Miami, Sept. 16, 2020 – Miami Dade College (MDC) Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Lenore Rodicio has been named a board member for the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, which supports the nation’s third largest park system with more than 270 parks, six marinas, 16 miles of beaches, and six golf courses.
A nationally recognized leader in higher education, Dr. Rodicio transformational work in student success and achievement has led to significant improvements in retention and graduation, and earned MDC the 2019 Aspen Award for Community College Excellence. Today, MDC’s retention and graduation rates for all students, and in particular for minority students, exceed the national average. These improved outcomes have positioned MDC as first in the state and among the top four institutions nationally in increasing the economic mobility of its students. Additionally, her leadership in developmental education has resulted in one of the most successful mathematics redesign processes in the country.
Dr. Rodicio was honored most recently with the Hispanic Leadership Award presented by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was selected as a 2019 Miami Herald Influencer in recognition of her role and voice in higher education, and named one of South Florida’s influential business women by South Florida Business Journal in 2018. In 2017, she was named the In the Company of Women Outstanding Woman in Education Honoree by the Miami-Dade Commission for Women of Miami-Dade Parks.
A Miami native, Dr. Rodicio will apply her skills and extensive knowledge to continue serving her community as a Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade board member. The organization was created in 2004 in support of the Building Better Communities Bond Issue when visionary community leaders acknowledged that the county’s general fund was not adequate to maintain, expand, and sustain the needs of the rapidly growing Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. At the time, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Senator Javier D. Souto established a referendum authorizing the county manager to set up an Adopt-A-Park program as a mechanism for community activists to generate needed funds for improvements to the historic, ever-expanding park system. Today, the Adopt-A-Park program flourishes under the Parks Foundation, in addition to a broad range of opportunities for individuals, civic groups, and corporate sponsors to get involved through fundraising programs and volunteer opportunities. Donations to the Parks Foundation have already helped thousands of children learn to swim and hundreds more attend summer camp and afterschool programs. To learn more, visit www.liveaparklife.org.