunate because she is going to do great things for MSU," said Clayton Christian, vice chairman of the Montana Board of Regents.
Cruzado, 49, is currently executive vice president and provost of New Mexico State University. She holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; a master's in Spanish from the University of Texas, Arlington; and a doctorate in humanities from the University of Texas, Arlington. She had served as interim president at NMSU and was a finalist for the presidency of the University of Texas-Pan
American.
As MSU's 12th president, Cruzado will be the first woman and first minority to hold the office in the university's history. She will oversee MSU's four-campus system, which includes more than 20,000 students and 3,000 employees at Bozeman, Great Falls, Havre and Billings; MSU Extension offices and staff in the state's 56 counties and seven reservations; and the Montana
Agricultural Experiment Station with its seven centers around the state.
"We wanted a leader of the highest quality for our students, faculty and staff," Christian said. "To do that, we brought the president's salary more in line with those of our neighboring states, although it is still, on average, $53,000 a year less than Idaho, Wyoming and the Dakotas."
Additionally, Montana remains the lowest paying state for university presidents among 32 comparably sized universities - those with 10,000 to 15,000 students - that award doctoral degrees. The average being $332,812, Christian said.
Cruzado's visit in November for MSU's Ag Appreciation Weekend will be her first since interviewing on campus Sept. 30. She will attend the Bobcat football festivities and game, meet with the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station advisory council, speak at a Celebrating Agriculture social, and meet with ag leaders from around the state. Part of MSU's College of
Agriculture, MAES conducts agricultural research and outreach across Montana.
Cruzado will succeed MSU President Geoff Gamble, 67, who in March announced his plans to retire after leading the university for nine years.
