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February 2012

Carnegie Corporation of New York in November honored Eduardo J. Padron (d), president of Miami Dade College (MDC), with the foundation's Centennial Academic Leadership Award at a dinner celebrating the foundation's centennial. Padron was selected for innovations that have contributed to a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention and graduation rates, and overall achievement at a school with a predominantly low-income and minority student population. A Cuban immigrant and graduate of what was then Dade County Junior College, Padron has earned a national reputation as an advocate for underserved populations and innovative teaching. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, also received the award.

The Los Angeles Dental Society (LADS) recently elected Dr. Sonia Molina, president of Molina Endodontics, to head its 1,200-member organization for 2011-12. She becomes the first Latina president in the organization's 76-year history. Molina is a respected clinical lecturer and active community leader who devotes her time, energy and resources to many charitable dental enterprises. She has a bachelor's degree in biomedical science from California State University-Long Beach, a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and a Doctor of Dental Medicine from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral in endodontics at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Dentistry.

The Connecticut Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission (LPRAC) honored Eastern Connecticut State University President Elsa M. Nunez (d) with its Lifetime Achievement Award during its 14th Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony in October. Prior to joining Eastern in 2006, among other positions, Nunez served as vice chancellor of academic and student affairs in the University of Maine System and provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lesley University. She has a bachelor's degree from Montclair State College, a master's from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a doctorate in linguistics from Rutgers University.

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recently began teaching at Belmont University College of Law (Tenn.) as the Doyle Rogers Distinguished Chair of Law. After attending the United States Air Force Academy, Gonzales graduated from Rice University with a bachelor's degree and Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as the 80th attorney general of the United States on Feb. 3, 2005, and served in that capacity until September 2007.

Erica Cruz has been elected to serve as the 2011-12 student representative to the State University of New York (SUNY)-Orange Board of Trustees. An engineering student at SUNY-Orange, Cruz was president of the student senate during the 2010-11 academic year and also serves as a student ambassador. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for students at two-year colleges, and has been on the dean's list each of her first three semesters.

Omar Ojeda, a former Arizona diver and assistant coach of the Mexican National Diving team, recently took over as head diving coach at the University of Arizona (UA). Ojeda is the most decorated male diver in UA's history. He broke and still holds four school diving records, was a five-time NCAA All-American and a two-time Pac-10 Athlete of the Year. He received a degree in political science and a minor in Spanish and thematic in December 2002. He later went on to obtain a master's degree in finance-administration from the Universidad YMCA de Mexico in 2010.