Dr. Alma Dolores Rodríguez is Dean of the College of Education and P-16 Integration at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). She received her Doctor of Education degree from The University of Houston. Her research and scholarship focus on the improvement of teacher preparation programs and building capacity and supports at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) with a focus on meeting the needs of Latina/o students, educators, and communities.
Dr. Rodríguez began her career in education as a bilingual teacher. After a short time working in public school administration, she began her career in higher education at The University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB). In 2019, Dr. Rodríguez assumed the deanship of the College of Education and P-16 Integration at UTRGV, one of the largest HSIs in the United States. Dr. Rodríguez also has held leadership positions at the state level. She was president of the Texas Association of Teacher Educators (TxATE) and served on the board of the Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE). She is currently a member dean of the Texas Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (TACTE). In the summer of 2020, Dr. Rodríguez was appointed to the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) in the state of Texas and has been serving since then. Dr. Rodríguez is also currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED). She is excited to begin serving on the Deans for Impact Board of Directors in October 2024.
Why did you decide to join DFI's board?
I decided to join DFI’s board because I believe that every child deserves a well-prepared teacher and providing quality teacher preparation is the way to accomplish it.
What is one pivotal moment in your career that helped shape how you view your own role in advancing educational equity?
Becoming dean of a large college of education afforded me the opportunity to focus on quality educator preparation at a larger scale, ensuring that all of our teacher candidates are supported and have the opportunities to achieve at their greatest potential.
Describe a teacher or student who made a lasting impact in your life.
The students in my first bilingual classroom made a lasting impact in my life by teaching me how to differentiate instruction to meet every student’s needs.
What most excites you about the work of transforming educator preparation?
What excites me the most about transforming educator preparation is that it requires promoting a culture of continuous improvement among faculty and staff. Continuous improvement is facilitated when faculty share a common goal of providing quality preparation for candidate success and candidate performance data is used to make informed decisions to transform educator preparation.