Louie Rodriguez
Dr. Louie F. Rodríguez is the Interim Dean and a Professor in the Graduate School
of Education at the University of California Riverside. In 2018, he was named the
Bank of America Chair in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Practice in the UCR Graduate
School of Education. He is also the Founding Director of the Center for Educational
Transformation at UCR.
Born and raised in the Inland Empire, Dr. Rodríguez began his journey in higher education
at San Bernardino Valley College and with the support of mentors and meaningful academic
opportunities, transferred to CSU, San Bernardino. As a college student at CSU, San
Bernardino he became a McNair Scholar and became passionate about using research to
understand and transform educational opportunities for historically marginalized students.
After completing a summer research internship at Harvard, he applied and was admitted
to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. After serving as a middle-school counselor/intervention
specialist and later a high school math teacher, he completed two master’s degrees
and a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University.
Prior to UCR, he was an associate professor in Educational Leadership and Technology
and Co-Director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at California State
University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and was also on the faculty at Florida International
University in Miami for three years. Over the last 15 years he has led several community-based
initiatives aimed at improving opportunities for local youth.
Rodríguez currently leads several initiatives including Los Estudiantes Valen, a partnership
with a local Inland Empire high school committed to engaging students’ voices and
experiences to transform policy and practice. He also co-leads the Inland Empire Latinx
Doctors Project, an initiative focused on recognizing and learning from an interdisciplinary
group of Latinx doctors who are committed to serving the Inland Empire. His research
examines issues in Latina/o/x education, Participatory Action Research, student voice,
and educational equity. He also currently leads two research initiatives called CREER
(and CREER-U) focused on understanding Latinx students’ sources of excellence at home,
school, and the community.
Dr. Rodríguez is the author of nearly 50 publications including 4 books, several articles
and book chapters, and has received numerous honors including the American Education
Research Association (AERA) Hispanic Research Issues SIG Award for Research in Elementary,
Secondary, and Postsecondary Education and recognition by the Harvard Latino Alumni
Alliance in 2019. Additionally, he was honored with the Outstanding Latino Faculty
by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) in 2015 and was
designated as an “Emerging Leader” in 2014 by Phi Delta Kappa International in Washington,
DC. He currently sits on the President’s Chicano/Latino Advisory Council for the
University of California. In addition to his scholarship, he has provided expert commentary
in various publications including The Atlantic, U.S. News and World Report, Hispanic
Outlook on Education Magazine, and others.
Dr. Rodríguez's experience at SBVC was particularly transformative. He learned how to study and thrive as a student. At SBVC he acquired his hunger for knowledge. His fondest memory was meeting his counselor for the first time, Laura Gomez. She asked him about his aspirations and put him on a two-year plan to transfer to a four-year university. Her belief in his ability to achieve was the foundation he needed to dream about various possibilities in education. For current students, he recommends that students know how you are, identify a mentor, get connected to programs, dream big, surround yourself with excellence, and be a leader. After you graduate from SBVC, always find ways to give back to your community.
