Victoria Rodriguez

Victoria E. Rodríguez  holds the University’s Ashbel Smith Professorship at the LBJ School. She also held the position of Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at The University of Texas at Austin for nine years. She teaches courses in policy development, women in politics and public policy, and theory and philosophy of public policy. Prior to joining UT Austin in 1991, she held teaching positions at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Texas at El Paso. She was also a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and has served as a consultant for the World Bank.

Professor Rodríguez received a bachelor’s degree from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Her scholarly work has focused on governance, democratization, and political change in Mexico. In addition to numerous books, articles, and book chapters on Mexican politics and public policy, she is the author ofDecentralization in Mexico: From Reforma Municipal to Solidaridad to Nuevo Federalismo (1997). Her current work includes path-breaking research and two books on women in Mexican politics: Women’s Participation in Mexican Political Life (1998) and Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics (2003). Her books have also been published in Spanish in revised and updated editions.

In 2000 Professor Rodríguez received jointly with Professor Peter Ward the Ohtli Medal, the highest honor granted by the Mexican government outside Mexico. In 2002 Hispanic Business named her as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.

Education

Ph.D. in political science, University of California, Berkeley; M.A. University of Texas at El Paso; B.A., Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores

Current Positions

Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, The University of Texas at Austin

Previous Positions

Assistant professor, The University of Texas at El Paso (1989-1991); lecturer, University of California, San Diego (1987-1989); teaching assistant, The University of Texas at El Paso and University of California, Berkeley (1980-1985); full-time faculty member, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (1975-1980)

Co-author, Governance in the Americas (University of Notre Dame Press 2008); author, Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics (University of Texas Press, 2003); editor, Women’s Participation in Mexican Political Life (Westview Press, 1998); author, Decentralization in Mexico: From Reforma Municipal to Solidaridad to Nuevo Federalismo (Westview Press, 1997); co-editor and contributor,Opposition Governments in Mexico: Past Experiences and Future Opportunities (University of New Mexico Press, 1995); co-author, Political Change in Baja California: Democracy in the Making? (University of California San Diego, 1994); author, numerous articles, and book chapters on Mexican politics and public policy