At the helm as president of New Britain-based Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) since January 2017, Zulma Toro comes from a background in engineering and research.
Toro, who was born in Puerto Rico, not only broke barriers in the engineering world as the dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University from 2005 to 2013, she became the first woman and woman of color to lead CCSU as president. The university was founded in 1849, and up until Toro took the reins in 2017, all the presidents had been white men.
“The key to my success is that my life has been blessed with mentors,” said the 63-year-old Toro, who oversees about 9,500 students, 35% of whom come from underserved groups. “Most of my mentors saw potential in me and helped me get the professional development I needed to be a university administrator. That was key. The message to young women is that if I did it, you can do it. Hard work pays off and being mentored is important.”
Immediately prior to joining CCSU, Toro was the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
At CCSU, Toro has overseen the expansion of the university’s physical and technology infrastructure, and manages an annual budget of more than $240 million.
Noting that the populations of New Britain and many surrounding towns are diverse, especially with a large Latino community, Toro said CCSU will open a community clinic in late spring to address the needs of those in typically underserved groups.
“The benefits of having a more diverse leadership at the top is that we’ve had the struggles and the challenges that our student population have and face,” Toro said. “Therefore, we can design and implement programs to serve those needs.”