Tuminez, who has served as UVU’s president since 2018, said she wants to devote more time to her family and personal pursuits.

“I will be forever grateful to the students, staff, and faculty at Utah Valley University and the friends who support UVU’s noble mission to transform the lives of our students,” Tuminez said in a news release. “UVU has been a labor of love for me. The university’s call to ‘come as you are’ recognizes and cultivates human potential in bold ways that traditional institutions may overlook.” 

Tuminez’s announcement to step down comes nearly one year after the death of her husband, Jeffrey S Tolk, on Feb. 5, 2025. She took a sabbatical from office last spring to grieve.

She also led the university during a time of crisis and tragedy last September when Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event on campus in front of thousands of students.

Tuminez is from the Philippines, and moved to the United States in the 1980s to pursue a degree at Brigham Young University. She continued down her academic path from there, earning a master’s degree from Harvard University in 1988 and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996.

Under her presidential leadership, UVU increased its enrollment by more than 20% and doubled its number of graduates. The school also saw several infrastructure upgrades, with the construction of the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, the Scott C. Keller Building and UCCU Stadium, among other new facilities. 

“President Tuminez has been a deeply thoughtful leader who has consistently championed student success,” said Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) Commissioner Geoffrey Landward. “We are grateful for her leadership and will work closely with the board and the university to ensure a smooth and well-supported transition.”