Natalie I. Cruz

Welcome to my professional website, where I highlight the diversity of impactful experiences I have had as an international higher education scholar-practitioner.

I am an international higher education leader and scholar, with a focus on building equitable and sustainable partnerships with individuals and organizations worldwide that advance inclusive intercultural engagement and global learning.

As a leader in the field, I am intentionally involved and hold positions as the Cross-Border Narratives Editor for the Journal of International Students, the STAR Scholars Director of Cross-Border Initiatives, the Communications Coordinator for the Council for International Higher Education within the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and on the Research and Scholarship committee for NAFSA.

I have worked in a variety of different countries and higher education contexts, and my research and professional pursuits are focused on enhancing international education initiatives through supporting international students, campus internationalization, and increasing access to intercultural initiatives.

I am the Assistant Director of Global Strategy and Initiatives at Emory University. In this role, I leads the implementation of initiatives to advance Emory’s global strategies. I was previously an assistant professor of Education at Charleston Southern University.

My dissertation focused on academic and economic factors that related to international student enrollment over the last two decades, and my research focuses more broadly on changing modes of global student mobility, the holistic experiences of international students worldwide, and increasing access to international education. She was the 2020 recipient of the AIEA Harold Josephson Award for Professional Promise in International Education and a recipient of the 2021 CIES SAIS SIG Research Grant Award, as well as the 2021 Best Dissertation Award.

Previously, I was a faculty advisor at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, the Director of International Student Life at Emory University, and the Assistant Principal of Capstone Scholars at the University of South Carolina. I received a Ph.D. in Education from Old Dominion University, a M.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. in Psychology from Clemson University.

I obtained a PhD from Old Dominion University, a M.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. in Psychology from Clemson University.