President Anthony Cruz is connecting through social media and promoting MATC
President Anthony Cruz taking a selfie with students
President Anthony Cruz connects with students
The students, faculty, staff and community residents of MATC know all about the college’s president, Dr. Anthony Cruz. He loves pickleball. He likes to eat out. He recently got a new pair of Adidas sneakers. He and his wife visited the Milwaukee Zoo. He proudly displays a sizable collection of coffee mugs, from across the country, in his office. They also know all about MATC: the 180 programs in seven academic and career pathways, the abundant student resources, the campus events, the well-prepared graduates, the successful alumni, and the generous donors. That’s because Dr. Cruz, who became MATC’s 11th president in July 2024, frequently, fervently and unapologetically posts on social media, mostly Instagram and LinkedIn. He snaps selfies after college events, smiling with students, employees and community partners. He shares reflections and meditations about life. He enthusiastically responds to students and graduates who trumpet their achievements on their own social media accounts. “If our visibility is greater, if our enrollment is higher, and if our community has more awareness about us, I don’t believe there’s any reason to change the frequency of my posts. He added: “You can’t post too much if you post about things that matter. This is an important piece of what I do.” Social media is about communication and promotion, Dr. Cruz said. Through LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly called Twitter), the college can reach students where they are and tell them about support services; inform the community of the great work being done at the college; market and brand MATC locally, regionally and nationally; and create a sense of belonging and unity for students, faculty and staff. Perhaps most important, social media also allows the community to get to know the president. “These posts show a different side of me,” Dr. Cruz said. “But you need to be vulnerable. You take a risk of putting yourself out there because this is an extension of yourself.”
Impact of social media
Decades ago, Dr. Cruz didn’t think about social media much. Before coming to MATC, he was a vice chancellor, vice president and dean at several community colleges and universities for nearly 30 years. In 2019, he became a campus president at Miami Dade College in Florida. Most of that time he was a social media observer. At Miami Dade College, he had a LinkedIn account, but he said he couldn’t recall even posting anything. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. With no students on his campus, Dr. Cruz started recording short videos to keep students, faculty and staff informed and engaged. He began recording short talks on Microsoft Teams and posting them on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Then he produced a podcast. Dr. Cruz said that the urgency to maintain clear and effective communication with students, faculty and staff “became paramount.” “I saw what social media could do,” he said. “I also saw it was making an impact. People in the community, students and colleagues would tell me they liked it. I think it (social media) made me personally, and us as a college, more relatable and accessible.” When students returned to in-person classes, Dr. Cruz kept posting. He realized many students were using Instagram, so he focused on that platform and decided to use one account: @dr.anthony_cruz. “Many people have a personal account and a professional account. I decided I needed only one,” he said. “It became superorganic. If I got a good reaction, I kept going. Social media opened up a whole new world to me and inspired me, motivated me and informed me.” He also has learned that posting on social media doesn’t take a lot of time, just some thought and organization. He schedules many of his posts in the evening for the next day. He always has his phone ready at events. Dr. Cruz tries to stay away from polarizing political content; he doesn’t endorse candidates or get involved in campaigns. “But I will advocate for things I think are important and in line with what our students need.”
Power of the platform
Dr. Cruz’s extensive social media presence marked a change for MATC: He was the college’s first president to personally use social media to communicate directly with students, employees and the community. During his first year at MATC, Dr. Cruz encouraged college leaders to be active on social media but understood that some people weren’t as comfortable with the platforms as he had become. Still, he fully believes in the positive impact of social media messaging. “The power of these platforms is tremendous. It can build personal and institutional brands, and forge valuable relationships with people from all over,” he said. “It lets us show ourselves to the world. It’s about sharing our story with a broader audience. We’re doing such great work. Now we need to tell people about it.”
Engage with Dr. Cruz on social media: Anthony Cruz, Ed.D. on LinkedIn or @dr.anthony_cruz on Instagram.
