Assistant Dean for Diversity & Inclusion, Albany Law School
Jermaine Cruz serves as Assistant Dean for Diversity & Inclusion at Albany Law School in New York State’s capitol city of Albany. He is a seasoned law school administrator with over 20 years of legal education experience including, legal clinic and targeted program administration, JD admissions, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and strategy development. Dean Cruz is also an independent DEI consultant, facilitator and strategist with clients including Bennington College and the New York State Assembly.
A diverse set of experiences in legal practice, policy development, and communications inform his comprehensive and holistic approach to ensuring an accessible, equitable, fair, and positive law school experience for all law students rooted in clear and effective administrative and academic policy and procedure. Mr. Cruz has presented nationally on law school recruitment and retention strategy, diversity in the legal academy and general diversity issues and best practices.
Immediately prior to his appointment at Albany Law School, Dean Cruz served as Director of Admissions at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He has worked in JD admissions at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law (his alma mater) and managed the administration and recruitment efforts of the clinical legal education program at Georgetown Law. He has worked in private practice at Hannon Law Group, LLP, in Washington, DC, where he focused primarily on complex commercial litigation and employment law.
Dean Cruz had a successful career in communications prior to pursuing his law degree. He is an alumnus of the National Journalism Center in Washington, DC and has worked with Black Entertainment Television and for the New York State Senate. He was also part of the communications team at Bread for the Work, Inc., where he focused on international anti-hunger campaigns with a strong focus on Africa and Latin America.
He has served on the executive planning committee for the Annual Meeting of Law School Diversity Professionals for 13 years, chairing the conference twice, and has served on several Law School Admission Counsel workgroups and committees, including the Diversity Committee and as chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Sub-Committee. Dean Cruz also serves on the Board of Directors for Northern Rivers Family of Services and on the Steering Committee for the Capitol District YMCA. In addition to his law degree, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Ithaca College and a Master of Arts in African & African American Studies from the State University of New York at Albany.
