Waded Cruzado steps down as NMSU's interim president

Save the money and time for a search and just give her the job. That's what is going to happen anyway, whether she's the best candidate for the position or not. Given the current climate on campus few if any people will come out against her publicly. Anymore, if you don't go along with the "powers that be" you just go bye-bye.

But it is the Powers that Be that have orchestrated this...She's struggling to do the right thing in response.

Why waste the money on a search? Put us out of our misery and hire the person from the Business Office who really runs the university; the one who controls the money, expands the number of positions in the Business Office during a hiring freeze and raises the salary of her staff over everyone else in the university.
Unless NMSU hires someone with a brass pair, nothing will change at the university. NOTHING!

Awwwww....does that mean that we get no more "Monday Morning" memos?

Every time I read one of those memos I die a little inside.

Cruzado's coyness kept her from indicating her interest in the NMSU presidency; her desire for the position she now declares by stepping down from her interim status. She is doing her part to make her selection inevitable.

She has received help from others, including, not least, Laura Conniff, who made clear the bias of the Board of Trustees to hire Cruzado as the next president and helped drive off all other candidates. Even a lower-budget search is a waste of money; it is the cost of pretending to be serious about searching for the "best" candidate. The pretense if for local consumption only--which makes the current Board no more honest than the previous one.

All those in the possible pool of candidates know that the Board wants Cruzado, that Cruzado wants the job, and that they will serve as window-dressing for a pre-determined outcome. Only the desperate and undeserving will permit themselves to be considered for the position under these circumstances. For anyone to think otherwise is to pretend that NMSU has not established a record and a reputation for itself in academic circles as a less-than-mediocre university.

"Cruzado's term lacked decisive action and was "sort of a limbo," Thayer said, though he noted that some of that is inherent in any interim position."

This was true when she was Dean of Arts and Sciences. Cruzado is a politician not an administrator. While she held NMSU in place, she would not be an effective President who could move NMSU forward. People like her friendliness but that's all it is; face value. There is little substance to back up any important decisions that would effect NMSU. We need to move forward, not stay in a friendly holding pattern.

It wont matter wrote:

Why waste the money on a search? Put us out of our misery and hire the person from the Business Office who really runs the university; the one who controls the money, expands the number of positions in the Business Office during a hiring freeze and raises the salary of her staff over everyone else in the university.
Unless NMSU hires someone with a brass pair, nothing will change at the university. NOTHING!

Couldn't have said it better.

I think the NM Attorney General's office or SOMEONE in the investigating business needs to be prepared to conduct an investigation of what everyone in Southern NM already knows; the hiring of Waded Cruzado as President. "We are not stupid Board of Trustees, we know exactly who you have decided to hire. Most of us are not as dumb as you want us to be!"

After the fiasco this whole thing has caused, there needs to be an investigation into all of it. If Waded "really cared" for NMSU like she claims to, she would do the honest thing and take her name out of the running and let a true, unbiased and fair selection run it's course.

How about we fire all the whiney-ass NMSU staff who get great work conditions, salaries, health care packages, vacation, etc and still bitch about anybody in the leadership? I'm so tired of hearing the welfare recipients, "staff", carry on about the politics of the crappy atmosphere over there. Jeeze. Get a life. If you had any cajones at all you'd either get on board or quit. No organization is perfect. The administration is always an easy target for the whiney bunch. Get over yourselves.

New Mexico university community, make sure that the expensive company hired for the presidential search does a complete investigation about the reason Cruzado left Puerto Rico and her job at University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Some interesting questions to answer could be:

Who has been the only Dean of Arts and Sciences at UPRM that received a vote of distrust by the faculty?

What has been the only reason for the first and only faculty strike in UPRM (three days)?

Is it true that Cruzado fail to fulfilled her contract for a sabbatical project and had to return her one year salary to the UPRM with a payment plan and with resignation to the UPRM?

Is it true that during as Dean of Arts and Sciences she engaged in a serious conflict of interest involving the Chancellor of UPRM?

How many people dare to compete with her for the position as Dean of the college of Arts and Sciences and why?

How many legal processes she faced in PR as an administrator?

How many of those processes are still alive and open in court?

At least get your money's worth before the inevitable appointment.

If you don't know Waded Cruzado and her circumstances don't judge her. I have known Waded for 30 years. She was not only an honest person but also a person who tried to help others. I have no relation to the New Mexico State University. Just because your faculty is not happy with doesn't mean you are not trying to do your job. Faculty will hate you anytime you make changes that affect their cozy job conditions and benefits for the good of the university. Strikes in PR are very common. Leave Ms. Cruzado alone, only her and those directly involved know what happened.

Unfortunately, Cruzado has to be evaluated in her history as an administrator and not as your good old friend. You think that you know her well as a person. The same invitation that you made in regard to Cruzado has to be made to you in regard to what happened in PR: if you don't know both sides of the story and the real facts about faculty strikes in PR (there has only been one at UPRM) you should reconsider talking about her as an administrator. Sometimes faculty complain when their "cozy?" work conditions are changed or challenged but that is not what happened to more than 300 faculty members and the assembly of students. After all, maybe only two faculty members had what you called "cozy work conditions". People change Mr. Avellaneda and maybe the person that is great as your friend is not that great as an administrator. It is absurd to expect or rely the evaluation of the potential of a presidential candidate based on her "friendliness" (who can be manipulation) or the word of other people indicating that someone is honest. Qualifications should be reflected in the trajectory as an administrator and as a professional.

The company hired to do the presidential search will find dozens of people in Puerto Rico who have known Cruzado for a lot more than 30 years that can provide evidence of their extreme dissapointement with her behavior as an administrator at the University of Puerto Rico because they also had very high expectations about her based on her "friendliness" and charisma, which are always her main two qualifications when she is running for positions.

Walter Avellaneda wrote:

If you don't know Waded Cruzado and her circumstances don't judge her. I have known Waded for 30 years. She was not only an honest person but also a person who tried to help others. I have no relation to the New Mexico State University. Just because your faculty is not happy with doesn't mean you are not trying to do your job. Faculty will hate you anytime you make changes that affect their cozy job conditions and benefits for the good of the university. Strikes in PR are very common. Leave Ms. Cruzado alone, only her and those directly involved know what happened.

Walter, where did you meet Waded Cruzado? You mentioned you have known her for 30 years? I happen to be her ex-husband and never met you. We were married for 18 years and had a 5 year courtship. Are you a real character?

The Faculty at NMSU has the right perspective about Waded Cruzado: there is not a better manipulative person than her.
It is sickening watching a video of her on Facebook talking about her children going to College. What she never mentioned is that she did not atttend her son's graduation ceremony: not in High School or College. That's how important Gerry was to her. Let's giver her some credit, she attended Brenda's high school graduation.

NMSU watch out:looks could be deceiving and she is also a sweet talker. Don't bite into it!

Walter Avellaneda wrote:

If you don't know Waded Cruzado and her circumstances don't judge her. I have known Waded for 30 years. She was not only an honest person but also a person who tried to help others. I have no relation to the New Mexico State University. Just because your faculty is not happy with doesn't mean you are not trying to do your job. Faculty will hate you anytime you make changes that affect their cozy job conditions and benefits for the good of the university. Strikes in PR are very common. Leave Ms. Cruzado alone, only her and those directly involved know what happened.

To Mr. Mazo and others who have posted comments from Puerto Rico ~ Thank you for taking the time and making the decision to come forward to provide our NMSU community with information and insight that will help those attempting to hold the NMSU administration, including Waded Cruzado, accountable for their illegal and unethical actions of discrimination, intimidation, retaliation & missuse of power & authority.

The actions and inactions of this administration have caused irrepairable damage to countless individuals who have dared to speak-up and ask for transperancy, accountability, and fair treatmnet within the university. Waded Cruzado, along with Bruce Kite, Jennifer Taylor, Jozie DeLeon, Maureen Howard, Ben Woods, Michael Martin, Robert Gallagher, Laura Conniff, and the their supporters placed within the university colleges to strengthen their "death grip" like control must be investigated by an outside entity. Rest assured that there is a strong number of concerned and committed individuals willing and able to continue the call for justice for all who have been wronged by these power hungry, egotistical tyrants.

The upcoming "house cleaning" at NMSU will be a wonderful lesson for students and our community that the rules/policies DO apply to EVERYONE - and it is NEVER acceptable to act against the rules/policies by saying that it is what is "best" for the university or situation.... life may not always be fair but it is the duty of all to stand-up for those abused and call out injustice when it shows itself and Waded Cruzado has been called out!!!!!!!

I think you should come forward with your knowledge.
(And not that it's related at all but I thought your ex has a long time girlfriend?)

That's irrelevent. But Mr. Mazo should tell all. People in these positions should know they are to be held accountable, especially when they think they can just away with "Tupperware Hosting" a university and call that leadership.

I agree with the ex- and I am not at all surprised by all the serious allegations against Waded. As someone who has worked closely with her for several years I have news for all of you die-hard Waded supporters. Despite outward appearances Waded is not the "nice, sweet person" she purports and makes every effort to appear to be. She is a hugely insecure, deceptively vicious, and covertly ruthless. These unsavory "snake-like" qualities and many others, especially her incompetence, are the main reason she is considered as the primary candidate for the Presidency at NMSU. She fits right in. For God's sake bring in a qualified President who will clean house of all the unsavory characters (Kite, Woods, Howard and especially Jennifer Taylor) ruling and ruining our senior administration ranks at NMSU. They are cancerous and only the most aggressive treatment (i.e. a fresh face with a strong character, principles and vision at the helm) will have a chance to eradicate their injurious and ghastly presence from our University. If you love NMSU you need to hope and pray for such an outcome...

Read studies about the personalities of Jim Jones (Guyana)and David Karesh (Texas).

The video that really is a masterpiece of acting is this http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php...
This personal story is worth recounting because it clearly shows that she has no scrupulous: If lying is what will get her the Presidency of NMSU, she will lie a thousand times following Machiavelo's teaching: the end justify the means.
Ask her is she has any mother-son relationship with Gerry? The truth is NO. Watching the video the impression of a normal loving-caring mother she portrays is such a LIE that you would need to know the whole story. I will try to be brief, after she and the Chancellor (Dr. Zulma Toro-Ramos) at UPRM were kicked out during the spring semester in 2001 they both moved to Connecticut and the kids went with here. My son was 17 years old at the time. He only lasted one semester with both of them. He ask me if he could come live with me and I said yes in a nanosecond. Dr. Cruzado tried to do everything possible within her reach to avoid him coming back. To the point that Gerry had to call a cab to take him to the airport. Would a caring and loving mother do this to a son that just wanted out because he knew what was going on? Gerry finished high school on time and although he invited her to his graduation, she decided not to come: first payback for daring to run away from her grip. He went on to College (UPRM) and graduated in 2006 an Honor Student with a Bachelor in Biology: he invited her to his graduation, she decided not to come: second payback for daring to run away from her grip. Gerry was admitted to Med school and is currently finishing his third year. Needless to say the suffering and the pain that his mother has inflicted on him for her cold shoulder treatment has left him scarred. Gerry even had to take her to court to demand she continue paying the child support he was entitled by law while still finishing his undergradate degree as a full time student. Dare you to ask her if this is not true? Gerry won the suit and she had to pay him retroactively. Is this a loving mother that worries for her son?
A leader's main characteristics are honesty, integrity and know-how. Of these, she definitely is lacking the first two: honesty and integrity.
If these are not important to the NMSU community, your next President's name is Dr. Waded Cruzado-Salas. If they are, you need to reconsider.
One last thought, if you want to learn what happened during her tenure as Dean in UPRM access www.endi.com archives and also get in contact with the Social Sciences Department at the Unviersity of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.
Wishing that NMSU makes a fair process for all the applicants to the position.