An American by choice, Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón arrived in the United States as a refugee at the age of 15. Since 1995, he has served as President of Miami Dade College, the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 165,000 students. An economist by training, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida.

President Dr. Padrón is widely recognized as one of the top educational leaders in the world and he is often invited to participate in educational policy forums in the United States and abroad. During his career he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents. In 1993, President Bill Clinton recognized him as one of America’s foremost educators. In 2008, President George W. Bush nominated him to the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board. More recently, President Barack Obama invited Dr. Padrón to represent the United States at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. Dr. Padrón has also worked closely with the Obama administration, notably Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, to recognize and elevate the importance of our nation’s community colleges.

In 2016, Dr. Padrón received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his decades of work in making higher education both accessible and inclusive.