Miami Dade College’s President to be Honored with the Chairman’s Award at the 2010 Beacon Awards on April 7
Miami Dade College President, Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón
Miami, March 19, 2010 - Miami Dade College (MDC) President, Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, will receive the Chairman’s Award on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at the Eighth Annual Beacon Awards, at Jungle Island.
The 2010 Judges Committee, comprised of the Beacon Council’s chair, chair-elect and past chairs, selected Dr. Padrón unanimously for this distinction for leading the way in creating new jobs and investment in the county and for demonstrating outstanding leadership and commitment to Miami-Dade’s business community.
Dr. Padrón’s transformational leadership skills have garnered him significant recognitions during his four decades in higher education. Recently, Florida Trend magazine named him the “Floridian of the Year” in its January 2010 issue for his significant contributions to the Sunshine State during 2009.
More specifically, the publication credited him for having earned the ear of President Barack Obama and steering the national debate, emphasizing the importance of community colleges in the national economic recovery. In November 2009, TIME magazine named Dr. Padrón one of “The 10 Best College Presidents” in the nation.
Currently, Padrón’s energetic leadership extends to many of the nation’s leading organizations. He is the immediate past chair of the board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
He is chair-elect of the board of the American Council on Education (ACE); and also serves on the boards of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Business/Higher Education Forum; League for Innovation; the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; and the Council on Foreign Relations, among other leading organizations.
Since 1995, Dr. Padrón has served as president of MDC, the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 170,000 students.
He is widely recognized as one of the top educational leaders in the world and is often invited to participate in educational policy forums in the United States and abroad. In 1993, President Bill Clinton recognized him as one of America’s foremost educators.
President George W. Bush nominated him to the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board. More recently, he represented the U.S. at UNESCO’s World Conference on Higher Education at the invitation of the Obama Administration.
During his career he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents. His pace-setting work at the College has been hailed as a model of innovation in higher education.
He is credited with engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement.
An economist by training and MDC graduate, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
Media-only contacts:
Juan Mendieta, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu, MDC communications director
Tarnell Carroll, 305-237-3359, tcarroll@mdc.edu, media specialist
Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu, media specialist
Alejandro Rios, 305-237-7482, arios1@mdc.edu