Eduardo J. Padrón
{{Short description|American academic}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Eduardo Padrón
|image = Eduardo J. Padron.jpg
|office = Former President of Miami Dade College
|term_start = 1995
|term_end = 2019
|predecessor = Robert McCabe
|successor = Madeline Pumariega
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|6|26}}
|birth_place = Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|education = Miami Dade College
Florida Atlantic University (BA)
University of Florida (MA, PhD)
}}
Eduardo José Padrón (born June 26, 1944)date & year of birth according to LCNAF CIP data is President Emeritus of Miami Dade College (MDC). An economist by training, Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. After serving as a faculty member at MDC, he became the school's president in 1995. Time named him one of the ten best college presidents in 2009, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://wsvn.com/news/us-world/miami-dade-college-president-awarded-presidential-medal-of-freedom/|title = Miami-Dade College president awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom| date=23 November 2016 }}
Early life
Born in Cuba, Padrón was fifteen years old when he arrived in the United States as a refugee. Upon arrival, Padrón did not speak English and struggled in a school system that did not yet include bilingual education programs.{{cite web|last1=Adney|first1=Isa|title=Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Eduardo Padron. College president redefines "community colleges"|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/community/2012/10/08/hispanic-heritage-month-meet-eduardo-padron-community-college-redefines-in-us/|website=Fox News Latino|access-date=November 17, 2016|date=October 8, 2012}}
After graduating from Miami Senior High School, Padrón attended Miami Dade College and then earned an undergraduate economics degree from Florida Atlantic University. He attended graduate school at the University of Florida, completing master's and doctoral degrees in economics.{{cite news|last1=Barnett|first1=Cynthia|title=Eduardo Padron, Floridian of the Year|url=http://www.floridatrend.com/article/4595/eduardo-padrn-floridian-of-the-year|access-date=November 16, 2016|work=Florida Trend|date=January 1, 2010}}
Miami Dade College career
When Padrón finished his education, he was about to accept a job offer at DuPont, but he was still connected to his old professors at MDC. They then asked him to apply for a faculty position at the school. Since 1995, he has served as the president of Miami Dade College. The school enrolls and graduates more black and Hispanic students than any other institute of higher education in the nation.{{cite news|last1=Gurney|first1=Kyra|title=Miami Dade College president to receive highest civilian honor from president|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article115153393.html|access-date=November 16, 2016|work=Miami Herald|date=November 16, 2016}}
In 2006, Padrón retired from MDC. He collected $893,286 in lump sum benefits and started receiving retirement pay of $14,631 a month. One month later, Padrón returned to his position at the college and was receiving his annual salary again. This practice, which has been undertaken by a number of Florida public officials, has been criticized by local media sources as "double dipping". Padrón's spokesperson said that college trustees asked Padrón to come back after he had announced his retirement. The spokesperson said that the practice is legal.{{cite news|last1=Morgan|first1=Lucy|title=Double dipping rises despite outrage|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/double-dipping-rises-despite-outrage/950391|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630225723/http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/double-dipping-rises-despite-outrage/950391|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 30, 2013|access-date=November 17, 2016|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=December 27, 2008}}{{cite news|last1=Morgan|first1=Lucy|title=State: State retiree loophole costs Florida $300M a year|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/23/State/State_retiree_loophol.shtml|access-date=November 17, 2016|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=February 23, 2008}}
MDC is one of 14 Florida community colleges that can grant bachelor's degrees. Padrón says that the school's curricula focus on degree programs that will directly prepare graduates for the workforce.{{cite news|last1=Lewin|first1=Tamar|title=Community colleges challenge hierarchy with 4-year degrees|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/education/03community.html|access-date=November 17, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=May 2, 2009}}
Civic leadership
Padrón is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations.{{cite web|title=Officers and Directors|url=http://www.cfr.org/about/people/board_of_directors.html|website=Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=November 16, 2016}} He was appointed honorary consul to Morocco in 2016.{{cite news|last1=Nehamas|first1=Nicholas|title=Morocco appoints Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón as honorary consul|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article55449070.html|access-date=November 17, 2016|work=Miami Herald|date=January 19, 2016}} He chairs the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.{{cite web|title=President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics|url=http://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/presidential-advisory-commission/|publisher=White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics|access-date=November 17, 2016}}
Awards
Padrón's individual honors and awards include: 2012 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship;[http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2012/02/15/aspen-institute-announces-two-generation-approach-move-families-beyond-poverty Aspen Institute announces two-generation approach to move families beyond poverty]. Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship. the Carnegie Corporation Centennial Academic Leadership Award;{{cite web|title=Carnegie Corporation honors higher ed leaders Freeman A. Hrabowski III and Eduardo J. Padrón|url=https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/carnegie-corporation-honors-higher-ed-leaders-freeman-a-hrabowski-iii-and-eduardo-j-padron/|website=Carnegie Corporation of New York|access-date=November 17, 2016|date=November 2, 2011}} and the 2011 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence.[https://www.tiaainstitute.org/public/pdf/institute/awards/hesburgh/hesburgh_brochure_0312_r10a.pdf 2012 Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence]. TIAA-CREF. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
He is a guest columnist for Hispanic Magazine and the Miami Herald. He has been featured as a prominent Hispanic figure in People magazine, Hispanic Magazine and PODER. In 2009, Time included him on the list of "The 10 Best College Presidents."[https://web.archive.org/web/20091115062755/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1937938_1937933_1937921,00.html The 10 best college presidents]. Time. November 11, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2016. In 2010, Florida Trend magazine named him "Floridian of the Year." In 2011, The Washington Post named him one of the eight most influential college presidents in the U.S.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/some-of-the-countrys-most-influential-college-leaders/2011/05/16/AFCZ904G_blog.html Who are the most influential college leaders?]. The Washington Post. May 16, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2016. In 2012, Princeton University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Laws,{{Cite web |title=Past Honorary Degree Recipients |url=https://president.princeton.edu/past-honorary-degree-recipients |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Office of the President |language=en}} and in 2013 Brown University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.{{Cite web |title=Honorary Degrees |url=https://corporation.brown.edu/honorary-degrees |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Corporation {{!}} Brown University |language=en}}
In November 2016, Padrón was announced as one of the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.{{cite web|title=President Obama names recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|access-date=November 16, 2016|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|date=November 16, 2016}}
After he stepped down from his position of school president, the Interamerican Campus was renamed to the Eduardo J. Padron Campus. In 2021, Padrón received from the UC Berkeley Academic Senate the Clark Kerr Award for distinguished leadership in higher education.{{Cite web |title=2021 Clark Kerr Award {{!}} Academic Senate |url=https://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/awards/clark-kerr-award-2021 |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=academic-senate.berkeley.edu}}
Personal life
Padrón is divorced. He has a son and two grandchildren.{{cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Cindy|last2=Morrissey|first2=Siobhan|title=Thirteen Miami visionaries — and how they've helped transform South Florida|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/biz-monday/article83372287.html|access-date=November 16, 2016|work=Miami Herald|date=June 13, 2016}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.mdc.edu/main/about/college_president.aspx Official Miami Dade College profile]
{{Miami Dade College}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padron, Eduardo}}
Category:Heads of universities and colleges in the United States
Category:University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States
Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Category:Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States