Dr. Astrid Tuminez
Tuminez, 61, the first woman to serve full-time as UVU's president, will step down May 1. She made the announcement during her State of the University address at the Orem, Utah, campus.
"I want to announce today that I am leaving UVU," Tuminez told a packed auditorium. "I cried a lot last night. I'm not crying today."
The political scientist's departure follows a tumultuous year that began with the February death of her husband who suffered a pulmonary embolism while climbing Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador. Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September outside her campus office window.
Despite the personal toll, Tuminez leaves the institution significantly strengthened. Under her leadership, UVU's endowment more than doubled from $55 million to $129 million. A comprehensive fundraising campaign raised $254 million.
Enrollment surged from 37,000 to 48,669 students, making UVU Utah's largest institution. The open-enrollment university more than doubled its graduating class, from 5,953 in 2019 to 12,940 in 2025.
The school's 72% retention rate exceeds the national average of 60%, while its 48% completion rate tops the national benchmark of 44%.
The Utah System of Higher Education has begun searching for Tuminez's successor to lead the institution she joined in June 2018.
