Dean of Social Sciences and Education, Dr. James Rodríguez has been appointed as interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at California State University, Bakersfield effective Dec. 31.

He will be taking over the role from Dr. Vernon Harper, who will be stepping into the position of interim president on Dec. 31. In this one-year appointment, Dr. Rodríguez will serve as the chief academic officer and second in charge to the interim president. 

“Dr. Rodríguez brings a wealth of leadership experience to his new appointment as interim provost," said President Lynnette Zelezny. "He shares the vision of CSUB leadership that students are at the center of all we do.”

Dr. Rodríguez said he is honored to have been chosen by the president to serve in the position.

"I look forward to working with the entire CSUB community in this new role to boldly advance an aspirational, shared mission focused on serving our students and the communities of the region,” he said.  

An interim dean of SSE will be appointed with more details to follow in the weeks to come.

Prior to his appointment at CSUB, Dr. Rodríguez was a professor of child and adolescent studies at CSU Fullerton, where he has also held a number of administrative and leadership positions. Dr. Rodríguez also 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. He is a research fellow at the Latinx Education Research Center at Santa Clara University.

Dr. Rodríguez earned a Ph.D. in child and adolescent development from Stanford University and holds a bachelor's in psychology from Pomona College. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and awards including a Ford Foundation/National Research Council Predoctoral Fellowship and a James Irvine Foundation Fellowship.

Dr. Rodríguez has published widely on the psychological development and education of ethnic minority populations in the U.S., 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 has served on the boards of several organizations, including the Kern County Network for Children and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.

Dr. Rodriguez has most recently completed additional leadership training through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ La Academia de Liderazgo (Leadership Academy) in 2022. 

He completed additional academic development as a 2022 George Blumenthal Fellow at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley.