Eduardo José Padrón (born June 26, 1944) is President Emeritus of

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

(MDC). An economist by training, Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. After serving as a faculty member at MDC, he became the school's president in 1995. ''

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'' named him one of the ten best college presidents in 2009, and he was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

in 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. After graduating from

Miami Senior High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high school in Miami ...

, Padrón attended Miami Dade College and then earned an undergraduate economics degree from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

. He attended graduate school at the

, completing master's and doctoral degrees in economics.

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. 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. 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.

Civic leadership

Padrón is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was appointed honorary consul to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

in 2016. He chairs the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Awards

Padrón's individual honors and awards include: 2012 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship; the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

Centennial Academic Leadership Award; and the 2011 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence. He is a guest columnist for '' Hispanic Magazine'' and the '' Miami Herald''. He has been featured as a prominent Hispanic figure in ''

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'', ''Hispanic Magazine'' and ''PODER''. In 2009, ''

'' included him on the list of "The 10 Best College Presidents." In 2010, ''

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'' magazine named him "Floridian of the Year." In 2011, ''

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'' named him one of the eight most influential college presidents in the U.S. In November 2016, Padrón was announced as one of the recipients of the

. 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 The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

Academic Senate the Clark Kerr Award for distinguished leadership in higher education.

Personal life

Padrón is divorced. He has a son and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Official Miami Dade College profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padron, Eduardo Heads of universities and colleges in the United States University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Miami Dade College Cuban emigrants to the United States 1944 births Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Urban Institute people