Rodriguez, Donald
Donald Rodriguez
Dr. Donald Rodriguez is a professor and chair of the Environmental Science and Resource Management Program at California State University Channel Islands. He teaches courses in natural resource management, environmental history, and various field-based courses in Costa Rica. He has also published numerous papers on visitor needs assessment, human-wildlife interactions, and park visitor management. Dr. Rodriguez is also a Belize Protected Area Conservation Trust consultant and works closely with the National Park Service in Ventura County.
“Having a successful career is really about finding one’s passion and pursuing that passion throughout the life course.” – Dr. Donald Rodriguez, 2005
Clarke, T., Rodriguez, D., & Alamillo, J. 2015. Engaging Latino/a communities in national park programs: Building trust and providing opportunities for voice. Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, 4(1), 136.
Lafferty, Kevin, Rodriguez, Donald A. and Chapman, Angela. 2013. Temporal and spatial variation in bird and human use of beaches in southern California. SpringerPlus Journal, 2(38): 1-24
Clarke, Tracylee, Rodriguez, Donald A. and Alamillo, Jose. October 13, 2012). “Engaging Non-traditional Audiences with National Park Programs: Opportunities for Voice.” with T. Clarke and J. Alamillo. Paper delivered at Under Western Skies Environment, Community and Culture in North America. Banff, Alberta Canada.
Rodriguez, Donald A., Pacheco, Pilar 2011. Transformative Education: Creating a generation of environmental leaders. The Journal for Civic Commitment, 16(1): 1-13.
Rodriguez, Donald A., Chapman, Angela, and Cartwright, Rachel. July, 2011. A Shoreline Study of Coastal Birds in Ventura County. Technical Report # BOEMRE 2010-024. U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, Pacific OCS Region. Camarillo, CA.
Dr. Donald Rodriguez was born in 1951 to Emanuel and Nartissa Rodriquez. Their family lived near San Leandro, California, near San Francisco Bay. Dr. Rodriguez learned of the natural world at a young age, as his family would take a two-week camping trip to Yosemite National Park each summer. These early trips left an indelible mark on him and gave him an appreciation for natural settings and the environment.
Dr. Rodriguez graduated with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from San Jose State University in 1977. He followed this with a master’s in environmental education from Cal State East Bay in 1985. He completed his Ph.D. in human dimensions of natural resources from Colorado State University in 1996.
During his undergraduate studies, Dr. Rodriguez worked as a seasonal naturalist at the East Bay Regional Park District. As part of his responsibilities, he gave interpretive talks to visitors. He also worked as a seasonal wildlife biologist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). From 1983 to 1987, Dr. Rodriguez was the Director of Environmental Education at the San Jose Unified School District. His early positions reinforced his interest in the environmental field. In 1992, he began graduate school to focus on environmental education.
Upon completing his doctorate in 1996, Dr. Rodriguez became an Assistant Professor at the College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University. From 2000 to 2003, he was the Director of Environmental Studies, developing the first-year orientation programs. In 2003, he moved to California as an Assistant Professor at California State University Channel Islands. In 2007, he was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 2011, he became a full professor and the Founding Chair of the Environmental Science and Resource Management Program. He ran the program until 2017.
Dr. Rodriguez’s career contains many positive experiences. He considers being the Founding Chair of the Channel Islands Environmental Science Program one of his highest achievements, and he greatly enjoyed expanding the environmental curriculum to an urban audience. However, he places his students and their achievements above his own. “My most glowing achievement has been the opportunity to work with so many gifted and talented students over the years. Playing a small role in their career development and being that pivotal mentor for others has allowed me to see my career come full circle. […] While this experience has provided awards and recognition, professional opportunities for international involvement, and more than my share of media attention, seeing my students take their place in the environmental field has been my crowning achievement. Changing the complexion of the environmental community one student at a time has been a slow process, but I’m confident that the seeds I’ve sown, and those of many of my colleagues recognized in this publication, will increase exponentially in the next generation” (2016).
While he can recall more than one low point in his career, not being acknowledged as a teacher-scholar in a large research-oriented institution, numerous failed grant attempts, and more than his share of revise-and-resubmit suggestions, he believes all of these experiences have brought him to this point in his career.
In 2022, Dr. Rodriguez became a founding board member of the Bank Climate Advocates. He is an Emeritus Professor. He credits his advancement to the positive media attention he has received as well as his publication record.
A host of people have guided Dr. Rodriguez throughout his career. He acknowledges Ron Stecker, a faculty member in the entomology department at San Jose State University, for sparking his interest in ecological topics. His master’s advisor also served as a significant influence in the realm of environmental education and interpretation. Dr. Rodriguez’s doctoral advisor at Colorado State University assisted him with networking by introducing him to key individuals who worked in parks and protected lands. Overall, his career has been filled with people who have helped guide him and intensified his interest in pursuing a career in the environmental field. He says, “I’ve continued to grow through these mentors…They came during critical points in my development… [they] helped to keep me moving during my academic career towards environmental science” (2005).
Having benefited from the guidance of mentors, Dr. Rodriguez understands the importance of mentoring others. He helped to develop the Colorado Youth Naturally Program in Denver and Fort Collins in the early 1990s. He also created the educational component for the Youth in Natural Resources Program for the State of Colorado. In addition, he worked with the Hispanic Environmental Coalition in Washington, D.C., to assist other Hispanic organizations in higher education to become more interested in environmental affairs. “Mentoring students has been all about cultivating their passion for the natural world into legitimate career directions. My most successful students have been the ones that combine their avocation and vocation into a lifelong pursuit” (2016).
He gives the following advice to individuals interested in a career in the environmental field, “The environmental field is more a way of life than a career direction. If [individuals] have [environmental science] as a personal interest, they’ll be successful in terms of finding a niche in the environmental arena. The environmental field is more a way of life than a career direction. It’s not extremely lucrative, but it has intrinsic rewards” (2005).
Dr. Rodriguez notes that finding the right fit academically is one of the most important decisions for those starting a life in higher education. Finding his way to CSU Channel Islands, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), Dr. Rodriguez’s attempt to “fit in” at a research-oriented institution where many junior faculty failed to navigate their probationary periods. Most junior faculty are minorities, and women enter higher education to teach, mentor, and engage communities but find the demands of securing external funding and maintaining a high publication rate detract from their goals.
California State University Channel Islands. 2023. Donald A. Rodriguez. https://ciapps.csuci.edu/FacultyBios/FacultyBiography/Details/429
Donald Rodriguez. n.d. Home [LinkedIn Page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved December 5, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-rodriguez-86285919/
Interview conducted by Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative staff. 2016. University of Michigan – School of Natural Resources and Environment. Ann Arbor, MI.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.