Telemundo founder, Emmy Award recipient, former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and former television news reporter and anchor Frank Cruz got his start at East Los Angeles City College.
“I began attending East Los Angeles College as a pre-dental student but switched to history as my major and graduated with an associate degree in 1964,” Cruz recalled. “East Los Angeles College gave me the foundation without which I would not have succeeded.”
Cruz is a founder of Telemundo, the nation's second Spanish-language television network, and of KVEA-TV in Los Angeles, where he served as vice president and general manager. Cruz is also a former news reporter and anchor for KABC-TV and KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. His awards include an Emmy and the Golden Mike for coverage of Latin American issues and the U.S.-Hispanic community. His resume also includes being an associate professor of history at California State University, Long Beach and Sonoma State University. Cruz also taught at Lincoln High School in Los Angeles.
Cruz serves on the board of trustees at the University of Southern California, where he chairs the Public Affairs Committee and is a member of the Investment Committee. In addition, he is a member of the board of advisors of Health Net California and is on the board of directors at the James Irvine Foundation.
An Air Force veteran and frequent lecturer and public speaker, Cruz has written several books on U.S. and Latin American history.
