Astrid S. Tuminez

Astrid S. Tuminez
Tuminez in 2019
7th President of Utah Valley University
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 2018
Preceded byMatthew S. Holland
Personal details
Born (1964-08-08) 8 August 1964
Iloilo, Philippines
Spouse
Jeffery S. Tolk
​
​
(m. 1988; died 2025)​
Children3
EducationBrigham Young University (BS)
Harvard University (MA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Website[1]

Mary Astrid Segovia Tuminez (born 8 August 1964) is the seventh president of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and its first female president.[1] In January 2026, Tuminez announced plans to resign from her position at the end of the semester.[2]

Early life and education

Astrid Tuminez was born in a small island village in Iloilo province, the Philippines. Raised in extreme poverty and the sixth of seven children, she received a scholarship at the age of five to attend a private school run by Catholic nuns, along with her older siblings.[3] Tuminez credits this pivotal moment in her life for her success and accomplishments and has said she feels strongly that education enables individuals to fulfill their dreams and maximize their potential:[4]

Tuminez came to the United States at age 18 in 1982 on a student visa to study at Brigham Young University (BYU).[5] She earned a bachelor's degree in Russian and international relations from BYU,[3] a master's degree in Soviet Studies[6] from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in political science and government from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[7]

Career

Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, focused on grant making for democratization, conflict prevention, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She joined AIG Global Investments as a research director and ran the Moscow office of the Harvard Project on Strengthening Democratic Institutions where she worked with leading reformers of communism.[8]

Tuminez was a senior research consultant to the U.S. Institute of Peace and assisted in peace negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Philippine government from 2003 to 2007. She is member and former adjunct fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations.[9][6][10]

She served as Vice-Dean of Research and Assistant Dean of Executive Education of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore)[11][12]

Tuminez was Microsoft's regional director for corporate, external and legal affairs for Southeast Asia, leading a team supporting 15 markets.[13] Her role was to strengthen government relations, cultivate corporate citizenship, and enhance understanding of trending issues shaping regulation and policy, specifically drivers of inclusive growth in the 4th Industrial Revolution.[4][14]

In 2013, Tuminez was named a Top 100 Global Influencer by the Filipina Women's Network of the United States.[14] Tuminez was a director of the Philippines' second largest bank, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and board member of Singapore American School[15] and ASKI Global, an NGO which trains and finances entrepreneurship among Asian women migrant laborers. She was ASKI's Chair of the Board until 2017.[8]

In 2018, Tuminez was appointed president of Utah Valley University, succeeding Matthew S. Holland, son of Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the time, Tuminez lived in Singapore.[16]

During her tenure as university president, Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking on campus. In the aftermath of the event, Tuminez introduced the program "Better Selves for a Better America", which includes "academic certifications in dialogue, negotiation, mediation."[17][18]

In a university address on January 14, 2026, Tuminez announced plans to resign from her position on May 1, 2026 "to devote more time to her family and personal pursuits."[19][20]

Personal

Tuminez is fluent in English, Russian, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), French, Tagalog and Spanish.[14] She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), having joined at age 11 with her family.[21]

Tuminez married Jeffrey Tolk in 1988. They met while both students at Harvard University. He was a lawyer and later worked in finance. They had three children together. Tolk died in February 2025.[22]

Tuminez enjoys running and has completed one marathon and four half-marathons.[23] She had 11 years of martial arts training in a system called Tan's Dazzling Hands while living in New York City.[15] She is a 'super fan' of the UVU wrestling team.[24]

Selected publications

  • Rising to the Top? A Report on Women's Leadership in Asia, A Report from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Asia Society, launched at the April 2012 Women Leaders of New Asia Summit, Shanghai and Zhenjiang, 18–20 April 2012.
  • Russian Nationalism Since 1856. Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, Inc., 2000).
  • Asia and the Global Economic Crisis, A Task Force Report, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 12 March 2009 [written with other Task Force members].
  • Russia in Southeast Asia: A New "Asian Moment?" (with Hong, Mark), in ASEANRUSSIA Foundation and Future Prospects, Victor Sumsky, Mark Hong and Amy Lugg, eds. (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2012), pp. 43–55.
  • Reframing Conceptual Approaches to Interpret Sex Worker Health (with Joseph D. Tucker), Journal of Infectious Diseases 2011:204 (SUPPL 5) S1206-S1210.
  • The Problem That Has Been Named Global-is-Asian (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy), No. 11, July–September 2011, pp. 34–37.

References

  1. ^ "Office of the President | Utah Valley University". www.uvu.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  2. ^ Darjee, Lok (2026-01-16). "President of Utah university where Charlie Kirk was killed to resign from role". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  3. ^ a b "Education Carves Path From Manila to Microsoft". Newsdeeply.com. 23 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Can Asia address the inequalities of growth? - Asia News Center". News.microsoft.com. 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ Provo Daily Herald article on Tuminez
  6. ^ a b "Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez : Biography" (PDF). Sas.edu.sg. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Toward Peace in the Southern Philippines". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017..
  8. ^ a b "Astrid S. Tuminez - Chartwell Speakers Bureau". Chartwellspeakers.com.
  9. ^ "Toward Peace in the Southern Philippines". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017.
  10. ^ Cardwell, Diane. "Lessons in Democracy: Never-Ending Election", The New York Times, 11 November 2000. Retrieved on 29 April 2021.
  11. ^ "TUMINEZ, Astrid S." lkyspp.nus.edu.sg. LKY School of Public Policy. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  12. ^ Herald, Braley Dodson Daily. "UVU hears from four candidates for next president, announcement could come tomorrow". Heraldextra.com.
  13. ^ Tanner, Courtney. "She was once labeled ‘the dumbest girl’ in class. Now, she’s been inaugurated as the president of Utah Valley University", The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 March 2019. Retrieved on 29 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Asia Vision Series: Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez - Asia News Center". News.microsoft.com. 18 September 2017.
  15. ^ a b "CV" (PDF). Uvu.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  16. ^ Daily Herald article on Tuminez appointment
  17. ^ Darjee, Lok (2025-12-06). "'My legacy is not Charlie Kirk': the university president building a culture of peace after violence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  18. ^ "Transcript: Our Better Selves". The Washington Post. 2025-11-25. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  19. ^ "Utah Valley University President To Step Down in May". www.uvu.edu. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  20. ^ Darjee, Lok (2026-01-16). "President of Utah university where Charlie Kirk was killed to resign from role". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  21. ^ Bancroft, Kaitlyn (2018-09-21). "UVU's first female president shows 'dreams are free'". BYU Daily Universe. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  22. ^ Richardson, Holly (2025-02-06). "'First gentleman' of UVU dies". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  23. ^ "5 facts about Utah Valley University's next president Astrid Tuminez". Heraldextra.com.
  24. ^ Cortez, Marjorie (2020-02-10). "'Show him the lights,' urges UVU wrestling super fan Astrid Tuminez". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
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