Richard Rodriguez Scholarship

Richard A. Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship
in LGBT Latino Psychology
Alliant International University 

Dr. Richard A. Rodriguez died unexpectedly on January 12, 2008 in his home in San Francisco. He was a much beloved faculty member of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University and will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.  Because of his longstanding professional interests in LGBT Latino Psychology, CSPP at Alliant has established the Richard A. Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be offered to a doctoral student on any Alliant campus (San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine, Fresno, or Sacramento) who demonstrates outstanding community leadership and/or research in this field. The selection committee for the scholarship will be appointed by the Rockway Institute, the university’s LGBT research and public policy center, with which Dr. Rodriguez was closely affiliated. A description of Dr. Rodriguez’s accomplishments and instructions for making a donation, appear below.

Biographical Sketch

Richard A. Rodriguez received his B.A. degree from University of Southern California and his PhD degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Utah. At the time of his death, Dr. Rodriguez was a full-time core faculty member in the Doctor of Psychology program at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco campus. He also was a Fellow of the University’s Rockway Institute for LGBT research and public policy.  He previously served as the San Francisco campus’s Director of Multicultural Affairs and Clinical Director of the University’s Alternative Family Institute, the nation’s first counseling center exclusively devoted to LGBT couples and families.

His prior positions included being Director of Counseling and Psychological Services: A Multicultural Center, at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Sonoma State University; and Psychologist in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center at the University of California-Berkeley.  He completed his psychology predoctoral internship at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of California-Irvine.

Dr. Rodriguez was a member of the Mental Health Board of the City and County of San Francisco, and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies. He also served as Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee, Society for the Psychological Study of LGBT Issues, which is Division 44 American Psychological Association.                                                                                                                       

Selected Publications

Rodriguez, R.A. (2004). Psychotherapy with gay Chicanos. In R. Velasquez, L. Arellano, & B. McNeill (Eds.), Handbook of Chicana and Chicano Psychology (pp. 193-214). New York:  Erlbaum.

Díaz, R.M., Morales, E.S., Bein, E., Dilán, & Rodriguez, R.A. (1999). Predictors of sexual risk in Latino gay/bisexual men:  The role of demographic, developmental, social, cognitive, and behavioral variables. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21, 480-501.

Rodriguez, R.A. (1998). Clinical and practical issues in private practice with lesbians and gay men of color. In C.J. Alexander (Ed.), Working with Gay Men and Lesbians in Private Practice (pp. 59-75). New York, NY:  Haworth Press.

How to Make a Donation to the Rodriguez Scholarship

Our goal is to raise a minimum endowment of $20,000, which would yield sufficient funds to continue the Rodriquez Memorial Scholarship in perpetuity. Although contributions of any size will be greatly appreciated, if each donor gives $250, this would enable us to reach the goal of $20,000 with only 80 contributors. If we are not able to reach the goal of $20,000, we will disperse the funds received at a minimum of $500 per year until they run out. 

Please consider making a meaningful gift in memory of Richard for this very worthwhile and important scholarship fund. Here are several easy ways to donate to this scholarship fund:

• To make a tax-deductable donation by credit card online, click here. When asked for “designation,” type "Rodriguez Scholarship" in that box.
  
• To make a tax-deductible donation by credit card via telephone, contact Alliant International University's Development Office in San Diego at (858) 635-4777 and designate the “Rodriguez Scholarship” as the purpose of your gift.
  
• To make a tax-deductible contribution by regular mail, send a check made payable to “Alliant International University” and write the words "Rodriguez Scholarship" in the memo line or attach a separate note indicating that your gift is "to be used for the Rodriguez Scholarship."  Mail the check to:

Robert-Jay Green, PhD, Executive Director
Rockway Institute at CSPP/Alliant
1 Beach Street, Suite 100
San Francisco, CA 94133-1221