HACU Press Release

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) applauds the SUNY Board of Trustees for appointing Havidán Rodríguez, Ph.D., to lead the University at Albany.Dr. Rodríguez will be the first Hispanic president of a four-year college in the State University of New York System (SUNY).

He is currently serving as the founding provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a HACU-member institution, and is a tenured professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology there. The appointment will take effect in mid-September. 

“The appointment of Dr. Rodríguez as president of the University at Albany is a signature moment for the SUNY system, and we are very gratified that a leader with a long history of dedication to Hispanic-Serving Institutions has been recognized for his talent and ability,” said HACU president and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “We are especially pleased to note that New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s State University of New York Hispanic Leadership Institute has resulted in an exceptional choice in the appointment of a Hispanic to a major university’s top leadership role. Given the dearth of Hispanic CEOs in U.S. higher education, Rodríguez’ history-making appointment is a positive sign of the increasing diversity at the highest levels of the New York education system.” 

Prior to his service at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Rodríguez was president ad interim, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas - Pan American and deputy provost, vice provost for Academic Affairs and International Programs, and professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, where he also directed the Disaster Research Center. Previously he held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (all three universities are HACU-member institutions).

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