Peter Rodriguez named Wake Forest University president

HOUSTON – Although the late Pete Lopez Rodriguez never graduated from high school, he always emphasized the importance of education to his children and grandchildren. As his grandson Peter Louis Rodriguez prepares to become the 15th president of Wake Forest University, it’s easy to trace the foundation back to humble beginnings in Bryan, Texas.

Pete Lopez Rodriguez worked at Texas A&M from 1933 to 1985, just a short drive away from his hometown of Bryan. He eventually saw his son Pete Ybarra Rodriguez receive a BS in chemistry from Texas A&M in 1963 and a PhD in chemistry in 1968.

That commitment to education was passed down to his grandson Peter Louis Rodriguez, who graduated from Texas A&M before receiving master’s and doctorate degrees from Princeton University before returning as a professor at A&M in 1997.

The younger Rodriguez is 58 now, and the family’s commitment to education has never been stronger. Peter Louis is making history as a Latino trailblazer in education. After a decade as a dean of the School of Business at prestigious Rice University, Peter Louis Rodriguez was named the president of Wake Forest University this week.

Hoping to inspire

Rodriguez will become one of the few Latino presidents at major American universities, joining University of Miami president Joe Echevarria and UCLA president Julio Frenk. Rodriguez appreciates that his hiring may inspire other Latinos in academia.

“I deeply hope that it will (inspire),” Rodriguez said. “All of that matters to me. We all notice where we are, who we are, where we feel comfortable. I hope every one of them feels a little more confident and a little more welcome in places where they might not think they’re welcome. And I hope they’re proud of who they are and their heritage like I am.”

The Mexican American Rodriguez family of Bryan, Texas, is a testament to the value of education. Many of the relatives in Pete Lopez Rodriguez’s generation worked blue collar jobs all over the Texas A&M campus. Then Pete Ybarra Rodriguez’s generation started becoming the first in their immediate families to graduate from college and pursue graduate degrees. Peter Louis’ generation of cousins is full of professionals with advanced degrees. 

Making family proud

“The entire Rodriguez family is extremely proud of Peter,” said esteemed Houston attorney James Rodriguez. “This title is well overdue and well deserved. We all know that Peter’s dad, who was also a Dean, is looking down very proud.”

Indeed, Peter Louis Rodriguez followed his father to academia. Pete Ybarra Rodriguez was a chemist for Dupont in Victoria, Texas, before moving to Kilgore to become the Dean of the Engineering and Science School at Kilgore College from 1970 until his death in 1991.

Peter’s mother Dominga “Dee” Rodriguez taught English as a Second Language after attending night school at Kilgore College and UT Tyler for 11 years during Rodriguez’s early childhood.

“She was very proud of me, and very happy for me,” Rodriguez says of his mother’s reaction to his hiring at Wake Forest. 

Peter Rodriguez’s dad wasn’t around to see him receive his master’s and Ph.D degrees from Princeton, but he and Dee set the foundation that has led Peter throughout his career. 

“I think he would have been proud,” Peter Louis said of his father. “And I think he would have said, ‘Remember what your values are. Treat everybody the same.’”

Ambitious, thoughtful, inclusive leader

Peter Louis Rodriguez is credited with leading Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business to national prominence since arriving as dean in 2016. He also served as a professor of strategy during his time at Rice. 

Under Rodriguez’s leadership, Rice started the Virani Undergraduate School of Business in 2024. He was named the 2025 Dean of the Year by Poets&Quants.

“While we are sad to be losing Peter’s trademark ambitious yet deeply thoughtful and inclusive leadership at the business school, we couldn’t be happier for him for the opportunity to lead one of the country’s finest private universities,” Rice president Reginald DesRoches and provost and executive vice president for academic affairs Amy Dittmar said in a joint message to Rice students and alumni. “This is a proud moment for our community and a reflection of Rice’s reputation to have one of our deans be selected for such a role.”

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Rodriguez spent the early part of his childhood in Bryan. He then lived briefly in Victoria. He was raised in Kilgore before heading off to college. The renowned economist is on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Houston Branch. He was named to that board in 2022, rising to chairman in 2025 for his second three-year term. 

Before arriving at Rice in 2016, he was senior associate dean for MBA programs and a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Rice’s business school grew tremendously under Rodriguez’s leadership in programs and enrollment.

‘Best choice’ to lead Wake Forest 

He’ll officially take over at Wake Forest in July. His impact on Rice will be felt for generations. He guided the development of a new 112,000-square-foot facility, which will open in the fall. 

“The Presidential Search Committee unanimously agreed that Peter Rodriguez was the best choice to lead Wake Forest into its third century,” said Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt, the co-chair of Wake Forest’s Presidential Search Committee and chair of the Board of Trustees. “During the search process, we came to know Dr. Rodriguez as a scholar and an intellectually capable, avid learner and researcher. 

“He is a leader of principle, character and kindness who has the mind and temperament for the complexities of modern higher education. We are delighted he has agreed to join our community.” 

Rodriguez and his wife Kathleen, who teaches third grade, have three adult children ranging in ages from 29 to 18. After a lifetime devoted to family and education, Rodriguez now prepares to lead Wake Forest. He carries the values instilled by his late grandfather. 

“I hadn’t really dreamed of it until midway through my current term at Rice. I saw an opportunity where people thought maybe I could be a provost or president,” Rodriguez said. “In the last five years I took more steps to try to become ready to take on a role like this one. Then it’s a matter of looking for opportunities and becoming appealing to search committees.”