Dr. Cristóbal Rodríguez was born and proudly raised in the Texas Borderlands of El Paso under hard-working immigrant parents from Mexico; and studying in Germany as a U.S. Congress-German Bundestag Scholar enhanced the world views and research of Dr. Rodríguez, along with his Ph.D. studies in Education Policy and Planning with a portfolio in Mexican American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Rodríguez’ research and leadership is centered on the need for systemic equity and culturally responsive leadership and policy across the education system.
Prior to his current role at Western Michigan University, Dr. Rodríguez spent 5 years as an Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University, his BA and MA alma mater and Hispanic Serving Institution; with an additional 7 blessed years thereafter at Howard University in Washington, DC, a top Historically Black College/University, as an Associate Professor and as the Director of Graduate Studies of the School of Education, and thereafter spent 2 years as an Associate Dean for Equity at Arizona State University, a leading R1 and Hispanic Serving Institution.
Dr. Rodríguez was elected to a three-year term to the Executive Committee of University Council for Educational Administration in 2019, and was appointed in 2021 to the Board of Directors for the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education, for which he serves as its Chair. Most recently Dr. Rodríguez was appointed in 2022 by President Biden to serve on the White House Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics and Latinos.
