An American by choice, Dr. Eduardo Padrón arrived in the United States as a teenage refugee in 1961. From 1995 until 2019, he served as president of Miami Dade College (MDC), where he is credited with engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., for being a prominent national voice for access and inclusion in higher education.
An internationally esteemed member of the higher education community, Dr. Padrón’s energetic leadership extends to many of the nation’s leading organizations, including the American Council on Education (ACE), the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and the Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF). During his career, he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents.
Dr. Padrón currently serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Urban Institute and the Spencer Foundation; RC 2020; the International Association of University Presidents; and Achieving the Dream.
Education
Fellow | American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Ph.D. (Economics) | University of Florida