Doctoral Student Rod Guajardo is a doctoral student in the McBee Institute of Higher Education. He serves as Assistant to the President at the University of Georgia. His primary responsibilities focus on student affairs, inclusive excellence, community relations, and executive communications. He serves as the President’s liaison to the Staff Council, Retirees Association, and Student Government Association while representing the President’s Office in the planning of Staff Appreciation Day, the Holmes-Hunter Lecture, the Mary Frances Early Lecture, and other campus events. In addition, he oversees the awarding of grants through the President’s Venture Fund and has responsibility for numerous communications projects within the Office of the President. In his previous role as Senior Director of Integrated Media Communications within the Division of Marketing and Communications, Guajardo managed media relations efforts across the institution, overseeing UGA’s quarterly magazine, Georgia Magazine, and leading a team devoted to highlighting the accomplishments of students, faculty, and staff across a variety of channels and platforms. Prior to joining UGA, Guajardo served as News and Media Relations Director at the University of Mississippi. In that role, he led strategic media relations efforts and managed crisis communications, which involved close collaboration with partners across campus including in the Division of Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Diversity and Community Engagement, among others. Earlier, he served as Editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, the second largest newspaper in Mississippi, and news editor of The Natchez (MS) Democrat. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University and his master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Mississippi. His research interests focus on the organizational identities of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the United States. Contact Information Email: rod@uga.edu
