The Hartnell Community College District Governing Board voted to select Dr. Raul Rodriguez
as interim superintendent/president of the college at its meeting on July 7.
Dr. Rodriguez will assume the interim role on July 13.
He served as interim president at East Los Angeles College this past year, and for nine years before that, he was chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange County, one of the largest in California, with annual enrollment of 80,000 students. Previously, he was superintendent/president of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton for eight years.
Board President Aurelio Salazar Jr. said the board’s priority is to support the Office of the Superintendent/President and sound management of the college.
“We want to make sure that our students, faculty, staff and administrators have a superintendent/president with the leadership skills and vision to keep our institution moving forward,” Salazar said.
Trustee Candi DePauw, who served with fellow trustees Erica Padilla-Chavez and Manuel Osorio on an Ad Hoc Committee to review applications, described Dr. Rodriguez as a “strong asset.”
“We look forward to welcoming him to campus,” DePauw said.
Dr. Rodriguez thanked the board for its trust in him, adding, “I look forward to working closely with the faculty, students, staff, and administration and being of service.”
He further said he is “delighted to join Hartnell,” where his two sons both attended. One of them recently transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The following is a full biography provided by Dr. Rodriguez:
Raúl Rodríguez, Ph.D., has served as a Chief Executive Officer in the California Community College System since 1995. Most recently he served as the Interim President at East Los Angeles College from July 2019 until June 2020. Prior to that, Rodríguez was the Chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) from August of 2010 until June of 2019. As the Chancellor of one of the largest community college districts in the state of California, Dr. Rodríguez oversaw a district that covers one quarter of the land area of Orange County, registers an annual enrollment of more than
80,000 students, and is one of the largest employers in the region with more than 4,000 employees.
Before joining RSCCD, Dr. Rodríguez held a number of positions in both single college and multi-college community college districts in California. His previous administrative experience includes the following: Superintendent/President of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton (8 years); President of Los Medanos College in the Contra Costa Community College District (6 years); Interim President of San José City College; Vice President of Instruction at San José City College; and, Dean of Instruction at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, among others.
Dr. Rodríguez earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He also possesses a Master’s Degree from Fairfield University in School and Applied Psychology and a B.A. in Liberal Studies from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. An educator who taught psychology at Cabrillo College and the University of California, Santa Cruz, he is also a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Educational Management.
Dr. Rodríguez was a member of the Board of Directors of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) for seven years. He served in the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Immediate Past Chair. Starting with his first accreditation visit in 1989, Dr. Rodríguez has served as either a Team Member or Team Chair on more than 14 accreditation visits to ACCJC member colleges.
Community and professional service has always been a high priority for Dr. Rodríguez. He recently served an eight-year term on the Board of Directors of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens. He has served as a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana, the Orange County Taxpayers Association, the Rotary Club of Orange, California, the Goodwill of the Central Valley, and many others. Dr. Rodríguez has twice been elected to the Chief Executive Officers Board of the California Community Colleges and he served that organization as the Vice President for Southern California. In addition, Dr. Rodríguez is on the Board of Directors of the National Community College Hispanic Council.