[10] While earning her doctorate, Cruzado was appointed an instructor in Spanish language at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 1989.

"[2] In 1993, just prior to her promotion to associate professor, Cruzado was named assistant dean for student affairs in the UPRM College of Arts and Sciences, a position she held until 1995.

[9] Cruzado left UPRM in 2003 to become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University (NMSU),[9] where her fundraising secured donations to endow three professorships.

[16] One of Cruzado's earliest announced goals was to more closely integrate the units of the MSU System of campuses in Billings, Havre, and Great Falls.

[18] In September 2012, MSU adopted a strategic plan at Cruzado's behest titled "Mountains and Minds, Learners and Leaders.

[20] On January 15, 2013, approximately 100 MSU faculty met in an off-campus meeting and issued a press release that identified complaints pertaining to concerns that the rapid student enrollment meant a degeneration of quality education at MSU, as there would be an apparent lack in faculty, staff, and facilities.

[22] Cruzado served on the board until 2020, and while she was a member, she chaired the selection committee for the BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence in a Feed the Future Innovation Lab and engaged with higher education partners in West Africa.

[23] In 2015, Cruzado hosted the board at Montana State University and brought tribal college leaders into dialogue with BIFAD about their role in addressing poverty, nutrition, and food security.

[24] In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth appointed Cruzado chair of a three-person task force on the recruitment and support of international students, and emergency planning.

[26] She was also recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and, in November 2012, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities awarded her the Seaman A. Knapp Memorial Lectureship, in honor of the founder of the Cooperative Extension Service.