Cynthia Ruiz, Ed.D., is an accomplished higher education administrator and strategic leader with extensive experience advancing educational initiatives, building cross-sector partnerships, and developing organizational structures and resources that enable institutions to achieve ambitious goals. Over the course of her career, Ruiz has helped secure and steward more than $30 million in external investment supporting education, research, youth development, professional learning, and community-based programs.
As Director of Grants Administration in the Loyola Marymount University School of Education, she brings expertise spanning institutional strategy, research administration, resource development, and complex program development.
At LMU, Ruiz works collaboratively with academic leaders, faculty, university colleagues, and external partners to advance institutional priorities, develop strategic initiatives, and strengthen the structures and resources needed to sustain externally supported programs and partnerships. Prior to joining the School of Education, she spent more than a decade in LMU’s Office for Research and Sponsored Projects supporting a portfolio of projects led by faculty and staff in several colleges and schools, including complex interdisciplinary and multi-institutional initiatives.
Ruiz’s career has also included leadership in educational media, nonprofit development, program management, and consulting. At KCET Public Television, she developed and directed educational initiatives, managed approximately $1.2 million awarded annually to programming activity, and built collaborations with schools, community organizations, national partners, and public and private funders. She later served as Director of Development for the Shakespeare Festival Center of Los Angeles and as a development consultant for UNITE-LA, the LA Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and other educational, nonprofit, and community organizations, specializing in organizational strategy, partnerships, program and board development, and sustainability.
Ruiz earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from LMU, where her research examined the invisible labor within the infrastructure supporting externally funded projects and research in higher education. She also holds an M.A. in Modern American Literature and bachelor’s degrees in Biology and English from LMU.
Her professional credentials include earning the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential through the Research Administrators Certification Council and completing specialized training in research administration compliance through the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). Her work reflects a longstanding commitment to building the partnerships, resources, and organizational structures that enable educational institutions and the communities they serve to pursue ambitious goals and create lasting impact.