Mr. de la Cruz was Sr. Trustee and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami (1999- 2001}. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Chairman of United Way of Dade County (1993-1995). He has been on the boards of Georgetown University, Belen Jesuit, FIU, the Dade Foundation, and Miami Partners for Progress. He endowed the De la Cruz-Mentschikoff Law and Economics Chair at the University of Miami and the De la Cruz Doctoral Candidates Fellows in Behavioral Finance at the Wharton School. His recognitions include: the United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Award; Silver Medallion Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; Distinguished Service Award from FIU; Joseph Wharton Award from the University of Pennsylvania; Social Responsibility Award from the Urban League; the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation Award; the Presidential Medal from Georgetown University. He and wife, Rosa Rionda de la Cruz, had five children and 17 grandchildren. In the 1980s, Rosa and Carlos started collecting art at their home which they would open to the public. The Collection housed paintings, sculptures, and installations.