Sarah Rodriguez

Dr. Sarah Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, affiliated with the Higher Education Program. Her research focuses on equity, access, and retention in engineering and computing, particularly for Latina/o/x students and community college populations. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Educational Leadership from the University of Tennessee, and a BA in English/Spanish from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dr. Rodriguez has secured over $20M in grants from NSF, the Kapor Center, and other organizations, leading projects on STEM identity, community college transitions, and systemic inequities. She has published 40+ peer-reviewed articles, including work in Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, Community College Review, and ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings.

Her research employs critical frameworks to examine marginalized students' experiences, with a focus on intersectionality, institutional barriers, and community cultural wealth. Notable contributions include studies on Latino men's community college transfer experiences, the impact of S-STEM programs, and the role of family and religion in STEM identity development. Dr. Rodriguez has received awards such as the AAHHE Early Career Award (2020) and the Barbara Townsend Lectureship (2019). She collaborates nationally through organizations like ASEE, ASHE, and the Council for the Study of Community Colleges.

Dr. Rodriguez's current grants include initiatives like the HSI Implementation Project for Artificial Intelligence and the NSF-funded ECSEL Scholarship Program. Her work emphasizes translating research into practice, partnering with institutions to design inclusive policies and curricula. She has advised numerous graduate students and serves as an implementation coach for the Charles A. Dana Center’s Mathematics Pathways.