Alma Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Dr. Alma Dolores Rodríguez is Dean of the College of Education and P-16 Integration at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and Professor in the Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies. Her research and scholarship focus on bilingual and ESL teacher preparation from three interconnected dimensions: 1) issues of language and how those impact teaching and learning; 2) the use of culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining approaches to teacher preparation with the goal of impacting teacher candidates’ practice; and 3) the improvement of teacher preparation programs with an emphasis on meeting the needs of Latina/o emergent bilingual students, teachers, and communities.
Dr. Rodríguez received her Doctor of Education degree from The University of Houston. She has served in multiple leadership roles including Interim Chair of the Department of Language, Literacy and Intercultural Studies at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Associate Dean for Assessment and Accreditation at UTRGV. Dr. Rodriguez was president of the Texas Association of Teacher Educators (TxATE) and served on the board of the Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE). She was also a member of the Council of Unit Presidents of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE). Dr. Rodríguez is currently a member dean of Deans for Impact and of the Texas Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (TACTE).