Natalie Cruz
Natalie I. Cruz, Ph.D., is the Director of Global Partnerships & Initiatives. Her role focuses on strategic partnership development, institutional alignment, data-informed decision-making, and high-level stakeholder engagement, while supporting senior leadership through international delegations and global initiatives.
Natalie has held a variety of faculty and administrator roles in higher education in the United States and the United Arab Emirates, including as an Assistant Professor of Education at Charleston Southern University, a research and teaching assistant at Old Dominion University, a faculty advisor and instructor at Zayed University, the Director of International Student Life at Emory, and the Assistant Principal of the Capstone Scholars Program at the University of South Carolina.
Natalie has published and presented her research and work extensively, and her and her research has focused on international student mobility worldwide, international students’ experiences in underresearched contexts, and increasing access to intercultural learning experiences.