Havidán Rodríguez

Havidán Rodríguez (born February 24, 1959, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico) is an American sociologist and university administrator. He is currently the president of the University at Albany, SUNY. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Havidán Rodríguez
20th President of the State University of New York at Albany
Incumbent
Assumed office September 11, 2017
Preceded by	Robert J. Jones
Personal details
Born	(1959-02-24) February 24, 1959 (age 66) Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Spouse	Rosy Lopez
Education	University of Maryland, College Park (BA) University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (MS) University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD)
Academic background
Thesis	Household composition, employment patterns and economic well-being: Puerto Ricans in the United States and Puerto Rico, 1970-1980 (1991)
Academic work
Discipline	Sociology
Institutions	University of Puerto Rico University of Delaware The University of Texas–Pan American The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley University at Albany, SUNY

Education

Rodríguez earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, his master's degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,^[1] and his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1991.^[2] His Ph.D. field of specialization was demography, an area in which he continues to publish, along with his interdisciplinary work.

Career

Rodríguez was named the 20th president of the University at Albany, SUNY, by the State University of New York Board of Trustees on June 21, 2017,^[3] a position he assumed in September 2017. He is the first Latino president of a SUNY campus.^[4] Prior to this position, Rodríguez served as founding provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, interim president of University of Texas–Pan American, and deputy provost at University of Delaware. His first academic position after earning his Ph.D. was at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.^{[citation needed]}

Research and scholarship

Rodríguez has published prolifically in the social science aspects of disasters (including the vulnerability and resiliency to disasters), and socioeconomic well-being among minorities, particularly Latinx, in the United States (including the migration, education, and socioeconomic mobility among Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and the Contiguous United States). He has led and participated in a number of field research projects, including trips to Honduras, following Hurricane Mitch, India and Sri Lanka following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters, Rodríguez is co-author (with Marie T. Mora and Alberto Dávila) of Population, Migration, and Socioeconomic Outcomes among Island and Mainland Puerto Ricans: La Crisis Boricua (Lexington Books, November 2017).^[5] He is also the co-editor of Handbook of Disaster Research (with Quarantelli and Dynes, Springer, 2006);^[6] Handbook of Disaster Research, 2nd Edition (with Trainor and Donner, Springer, 2018);^[7] and Latinas/os in the United States: Changing the Face of América (with Rogelio Sáenz and Menjívar, Springer, 2008).^[8]

Honors and awards

• Man of the Year, New York League of Puerto Rican Women, 2018^[9]
• Omicron Delta Kappa honoris causa initiate, University at Albany, 2017
• Top Latino Leader, National Diversity Council's Council for Latino Workplace Equity, 2017^[10]
• Inspiring Leaders in STEM Award, INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, 2017^[11]
• President's Medallion, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 2017
• Cesar Estrada Chavez Award, American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED), 2016^[12]
• Highlighted in Bright Spots in Hispanic Education on-line catalogue, September 2015, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
• Alfredo de los Santos Jr., Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education, American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE), 2015^[13]
• Cover Story, Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, June 2015^[14][15]
• Scholar of the Year, El Sol: Latino Newspaper, Philadelphia, July 19, 2008
• Hispanic of the Year: Professional Achievement Award, Latin American Community Center, Delaware, 2007^[16]
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2004
• Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting professor, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, (Spring 2002)