The Division of Academic Affairs and the Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development (OERD) are excited to announce Rodrigo López as NIU’s new executive director of Community College Initiatives.
Rodrigo López
In this role, López will lead the university in shaping and executing a comprehensive strategic vision to further its partnerships with community colleges. As new opportunities are developed, he will focus on fostering seamless transitions for students while promoting NIU as a vital public transfer partner within the state.
López will lead the expansion of place-based degree completion programs and will oversee development and maintenance of 2+2 and 3+1 agreements with community colleges. He will collaborate closely with community college stakeholders to identify opportunities that align with existing programs and help address statewide workforce demands.
“I am excited to help strengthen NIU’s partnerships with community colleges and looking forward to creating innovative programs to enrich the educational experience of students across the region,” López said.
López has led key college and career readiness initiatives across secondary and postsecondary education, and previously served as the director of P-20 Initiatives with the Illinois P-20 Network at NIU, where he managed multiple statewide projects focused on career-college readiness, including the Dual Credit Think Tank, which has centered the experiences of dual credit practitioners from both secondary and postsecondary in critical conversations about policy and practice.
López becomes the first executive director in this role at NIU, joining assistant director Christine Lagattolla as NIU deepens its commitment to partnering with community colleges and responding to workforce needs.
Creating this newly redefined position aligns with the university goals to enhance opportunities and improve support for community college transfer and working adult students, while strengthening partnerships with school districts by forging deeper connections to high school counselors and creating innovative enrollment opportunities related to college and career pathways.
“We are thrilled to have Rodrigo in this role and his leadership will be valuable in fulfilling our university goals,” said Laurie-Elish Piper, interim executive vice president and provost. “We look forward to seeing enhanced and expanded academic offerings, giving students additional opportunities to succeed.”
As a co-leader of the Illinois P-20 Network, López has provided leadership on OERD’s Career ConneCTEd project, which supports curriculum development, the creation and use of instructional materials, professional learning and teacher recruitment and retention in Career and Technical Education. He will continue to support the Illinois State Board of Education to ensure all K-12 students have access to a high-quality career technical education.
“The P-20 Center is very excited about this new partnership with the provost’s office and is confident Dr. López will ensure our community college partnerships continue to demonstrate the importance of strong P-20 collaboration and coordination, which results in transfer students who attain degrees and jobs at very high rates,” Amy Jo Clemens, OERD assistant vice president said.
López also will lead the new Room to Grow initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, in partnership with Highland Community College and the Regional Office of Education #8. López’s leadership in supporting and collaborating around the impact of dual credit and early college access will be key to NIU’s recruitment and career pathways strategies.
