Q&A: Madelyn Rodriguez

Madelyn Rodriguez serves as the executive director of DEI for Commonwealth University based at Bloomsburg.

A devoted Husky, Rodriguez has spent most of her professional life on Bloomsburg’s campus. Thanks to the work of Rodriguez and her staff, thousands of students have been positively impacted by programs, organizations, and initiatives meant to shine a light on Bloomsburg’s diverse student population.

Q: What are some of your major responsibilities as executive director of DEI?

A: I oversee a number of areas including the Women’s Resource Center, LGBTQA Resource Center, Multicultural Center and Cultural Affairs Student Support Services. The supervision of those areas keeps me quite busy. There is also collaboration with key campus stakeholders—academic affairs, student success and campus life, as well as administrators and the leadership team. We’re in everyone’s pocket. We’re there to not only implement policies and procedures, but to impact the graduation and retention rate of our students. We’re working with all of our Huskies.

Q: Can you tell us about the DEI programming at Bloomsburg?

A: There’s a lot. Every week we’re having a program, lecture, event, for all three centers. This spring we had our 30 years of diversity conference that was supported by PASSHE—that’s a big staple of the community. We’re in the process of developing a DEI training certificate program. I work with over 25 clubs within the Multicultural Center and so many different student leadership
organizations, from the Equestrian Club to the Gaming Club. Our students are so ingrained in all of these groups. We’re very privileged to work with so many different student organizations.

Q: Why is Bloomsburg such a great place to be?

A: Bloom offers opportunities to students, faculty, staff, and individuals. It has given me the opportunity to grow in my career. I think I bleed maroon and gold. I’m a Husky for life; I’m always bragging about Bloom when I travel. It’s a home away from home and that’s a piece that many appreciate. You want to feel like you belong.

Q: What was your first job, and what were some important lessons you learned from it?

A: I was a resident director at Bloomsburg. One of my important lessons was to listen, don’t be a know it all. Listen to others who were doing the work before me. I was fortunate to have mentors who helped me through that process and helped me learn to be a professional. I also learned from peers that I have a voice and I need to use it.
 

Q: 2024 is the 30th anniversary of the Multicultural Center at Bloom. Can you talk about how it has evolved over the years?

A: The Center has evolved tremendously over the years. I’ve really come full circle, not only have I sat behind the desk, I sat on the other side of the desk as a student. I was a student who helped create the Multicultural Center and worked with Harry Ausprich (Bloomsburg president at the time). I was part of a group of student leaders who wanted a center to help retain and recruit multicultural students. In the 90s, these centers were being created. I’ve also had the opportunity to help many alumni.

Another piece of DEI is our connection with the community. It is critical for folks to know we work with our town. We’ve been part of task forces and committees in the community. Anything we coordinate, organize, or develop—we invite the townspeople to attend. We recently celebrated a milestone in our MLK event, which still brings the town and university together in celebration of this honor. Our students have evolved with the center as well. I’m not just talking about underrepresented students—many different types of students have utilized our resources. Then they graduate and come back with these rich stories.

This story appears in the Summer 2024 issue of the Bloomsburg Magazine.