12:27 p.m., Sept. 29, 2010----Havidán Rodríguez, deputy provost at the University of Delaware, has accepted a position as provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) in Edinburg, Texas.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

Rodríguez will begin serving at UTPA on Jan. 1, 2011.

“Havidán Rodríguez has provided outstanding service to the University of Delaware, both as director of the Disaster Research Center and in the Office of the Provost,” UD President Patrick Harker said. “We wish him all the best in his new role as provost and vice president of academic affairs at UTPA.”

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Havidán,” said UD Provost Tom Apple. “He has played an important role in moving the University's Path to Prominence strategic plan forward and has been an invaluable asset to the Office of the Provost. I know he will continue his record of success at UTPA.”

"I am very honored and extremely pleased to have been selected as provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Texas-Pan American from among a group of distinguished and very successful candidates,” Rodríguez said. “UTPA is an excellent institution of higher education that aims to continue to have a significant impact at the local, national, and global level, while continuing to serve the Rio Grande Valley community. I am very fortunate to have been selected as the new provost to work and collaborate with this excellent and very welcoming community."

Rodríguez added, "Of course, it also saddens me to leave the University of Delaware, my colleagues, and my good friends. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with an excellent and committed group of colleagues at UD, as former director of the Disaster Research Center, as vice provost for academic affairs and international programs, and as deputy provost. I am very pleased and proud of the work that we have accomplished in moving the University along the Path to Prominence, at both the national and the global level. This is a bittersweet moment. I am very enthusiastic and motivated to engage in new challenges, initiatives, and opportunities that will contribute to expanding and enhancing the success of students at UTPA and that will continue to build on the institution's academic excellence. However, I will also miss this great institution and all the excellent relationships that we have built throughout my years at the University of Delaware."

Rodríguez came to UD as director of the renowned Disaster Research Center in 2003 after more than a decade as a professor and administrator at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

A professor of sociology, he has research interests in disasters, the U.S. Latino-Latina population and higher education.

He was named UD's vice provost for academic affairs and international programs in 2006 and deputy provost in 2009.

As deputy provost, Rodríguez served as the chief adviser to Apple, working to assure a high quality of academic programs and educational opportunities at the University. As the principal academic planning officer, he has had primary responsibility for academic program planning and review, and capital planning as it relates to academic programs and enrollment planning.

Also, Rodríguez has worked closely with the provost to establish global collaborations/partnerships and to extend the global role, leadership, geographic presence and visibility of UD.

In addition to positions at UD and the University of Puerto Rico, Rodríguez also served three years as director of the minority affairs program for the American Sociological Association in Washington, D.C.

Rodríguez received a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.