Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami Dade College received the key to the city – the highest honor the City of Doral bestows upon any individual – at the June 12 Council Meeting.
Presented by the mayor and council, the honor was in recognition of Dr. Padrón upcoming retirement, in August 2019, after a long and accomplished career as the university president. The Miami-Dade College West Campus is located in Doral.
“Dr. Padrón has been a believer and supporter of Doral from the beginning,” said Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez. “He had the incredible foresight to recognize Doral as the place to establish college’s West Campus early on, which has since been integral in our fruitful partnership that’s included collaboration on everything from grant programs to events.”
Since 1995, Dr. Padrón has served as president of MDC, the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 165,000 students. He is credited with elevating MDC into a position of national prominence among the best and most recognized U.S. colleges and universities.
An economist by training, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., for being a prominent national voice for access and inclusion in higher education. In 2009, TIME Magazine included him on the list of “The 10 Best College Presidents.”
MDC enrolls and graduates more minorities than any other institution in the U.S., including the largest numbers of Hispanics and African-Americans. As a culturally diverse community with a high population of Hispanics, the mayor also noted that Doral is proud to work closely with an educational institution renowned for its efforts in ensuring the success of these students.
