However, as head of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), he never forgets the powerful example his immigrant parents gave him.

“I don’t remember them missing a single day of work when I was at home,” he said as he looked at a photo of his parents on his desk at LACCD. “I would see my father’s thick hands from his assembly line work and my mother’s feet. She stood for hours washing and pressing linens from restaurants.”

Rodriguez recalls the three shifts his parents worked, with only eight years of education between them. “Their example, their sacrifice, resilience, work ethic, and their sense of being humble and courageous is with me,” he added. “I carry that work ethic with me today. I want to honor that.”   

The Chancellor’s Childhood

Born and raised in San Francisco to Mexican immigrants, Rodriguez never doubted the importance of education. Despite his parents’ limited education, they sacrificed what they had to send their son and four daughters to parochial school for a different future. “My father had to volunteer for the high school, and I worked in the cafeteria and in their summer youth camps to pay for the schooling,” he said. “They were clear that education was the way forward.”

It was his earlier education that prompted Rodriguez to attend college and study civil engineering. During those years, he participated in a student chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and through the organization, tutored young, under-resourced students of the community. That’s when he discovered the power of education and switched majors to education and Chicano studies.

“I really liked the impact the tutoring had on young people and especially students who were under-resourced,” said Rodriguez. “The more I began to learn about educational disparities and unequal outcomes in this country, the more I wanted to be part of the equation to bring a balance. I saw that education was a gateway to a better life and I wanted to make sure that this was possible for others by design.”

A taste for the power of education and his parents’ example is the reason “I am here where I am today,” he said. As chancellor of LACCD, he oversees 9 separately accredited colleges that make up the largest community college district in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.

An Eye on Diversity

It’s not by chance that he oversees a student body that has a similar background to his own. “I am the students that I serve,” said Rodriguez, who came on as chancellor in 2014. Prior to this position, he served as president of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, California, and as the Superintendent/President of MiraCosta Community College District in San Diego County. During his time at both institutions, he increased student enrollment, racial and gender diversity among faculty, students and administration, and increased support for student success and institutional equity.   

Today, at LACCD, Rodriguez serves an extremely diverse population and maintains a strong commitment to educational equity, especially for those underserved. According to 2019 statistics, Latinos make up 62 percent of the student population compared to 14 percent Pacific Islanders, nine percent African Americans, and one percent Native Americans.

“As a first-generation English language learner from a working-class family, I’ve never forgotten what it’s like to be hungry,” he said. “I’ve never forgotten what it is like not to have professional role models or to be in an environment where opportunities are not available. I am the lived experience of the students that I’m proud to serve.”

Enrollment Figures

When Rodriguez came on as chancellor of LACCD, the country and the state of California were coming out of a great recession. At that time, the California system of higher education had lost many students and was in a process of restoring enrollment figures.

“We are now in the same situation since the pandemic,” said the chancellor.  “We lost about 20 percent of our enrollment since Covid although our doors remained open during that time. Now we’re restoring this back.”

As he focuses on increasing enrollment numbers once again, Rodriguez has and continues to keep his eye on increasing equity and educational opportunities for underrepresented groups.

“When I came in 2014, certain populations were not performing as well as other groups. I wanted to diversify staff, improve facilities, and increase our advocacy and influence to improve student outcomes,” said Rodriguez.

According to 2021 figures, his aim to increase and diversify faculty, staff, and students has become a reality. Student completion rates increased by 125 percent from 2014, tenured or tenured-track faculty of color increased by 37 percent, and the percentage of women faculty increased by 24 percent. In addition, student diversity improved as well. Latinos represented 55 percent of students in 2014, compared to 62 percent in 2021, and Asian Pacific Islanders were 8 percent compared to 15 percent of the student population during this same period.

Infrastructure and Legislation

The chancellor has also spearheaded efforts to improve the infrastructure of all nine aging campuses. In 2001, LA County voters passed a $1.245 billion Proposition A to address the most urgent repairs on the campuses. This was followed by Proposition AA in 2003, Measure J in 2008, and Measure CC in 2016, each one aimed at improving aging infrastructure issues at LACCD. Another LACCD facilities bond for $5.3 billion is currently on this month’s local ballot.

In addition, Rodriguez was one of the principal architects of legislation that was sponsored and presented to the California Legislature initially in 2017. The approved legislation and subsequent legislation resulted ultimately in the California College Promise Grant, which today allows all first-time and returning Californian community college students to get tuition-free college for the first two years at any California community college. This program supports students in the process of completing a higher education degree and/or a workforce certificate.

The Los Angeles College Promise Program’s first cohort in the fall of 2018 consisted of 5,416 students, 79 percent of which identified as Latino. Thanks to the program, there has been a 24 percent increase in enrollment of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) graduates into LAACD in comparison to the number of first-time, full-time students from LAUSD in 2016. In addition, there was a 56 percent increase of full-time enrollment of LAUCSD entering students and a 59 percent increase in the number of students completing a degree in two years.

Given the fact that the majority of LACCD’s population is Latino, it should come as no surprise that each of the nine campuses has created Dream Resource Centers. The aim of each center is to serve undocumented and housing/food insecure students with information and resources. These resources are intended to promote college access, persistence, completion, and transfer by creating a safe and supportive environment, building leadership skills, promoting equity, and providing civic and community engagement.

Diversity Programs

During his tenure, Rodriguez has also supported a variety of programs that have helped produce successful outcomes for Latinos and underrepresented students. The schools have provided student wrap-around supports in housing, transportation, food, books, and emergency assistance. In addition, the colleges have increased outreach and advertising to Latino students via Spanish-language platforms.

For the first time in its history, LACCD has also created a Mi Gente Graduation Celebration, which brings together Latino students and their families from all nine college campuses to celebrate students’ education achievement in a cultural celebration that reflects Latino diversity, music, language, and nationalities.

LACCD is also proud to have increased non-credit and adult education courses since Rodriguez took the helm. “We have bolstered the number of courses we offer with in-person and hybrid options,” he said. “We are now looking at offering additional 4-year-degrees. We have had a 4-year Dental Hygiene degree available at West Los Angeles College and now we want to offer more.”

Thanks to Rodriguez and his district’s legislative efforts, all community college students in California now need to take a three-credit course in Ethnic Studies to graduate. In addition, LACCD has the first climate studies degree at a community college and will be building a STEM hub for bio manufacturing and other STEM fields.

Great Accolades

The chancellor’s hard work at LACCD has not gone unnoticed. In 2021 and 2022, he was named as one of the “LA500” most influential people in Southern California by the Los Angeles Business Journal. In addition, several years earlier, in 2018, he received the Ohtli Award, or Reconocimiento Ohtli, from the Mexican government. Considered one of the highest honors, the award recognized Rodriguez for his tireless advocacy of higher education that has aided, empowered, or positively changed the lives of tens of thousands of Mexican descendants or nationals in the United States.

Despite his successes and having now served the second longest term as chancellor of LACCD, Rodriguez hopes to continue leading the district and making education available to all students, no matter their background. He’s especially determined to open doors for underrepresented, first-generation students like he once was, and be an example and inspiration for future generations.

Leaving a Legacy

“We come from a great legacy of builders, dreamers, designers, and more. It is important we unleash that, amplify the greatest that is within us already, and use this tool of education to serve others and lift up our community,” said Rodríguez.

“Finally…,” he concluded as he offered advice for younger generations. “Never give up. Have tenacity, resilience, and a clarity of goals and purpose. ¡Échale ganas!”