Utah Valley University President Astrid S. Tuminez was named one of Utah Business’ 2023 Women of the Year for building the state by providing professional education and opportunities to Utahns. President Tuminez was nominated as the “quintessential torchbearer of human potential.”

“She speaks with inspirational authenticity when she tells students that they can achieve their dreams regardless of their circumstances,” wrote Bryant Larsen, associate vice president of Strategic Communications at UVU, in the nominating document. “Tuminez was raised in the slums of the Philippines. Through sheer providence, her family met Catholic nuns who ran a private school. She and her siblings were given the opportunity to attend school — something that transformed Tuminez’s life.”

“Some of the accomplishments that I am most proud of are to make my way in the world from the slums to taking advantage of every opportunity to improve myself and serve others and have a great adventure around the world,” said President Tuminez in a recorded interview by Utah Business. “I’ve worked on Wall Street; I’ve worked in the tech industry. My first big employer was actually Harvard, and so all of these experiences brought me to the point where I felt like I was qualified enough to apply for a university presidency, even though I had never intended to be a university president. It’s been an amazing, wild, unpredictable, but really great journey.”

President Tuminez was selected for the award by a panel of judges who read inspiring stories from across the state. Awardees were selected based on their professional impact and their efforts to give back to the communities they serve.

During the five years President Tuminez has been at UVU, she has helped the university evolve as an innovative, dual-mission teaching university, growing enrollment in an era when other higher education enrollments are declining. She has led the effort to create the strategic guiding document for UVU, Vision 2030, which clarifies the institution's focus on student success.

President Tuminez is also lauded for her role in preparing UVU students for the workforce with project-based learning opportunities through the Innovation Academy. All the while, she ensures that college remains affordable by supporting concurrent enrollment for high school students and raising a record amount of money for scholarships through philanthropic efforts. President Tuminez has also been a proponent for underrepresented groups, providing resources to ensure their success.

President Tuminez is an advocate for women in leadership. She has championed an employee leave policy that allows for maternity and paternity leave, increased the number of women in leadership positions, and enabled the Women’s Success Center to serve more students on campus. This past year, UVU was recognized as one of 100 Utah Companies Championing Women.

“We are 50% men, 50% women in enrollment now,” President Tuminez said. “We have a Women’s Success Center, so we do a lot to educate women and empower them.”

Her influence extends beyond her leadership at UVU and the tens of thousands of lives she influences on campus. President Tuminez also serves on the Cambia Health Solutions Board of Directors and the Zions Bank Advisory Board of Directors. Previously, she served as a board member for the Utah Symphony Utah Opera, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, the Singapore American School, and ASKI Global, a nonprofit focused on educating Singaporean migrant workers in financial management and entrepreneurship. She has also worked to create a robust collaboration with the public school system — the K-16 Alliance — to ensure students are prepared for college in the best way possible.

“Education is actually what we need to preserve the American dream and to expand the field of opportunity for all Americans from every walk of life, no matter who they are, where they are, and what’s happened to them. If you come to a university, chances are you will leave better equipped to face work and to face life,” President Tuminez said. “An education liberates the mind. To learn to think critically is to know how to live well and how to die well. There is a $30,000 median difference in income between those who have a high school degree versus those with a college degree, and it amounts to about a million dollars in the lifetime of a person.”

President Tuminez shared the Utah Business 2023 Women of the Year award with other pillars of the community in education, charitable work, business, policy and law, tourism, technological discoveries, and art.

“Thank you to Utah Business, and thank you to all of you who are here today. How inspiring to be honored with a group of women whose stories are remarkable and full of lessons and hope,” President Tuminez said. “I call the university an enterprise that is engaged in the business of hope.”

Click here to see the ceremony, read more from President Tuminez, and learn more about the other nominees.