Dr. C. Scott Kruse leads the College of Health Sciences at The University of Texas at El Paso, an R1 Hispanic-Serving university preparing the next generation of health professionals for the Paso del Norte region and beyond. As Dean and holder of the Leavell Endowed Chair, he oversees nine academic units and twelve degree programs from bachelor’s to doctoral levels, a $26M budget, 16 direct reports, seven programmatic accreditations, and a clinical education network of 350+ partners.

One through-line runs through his career: using data, technology, and disciplined process improvement to make healthcare and health education work better. Before UTEP, Dean Kruse was Associate Dean of Texas State University’s College of Health Professions (4,600+ students, 18 programs), where he managed a $16M budget and the college’s transition to responsibility-center management. Earlier, as Director of the School of Health Administration, he led 18 faculty, five degree programs, and the university’s largest undergraduate major through CAHME reaccreditation.

As a researcher, Dr. Kruse studies the adoption of health information technology and its effect on patient outcomes: telemedicine, mobile health, electronic health records, and healthcare cybersecurity. He has published 74 peer-reviewed articles, most co-authored with students, and has been named to Stanford University’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists list every year since its first edition in 2019, seven consecutive years. That work has been cited more than 12,800 times by authors in 144 countries and in 76 policy documents issued by eight governments and international organizations, including the WHO, OECD, World Bank, European Union, CDC, and CMS. He has secured $1M+ in funded research as principal investigator or Co-PI and coordinates a CMS healthcare cybersecurity workgroup.

Dr. Kruse came to academia after 25 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Major in the Medical Service Corps. His assignments ranged from combat logistics to Deputy CIO of an Army community hospital, where he implemented the Army’s first electronic health record, to Chief Security Officer of a medical brigade deployed to the Middle East. The Army taught him to lead large teams, steward public resources, and stay calm when the plan changes.

West Point graduate. Ph.D. (VCU), MHA (Baylor), MBA and MSIT (UTSA). FACHE, CPHIMS, MCSE, Security+, Six Sigma Green Belt. Author of Healing My Broken Spirit (2026). Eagle Scout and longtime Scouting volunteer.

In his role as dean, Dr. Kruse seeks to connect with health-system leaders, researchers, clinical partners, and fellow veterans working to improve access, quality, and outcomes.