Welcoming Gabriel Cruz Cruz will specialize in media studies

Story by Jesse C. White

In July, 2022, Gabriel Cruz found his new home at N.C. Central University as an assistant professor of media studies. After learning about North Carolina Central University and being intrigued by the HBCU experience, Cruz knew joining the Department of Mass Communication was the right decision.

“At the start of my career, I did not set out to work at an HBCU specifically, but when I saw the job opening and began to dig deeper into NCCU, and the Department of Mass Communication in particular, I knew that this was a place where I could contribute in a meaningful way and help students,” Cruz said.

A North Carolina native of Siler City, Cruz earned his Associate of Arts degree from Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, North Carolina. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro. He later earned a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Along with impressive teaching and research experience, in 2020, Cruz received the Top Paper award from the National Communication Association’s Critical Cultural Division for his written contribution entitled “Whiteness, Masculinity, and Amorality in Netflix’s The Punisher,” co-authored with friend and colleague, Linsay Cramer, an associate professor in Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University.

After graduating as a first-generation college undergraduate from a working-class Mexican American family, Cruz was uncertain of his post-graduation career goals. However, he found he enjoyed teaching while in graduate school and wanted to teach those with a similar upbringing.

“Preparing for the academic job market, I knew I wanted to work at a university or college where my primary responsibility would be teach- ing, as opposed to research,” he said.

“I graduated in 2018, and that year I started working at High Point University and then left to work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2020. Those four years of teaching reaffirmed what I had already suspected: I wanted to work with people who, like myself, came from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Dr. Calvin Hall, chair and associate professor of The Department of Mass Communication, said he is proud to have Cruz join, and admires his skill set.

“What makes Dr. Cruz an outstanding addition to our department is the same thing that was impressive about him during the interview process – his ability to articulate and demonstrate how his research informs his teaching,” Hall said.

Hall also says Cruz brings his experiences as a Chicano and Southerner to an HBCU setting, providing more diverse perspectives.

Manuhe Abebe, a junior Mass Communication major at NC Central says Cruz is very engaging in his classes, gives real world perspectives on different concepts, and is able to relate to the students.

Carlton Wilson, Dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and

See CRUZ pg. 19