Dear Campus Community,

I am excited to announce the appointment of Louie F. Rodríguez as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education. His first day will be April 1.

A member of the UCR faculty since 2016, Louie is a Professor and the Bank of America Endowed Chair in Education Leadership, Policy, and Practice in the School of Education (SOE). His research focuses on issues of educational equity, Latina/o/x/ education, and community engagement. 

Between 2019 and 2022, Louie served as Interim Dean of the School of Education. He recruited 30% of the school’s current faculty, resulting in the SOE becoming the most diverse Education faculty in the UC System. Under his leadership and during the pandemic, the SOE raised $3M, developed five endowed scholarships for students, and created 200 emergency scholarships to help students with basic needs. He championed an Ethnic Studies Pathway as part of the Teacher Education Program and developed two major pipeline programs to develop education professionals for the region and state. He also strengthened community engagement, enhanced interdisciplinary research, and led the initiative to change the name from the Graduate School of Education to the School of Education.  

Before becoming Interim Dean, Louie served for two years as Associate Dean in the SOE and helped launch a new Education Major. Prior to joining UCR, he was on the faculty at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and Florida International University. 

Over the last 17 years, Louie has led several research and community initiatives and authored over 50 publications including 4 books, several articles and book chapters. His honors include the American Education Research Association (AERA) Hispanic Research Issues SIG Award for Research in Elementary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Education in 2019; recognition by the Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance in 2019; Outstanding Latino Faculty by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) in 2015; and his designation as an “Emerging Leader” in 2014 by Phi Delta Kappa International in Washington, DC. He has also been a Protégé as part of the Millennium Leadership Initiative at American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU); an Aspiring Leader with the Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) program at Rutgers University; and Fellow with the Executive Leadership Academy at UC Berkeley.  

Louie currently co-chairs the UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council. In addition to his scholarship, he has testified twice in front of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education on creating opportunities to develop Ethnic Studies teachers in California. His expert commentary appears in various publications, including The Atlantic, U.S. News & World Report, and Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine.

Originally from the Inland Empire, Louie attended San Bernardino Valley College and CSUSB, where he became a McNair Scholar. He attended Harvard University for graduate school, earning two master’s degrees and a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy. 

I want to express my gratitude to Associate Provost Ken Baerenklau for his service as interim Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education since March 2022.

I would also like to thank the members of the search committee for their active engagement in helping to select our new VPDUE:

Shaun Bowler, Dean, Graduate Division (Chair)

Rena Burton, Director, Academic Resource Center

Sean Cason, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Undergraduate Education 

Johnathan Chun, Associated Students of UCR

Wallace Cleaves, Associate Professor and Associate Director, University Writing Program

Emily Engelschall, Associate Vice Chancellor, Enrollment Services

Gladis Herrera-Berkowitz, Director, Undergraduate Education 

Rebecca Hutchins, Associate CIO 

Ryan Lipinski, Director, CHASS Majors Advising

Amy Litt, Associate Professor, Botany and Plant Sciences 

Morris Maduro, Professor and Chair, Biology 

Barry Mishra, Professor, Accounting

Marko Princevac, Vice Provost for International Affairs

Chinya Ravishankar, Professor, Computer Science & Engineering

Christina Schwenkel, Professor, Anthropology

Stefano Vidussi, Professor and Divisional Dean for Physical Sciences and Mathematics, CNAS

Sincerely,

Liz