Eduardo Padron will retire from M-Dade College after 49 years

After a unique and brilliant career spanning nearly 50 years, almost a quarter century serving as president, Miami Dade College (MDC) President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón has announced his plans to step down in August. He joined the college as a member of the faculty in 1970 and quickly rose through the faculty and administrative ranks.
Padrón is an iconic and leading figure in American higher education. His accomplishments are legendary. For decades, he has proven that open access and academic excellence can go hand in hand. He is highly respected for his transformational and innovative leadership and has distinguished himself as a visionary and strategic thinker who inspires excellence in others. As a result, he has forged MDC into a student-centered, teaching-focused and inclusive institution.
Acknowledged nationally as a champion of inclusion and diversity, he has always been a solutions-based, entrepreneurial president. A bold leader with personal humility, he has also led MDC with a deep and abiding commitment to academic freedom, shared appreciation and meaningful collaborations.
Early in his tenure, he set a course for a comprehensive and lofty vision for the college. In fact, he has been credited with elevating MDC into a position of national prominence among the best and most recognized U.S. colleges and universities. His pace-setting work has been hailed as a model of innovation in higher education, all while engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement.
He also ushered in an era of tremendous growth and expansion at the college, bringing it even closer to the community with new campuses and state-of-the-art facilities. This includes the creation of the West, InterAmerican and Hialeah campuses, and the construction of cutting-edge facilities including the Science Complex and Aquatic Center at the North Campus, the Student Support Center Building at Kendall Campus, the Patient Simulation Center at the Medical Campus, and many others.
“I have been profoundly honored to serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees during Dr. Padrón’s tenure,” said Bernie Navarro, chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees. “He has truly left an indelible mark on the college, community and nation with an unparalleled and impeccable career of service with integrity, passion, dignity, humanity, and empathy. My fellow trustees and I wish him nothing but the very best.”