President Diaz's 45-year career as a pioneering leader in higher education for health professions.

President Diaz led successful efforts to grow the institution from a nursing diploma program to a college (1984) and then a university (2009).

Over President Diaz's career, she grew annual student enrollment from fewer than 150 students to more than 2,500 leading to a profound impact on many thousands of health care professionals, patients, and community members.

President Diaz retired in 2018, and her and her husband Luis moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Kauai, a Hawaiian paradise of 552 square miles.