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UMass ADVANCE, in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, will host the Annual Distinguished Lecture and Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 17, from noon-2:30 p.m., in the Amherst Room located on the 10^th floor of the Campus Center. 

The event will feature a keynote address by Waded Cruzado, president of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), and campus leadership will recognize the winners of the UMass ADVANCE Faculty Peer Mentoring Awards and the Equitable Practices in Collaboration Award.

The APLU is a membership organization working to advance the mission of public research universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Now guiding the APLU at a crucial time for the institution of higher education, Cruzado took entered her role at the organization following a 15-year tenure at the helm of the Montana State University.

Cruzado’s distinguished lecture, “Leaders Needed: Why Public Higher Education Matters,” will engage this unique standpoint to discuss the transformative mission and accomplishments of the land grant university. She will bring to her talk a history of promoting faculty equity across three land-grant universities, lived lessons on building collective leadership for inclusive excellence, and a sense of possibility and purpose in this commitment.

As a  champion of the land-grant university’s tripartite mission of education, research and outreach to communities, Cruzado will discuss the crucial role that public higher education plays in the development of individuals and the prosperity of the nation.

Registration, via the UMass ADVANCE Program registration form, is required to attend the event and must be completed by Friday, April 10. A buffet lunch will be served at noon, with formal events beginning at 12:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the ADVANCE Program web page, or email [email protected].