Ana Mari Cauce
Cauce was born in Havana, Cuba, to Vicente Cauce, minister of education under Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and Ana Cauce (née Vivanco). When she was three years old, her family, including her brother César, fled the island during the Cuban revolution. She grew up in Miami, Florida, where her father, who held a PhD, worked first as a custodian. Eventually both parents worked in a shoe factory. in 1977, Cauce earned a Bachelor of Arts "summa cum laude" in English from the University of Miami. In 1979, she earned a Master of Science in psychology and in 1982 a Master of Philosophy from Yale University. In 1984, she earned a PhD doctorate from Yale University in psychology, with a concentration in child clinical and community psychology. While at Yale, she studied with Edmund W. Gordon. Cauce began her teaching career as a lecturer at the University of Delaware. In 1986, she moved to Seattle to work as an associate professor at the University of Washington, where she gained tenure in 1990. In 1996 she was named chair of the American Ethnic Studies department. Cauce then was appointed the Director of the Honors Program. She later became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, Cauce helped launch The Husky Promise, a tuition-funding program at the university. In 2012, she became Provost of the University of Washington. On October 13, 2015, Cauce was appointed president of the University of Washington by its Board of Regents. She had served as interim president since March 2015, when her predecessor Michael Young announced his departure. She is the first permanent woman president, and is also the first gay and first Hispanic selected as president. In 2017, the university settled a public records lawsuit related to the selection of Cauce. In 1979, Cauce's older brother, César Cauce, a well-known communist activist, was killed in the Greensboro massacre. He and the other three white male victims were buried in Greensboro at a traditionally black cemetery. Cauce is married to professor Susan Joslyn, her partner since 1989. Cauce was elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020. Selected articles
Career
Appointed in 2015, Cauce is the first permanent woman president, the 33rd president of the University of Washington.