Robyn Rodriguez Explained

Robyn Magalit Rodriguez
Occupation:	Academic at U.C. Davis (Formerly at Rutgers University)

Robyn Magalit Rodriguez is an Filipina American professor, author, and activist.^[1] She is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis.^[2] In 2018, Rodriguez founded the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies;^[3] which is noted to be the first Filipino Studies center in the United States. She is a former associate professor at Rutgers.

Biography

Rodriguez received her BA at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1996, and her MA (1999) and PhD (2005) from the University of California, Berkeley all in sociology. Before coming to UC Davis in 2010, she was a visiting lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University, visiting professor at University of Kassel, and associate professor at Rutgers University from 2005-2010.

Rodriguez has been an ongoing proponent of implementing Ethnic studies as a California high school requirement.^[4] In response to recent criticisms of the proposed curriculum being non-representative of all groups, Rodriguez responded stating, "Ethnic studies as a name is kind of a misnomer. What we’re really contending with is race, the various kinds of inequality and exploitation for non-white people of color."

In 2018, Rodriguez founded the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies,^[5] named after the Filipino-American author Carlos Bulosan, best known for his book America Is in the Heart. In October 2019, the foundation obtained $1,000,000 from the State of California with primary support from Representative Rob Bonta.^[6] In a press conference, Bonta expressed hopes that the sum be a "down payment" for ongoing funding.^[7] The funding is intended to contribute to graduate student fellowships and ongoing and upcoming research initiatives. The center hosts an annual research conference every May.

Research

The "Welga! Digital Archive" is an ongoing project documenting and preserving the contributions of Filipino-Americans, including Philip Vera Cruz, in the Delano grape strike.^{[8] [9]}

The center is planning to conduct a national survey on Filipino-American health and well-being.

Bibliography

• In Lady Liberty's Shadow The Politics of Race and Immigration in New Jersey (2017), Rutgers University Press.
• Asian-America: Sociological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2014), UK Polity Press.
• Migrants for Export: How the Philippine State Brokers Labor to the World (2010), University of Minnesota Press.

Notes and References

1. Web site: From Student to Professor: Robyn Rodriguez Shares her Story. Rodriguez. Written by Robyn Magalit. Rutgers University, School of Arts and Sciences. 2020-01-26.
2. Web site: Robyn Rodriguez. Snow. Hunter. 2018-12-13. ASA. 2020-01-18.
3. News: UC Davis to open groundbreaking Filipino studies center. NBC News. 2020-01-18.
4. News: Bill to mandate ethnic studies in California high schools delayed amid controversy.
5. Web site: Constante . Agnes . May 10, 2023 . Northern California farm draws on Philippine and Hmong ancestries . 2023-05-10 . NBC News . en.
6. Web site: Bulosan Center at UC Davis gets $1M state funding. 14 October 2019.
7. Web site: Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies gets $1-M state allocation for research. 26 October 2019.
8. Web site: Welga Digital Archive.
9. Web site: Grantee Feature: Welga! Filipino American Stories of the Great Grape Strike of 1965. 24 April 2018.