Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards 2015

College of Liberal Arts Honors Three Outstanding Alumni with Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award

Three alumni of the College of Liberal Arts at Texas State University-San Marcos were honored with the College’s 2015 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award Saturday, April 11. The award, which has been given since 2008, recognizes the accomplishments of alumni in their professions and communities.

The honorees included:

Mr. Jesus "Gilbert" Rodriguez, Jr., BA Political Science and Spanish, 1979

Mr. Rodriguez transformed his family's business, Del Rio Welders Equipment, Inc., into a multinational high-tech company. He has served as director-at-large for the Texas State Alumni Board of Directors, as CFO of the Alumni Executive Committee, and as head of the Del Rio Bobcat alumni group, one of the most active in the state.

Dr. Randa Safady, BA, Psychology (minor in Sociology), 1980

Dr. Safady has had a distinguished career in development at St. Edward's University and at the University of Texas at Austin, where she served as Vice President for Resource Development and was involved in UT's "We're Texas" capital campaign. Since 2003 she has been Vice Chancellor for External Relations in the UT System.

Dr. Tino Villanueva, BA Spanish, 1969

Dr. Villanueva is a nationally recognized poet who has taught at Wellesley College and is currently Senior Lecturer in Spanish at Boston University. His many publications include three highly regarded poetry collections: Hay Otra Voz: Poems (1972); Scenes from the Movie GIANT (1993), which won an American Book Award; and So Spoke Penelope (2013).