Dr. Barbara Rodriguez brings more than 25 years of experience advancing teaching and learning, institutional effectiveness, and academic innovation across community colleges and through national partnerships supporting colleges and universities of all types. Her career reflects a sustained commitment to strengthening instructional quality and organizational capacity through evidence-based practice, professional learning, and strategic leadership.
Before joining Achieving the Dream, Dr. Rodriguez served as academic director for the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), leading faculty development partnerships that advanced effective teaching and student learning across a broad range of institutions. Her work at ACUE built on a distinguished career in community colleges, including leadership roles at Broward College and Miami Dade College focused on academic transformation, assessment, and continuous improvement, and a long tenure at Central Carolina Community College, where she served as English faculty and in academic leadership positions.
She holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University and both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English from North Carolina Central University.
Education:
Ph.D., Educational Leadership | Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL)
M.A., English | North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC)
B.A., English | North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC)
Past Experience:
Academic Director | Association of College and University Educators
Associate Vice President, Center for Teaching Excellence & Learning | Broward College
Senior Assessment & Planning Associate, Institutional Research & Effectiveness | Miami Dade College
Academic Dean, University Transfer, Health Sciences, and Development Education | Central Carolina Community College
English Instructor | Central Carolina Community College
How has education changed your life/your family?
I grew up in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, in a family of tobacco farmers who taught me the value of perseverance. My parents also believed deeply in the power of education, and that belief changed the course of my life. It opened doors that might have otherwise stayed closed and sparked in me a deep love of learning that’s shaped everything I’ve done since.