Chancellor Raúl Rodríguez, Ph.D.
Raúl Rodríguez, Ph.D. has served as the Chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) since August of 2010. As Chancellor of one of the largest community college districts in the state of California, Dr. Rodríguez oversees a district that covers one quarter of the land area of Orange County, registers an annual enrollment of more than 53,000 students and is one of the largest employers in the region with more than 4,300 employees. RSCCD has nine locations, including the main college campuses of Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College. Through its two colleges and other educational sites, the district offers a comprehensive range of educational activities encompassing transfer education, career technical education, basic skills development, adult education, community education, and a variety of economic development programs and services, including the Orange County Small Business Development Center, the Center for International Trade Development, the Corporate Training Institute, the Digital Media Center and the Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
Prior to joining RSCCD, Dr. Rodríguez held a number of positions in both single college and multi-college community college districts in California. An educator for more than 29 years, he has over 22 years of experience as a community college CEO. His previous administrative experience includes serving as Superintendent/President of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton; President of Los Medanos College in the Contra Costa Community College District; Interim President of San José City College; Vice President of Instruction, San José City College; and Dean of Instruction, Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, among others.
Dr. Rodríguez earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He also possesses a Master’s Degree in School and Applied Psychology from Fairfield University and a B.A. in Liberal Studies from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. An educator who taught psychology at Cabrillo College and the University of California, Santa Cruz, he is also a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Educational Management.
Chancellor Rodriguez has served as a Commissioner on the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges since 2011 and is currently Chair of the Commission. As part of his extensive accreditation experience, he served as Chair of nine accreditation team visits. In 2012 he was appointed to the Executive Board of the CSU Fullerton Doctor of Educational Leadership Program, in 2015 appointed to the Advisory Board for the CSU Long Beach Department of Educational Leadership and in 2016 appointed to the CSU Long Beach College of Education Community Advisory Committee and CSU Fullerton Higher Education Advisory Board.
RSCCD has broad offerings in career technical education and is actively involved in economic development with a focus on supporting small business. In support of workforce development, Dr. Rodríguez has served on the CCCCO Economic Development Program Advisory Committee (EDPAC) and Workforce and Economic Development Performance Advisory Committee (WEDPAC) since 2015. He is also Co-Chair of the LA-OC Regional Consortia (LAOCRC) Strategic Planning Committee.
Community and professional service has always been a high priority for Dr. Rodríguez. He currently serves on the board of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) and International Consortium for Educational and Economic Development (ICEED). In addition, Dr. Rodríguez is a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Santa Ana Chapter. July 2017