The appointment of Virnaliz Jiménez Cruz as a research scientist at the Family Resiliency Center of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign marks the beginning of a new stage in her professional life. Her arrival at this position is the result of an academic journey that led her, in December 2025, to obtain her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies at that same university.
The day she received the news of her selection, following a demanding academic process described by Listín Diario, was also a recognition of more than a decade dedicated to research and the publication of studies in high-impact scientific journals. Now, at a university that brings together more than 59,000 students from all 50 states of the United States and 129 countries, Virnaliz will have the mission of designing and executing projects, building community partnerships, writing technical reports, and representing the institution in international forums.
Error en la traducción: 503 UNAVAILABLE. {‘error’: {‘code’: 503, ‘message’: ‘The service is currently unavailable.’, ‘status’: ‘UNAVAILABLE’}}Her interest in family dynamics and resilience led her to study Psychology at the University of North Carolina. Later, in Illinois, she completed her master’s degree and doctorate, while teaching classes, leading research teams, and publishing studies on family resilience.
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Virnaliz Jiménez Cruz obtained her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in December 2025.
The university environment in which she is integrated has 15 faculties and more than 20 research institutes, a framework where Virnaliz’s work will focus on the application of quantitative and qualitative methods, collaboration with institutions and community partners, and the preparation of manuscripts and technical reports.
In her family, the commitment to education transcends generations. Her siblings, Carmerci and Virgilio, graduated in Computer Science and Communication and Networks. Listín Diario highlights that their parents instilled in them the conviction that national identity is not lost with distance, an idea that Virnaliz has expressed publicly by displaying the Dominican flag at her graduations.
The itinerary of Virnaliz Jiménez Cruz, from New York and North Carolina to Urbana-Champaign, now adds a new chapter in science applied to human and family development, and reinforces the role of the Dominican diaspora in United States academia.
