New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Raúl Rodríguez

RSCCD Chancellor Raúl Rodriguez created a culture of racism at Santa Ana College

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Exiting RSCC District Chancellor Raul Rodriguez

Santa Ana College: A Culture of Racism

By: Renee Miller

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review titled, “Leaders Can Shape Company Culture Through Their Behaviors” provides insight into a significant problem at Santa Ana College. It’s a problem that has no place in our society today, let alone an institution that serves our future generations.

The author, Jim Whitehurst, CEO of software company Red Hat, writes that culture is created by the actions of an organization’s leader. No better example is the embarrassing behavior of exiting RSCCD Chancellor Raul Rodriguez and how he enabled a culture of racism to envelop Santa Ana College. Continue reading→

RSCCD Chancellor Raúl Rodríguez is leaving – good riddance!

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

RSCC District Chancellor Raul Rodriguez

We have been complaining about Rancho Santiago Community College District Chancellor Raúl Rodríguez for a while. Apparently the RSCCD Board was listening as they refused to renew his contract and he has decided to retire, effective next June. Too bad he is not going away sooner!

What was the last straw for Rodríguez? Was it the million dollars he blew on a dumb lawsuit against the RSCCD that could have been easily been prevented with sound human resources management?

Was it the awful deal with the corrupt Saudis? Continue reading→

Is it time for the Rancho Santiago Community College District to beg the Saudis for money?

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arabs, Education, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana 1 Comment

From: Renee Miller

Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2018 11:42 PM

Subject: Urgent financial assistance needed for The Rancho Santiago Community College District, Santa Ana, California

To: Adnan AlYousef

I am a retired faculty member from the Rancho Santiago Community College District. Our college’s Foundation has been working with the Colleges of Excellence for the past few years and recently entered into a partnership with Al Khaleej, forming Saudi American Educational Services, LLC. Continue reading→

The Rancho Santiago Community College District just blew $1M on a ridiculous lawsuit

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Orange County, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Raise your hand if you just blew $1 million dollars! (Pictured: RSCCD Trustee John Hanna)

The Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) just blew $1 million dollars of taxpayer money fighting a ridiculous lawsuit that never should have happened in the first place. And the lawsuit came about because of complete and utter mismanagement at the RSCCD.

Plaintiff Marisa Hernandez worked for the Rancho Santiago Community College District on and off for a number of years without any complaints about her performance. In 2013, she was hired as an administrative assistant. During her one-year probationary period, her performance was to be evaluated at three months, seven months, and 11 months. At the completion of 12 months of probation, she would be considered a permanent employee. Continue reading→

Dysfunctional administration affecting student health services at Santa Ana College

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Health and Medical, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Do you remember when Raul Rodriguez, chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, called the Coast Community College District’s trustees “dysfunctional” and he alleged that they had displayed “passive aggressive racism” when they fired their Chancellor Andrew Jones, an African-American? (Source – O.C. Register)

Turns out the CCCD Trustees had many good reasons to fire Jones – he simply wasn’t very good at his job. And if they were racists why would they have hired him in the first place? (Source – O.C. Register)

Now the political correctness chickens are coming home to roost for Rodriguez. Continue reading→

Why is the Rancho Santiago Community College District still playing footsie with the corrupt Saudis?

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arabs, Arianna Barrios, Education, Orange County, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana 1 Comment

You would think that the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees might have learned something in November when one of them, Claudia Alvarez, almost lost her reelection campaign. But apparently they didn’t as the Rancho Santiago Community College Foundation’s Board of Directors is once more considering a ridiculous consultation contract in Saudia Arabia – a country that regularly mistreats women and minorities and even beheads their own citizens in public executions.

The Rancho Santiago Community College Foundation’s Board is going to be “reviewing and approving the contract with the Colleges of Excellence Company and Al-Khaleej Training and Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” according to their published agenda, on Tuesday, December 6, 2016. You can review the contract here. Continue reading→

The Rancho Community College District’s deal with the Saudis shrinks by $98M

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arabs, Arianna Barrios, Education, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Orange County, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Remember that awful deal the Rancho Santiago Community College District Foundation cut with the Saudis? It was a consulting deal to help revamp two technical schools in Saudi Arabia. Why anyone would want to do business with a regime that is anti-woman and opposed to Jews is a very good question. You might also ask yourself why a college district in central Orange County would mire itself in such a deal.

The deal is already going sideways. Once valued at as much as $120 million, the contract is now worth about $22 million over three years, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading→

The Rancho Santiago Community College District’s leadership needs a reboot

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Politics, Raúl Rodríguez, Ryan Ahari, Santa Ana, Women 13 Comments

RSCC District Chancellor Raul Rodriguez. Picture courtesy of El Don.

Opinion Editorial: The Rancho Santiago Community College District’s leadership needs a reboot By Ryan Ahari Saudi Arabia’s government is notorious for its horrendous track record on human rights. The Gulf nation severely punishes its LGBT community, prohibits women from driving, and refuses entry to anyone whose passport indicates previous entry into Israel. Keeping this in mind, why would any reasonable person, let alone a local community-based public entity, conduct business with such a repressive government? Two government-run technical schools in Saudi Arabia awarded the Rancho Santiago Community College District Foundation with a $105 million contract. The contract stipulates that the Foundation will improve and strengthen the schools’ infrastructures. Raúl Rodríguez, the District’s Chancellor, rationalized the contract by announcing the Foundation could receive up to an 8% return. An 8% return on a gross contract of $105 million is a pitiful profit margin and proves that Rodríguez is an educator and not a businessman. The contract further requires the Foundation to enter into a partnership with a corporation formed under Saudi Arabian laws. Continue reading→