Elsa M. Núñez, the president of Eastern Connecticut State University, has won a lifetime achievement award from the New England Board of Higher Education.
During her seven years at the public liberal arts college in Willimantic, Núñez has launched a program that allows the university to predict the academic success of its students and target support programs toward students.
The New England Board reports that Eastern also has the highest percentage of minority faculty among all public and private colleges in Connecticut.
“This and other factors have enhanced the retention rates of underrepresented student populations, and have also resulted in Eastern achieving the largest gain in the six-year graduation rate of Latino students from 2004 through 2010,” reads a press release announcing the award.
Núñez, a Puerto Rican native, previously was an administrator at the University of Maine System, Lesley University and the City University of New York.