The day before Superstorm Sandy hammered the area, Penn State Abington’s Jose Rodriguez was like the eye of the hurricane. The college was hosting the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) cross country championships, and the head coach of the Abington teams calmly managed a near-constant stream of questions and concerns from student-athletes, coaches and staff.
But Rodriguez’s demeanor that day was typical. In addition to his duties as head coach of the men’s and women’s teams, he is the coordinator of intercultural affairs at Abington. His dedication to Abington students is becoming known outside of the campus.
This fall, Rodriquez was selected as the 2012 NEAC men’s cross country Coach of the Year for guiding the team to a pair of first-place finishes and five top-five finishes overall. He is one of the driving forces behind the Abington No Place for Hate initiative and his dedication to students recently was praised in a story that appear in the Philadelphia Inquirer print editions and online at http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-30/news/34796640_1_jose-rodriguez-muslim-student-gay-games
For more information on diversity initiatives at Abington, go to www.abington.psu.edu/diversity
