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Andrés Acebo is the proud first-generation son of Cuban exiles and a Hudson County native who grew up in Union City, N.J., maintaining strong community ties. In January 2023, he became only the third Hispanic to lead a four-year public institution of higher education in New Jersey and the youngest president ever to lead a public university in the state.

In less than two years of widely praised mission-driven servant leadership, Acebo has demonstrated extraordinary vision, guiding Ò°»¨ÉçÇø from a fiscal emergency to a remarkable recovery. Under his leadership, Ò°»¨ÉçÇø achieved its first balanced operating budget since 2017—transforming a $22.7 million deficit into financial stability. This recovery earned historic recognition from rating agencies: Moody's upgraded Ò°»¨ÉçÇø from "negative" to "stable" (February 2024) and then to "positive" (May 2025), while Fitch followed with its own upgrade (November 2024). These represented Ò°»¨ÉçÇø's first rating improvements in over a decade, first-ever positive outlook from Moody's, and first consecutive annual upgrades since at least 2003.

In May 2024, ROI-NJ named him the in New Jersey Higher Education in the 2024 Higher Education Influencers annual publication. In September 2024, he in the 2024 NJBiz Education Power 50 List. Acebo earned the highest ranking of any college or university president in New Jersey in the 2024 Power 50. In October 2024, he was named to the 2024 ROI Power and Influencer Awards Champions of the C-Suite Top 30 and in January 2025 was selected to the 2025 ROI Influencers Power List Super 75 list.

Taking office during a financial emergency, Acebo orchestrated four major strategic initiatives: the Ò°»¨ÉçÇø Recovery and Revitalization Plan (April 2023), the university's first Academic Master Plan (February 2024), first Strategic Enrollment Plan (April 2023), and inaugural Student Development and Community Engagement Strategic Plan (December 2024). In February 2024, the university also refreshed its Mission Statement and introduced its first-ever Vision Statement.

Additionally, he has forged key partnerships with other colleges, highlighted by the Hudson Connect Program with Hudson County Community College, and similar agreements with Essex County College and Mercer County Community College. He has signed key strategic MOUs, including with the NJEA, Hudson Building Trades, GLACO, AFT Local 1839, Jersey City POBA, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County, SHCCNJ and HCLACC, and helped lead Ò°»¨ÉçÇø’s movement of its athletics program to join with CUNYAC members to form a new conference in 2026.

Acebo holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School. A North Jersey resident, he is a proud product of Union City public schools in Hudson County. He’s the proud father to three young children and husband to an extraordinarily dedicated educator — an Ò°»¨ÉçÇø alumnae — who proudly celebrate and champion their community and their roots together.