Whether it is cheering on the Wolverines at sporting events, engaging with faculty during “Talk with Tuminez” broadcasts or recently updating a maternal leave policy to make Utah Valley University (UVU) more inclusive for women employees, Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez is redefining what it means to include, engage and achieve as the university’s seventh – and first woman – president.
Born and raised in poverty in the Philippines, Tuminez’s rise to the presidency at UVU is molded by more than 29 years of experience in academia, public policy, the corporate sector and, more significantly, her early formative experiences attending a private school run by Catholic nuns of the Order of the Daughters of Charity.
“The power of education was immediate for me,” Tuminez says. “I didn’t know how to spell my name when I signed up for school. The discovery of reading changed my life completely.”
The young Tuminez used every spare moment seeking out knowledge, becoming a self-described voracious reader who discovered the world at large. She read about New York City and the United Nations in Time magazine, where she would ultimately live and serve as an intern.
“So the way that we invite the universe into our life, to me, that was really through education and so many doors opened for me,” she says.
A nontraditional leader
Tuminez arrived in the United States at age 18 and earned her bachelor’s degree in Russian literature and international relations from Brigham Young University. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in political science and government from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is fluent in five languages, including French, Russian and Ilonggo.
