“I’m thrilled to be joining the CSUB community as dean of the School of Social Sciences and Education. I was highly interested in the position because the disciplines represented by the school are ideally matched with my professional interests. Also, being from the Imperial Valley, I felt there was a strong connection with the communities served by CSUB,” Dr. Rodríguez said.
Dr. Rodríguez is currently a professor of Child and Adolescent Studies at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), where he has also held a number of administrative and leadership positions both in Academic and Student Affairs.
In addition, Dr. Rodríguez has served on numerous key committees and initiatives at CSUF, including the Academic Senate Executive Committee, the Planning, Resource, and Budget Planning Committee, the Strategic Enrollment Planning Committee, the Student Success Steering Committee, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and the President’s Commission on Equity and Inclusion.
Dr. Rodríguez previously held a tenured faculty appointment in the College of Education at San Diego State University, where he directed the Bilingual Single Subject Credential Program and collaboratively developed and engaged in innovative school partnerships. He has also held appointments as a visiting scholar in the Department of Psychology at Pomona College and at Educational Testing Service.
Dr. Rodríguez has published widely on the psychological development and education of ethnic minority populations in the United States, with an emphasis on immigrant children and families and English learners. He has extensive experience working with and supporting diverse student populations and communities, advancing and advocating for educational equity and academic success, and developing and engaging in school and community partnerships.
Dr. Rodríguez served on multiple editorial boards and as an expert advisor and consultant for various California Department of Education projects. He is active in a number of professional organizations and has held professional leadership roles, including the Founding and Steering Committees of the Latinx Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), for which he served as the inaugural chair.
Dr. Rodríguez is a native of Calexico, CA where he attended K-12 public schools. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and awards, including a Ford Foundation/National Research Council Predoctoral Fellowship and a James Irvine Foundation Fellowship. At CSUF, he received a Faculty Advisor of Distinction Award and the Jewel Plummer Cobb Diversity in Education Award.
“The interview process affirmed this connection and I was further impressed by the warmth, passion and commitment of faculty, staff and administrators. I look forward to working together to continue to advance a shared mission focused on educational access, opportunity, equity and excellence,” said Rodríguez.