The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) has announced the death of Rodrigo “Rod” Garcia, SHPE’s founder. According to the email to the SHPE Familia, Rod passed away Saturday, July 2, 2022, surrounded by family and friends. The service is still being planned, and more information will be announced soon, SHPE said.
The email letter contained glowing tributes to the engineer, visionary, leader, and advocate, who famously began what would become a national science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) organization in his garage.
“Rod changed the face of our nation,” Miguel Alemañy, SHPE’s 2021-2022 Board Chair said. “He created what has become the largest STEM organization for Hispanics, impacting thousands of lives every year. He was a visionary giant and as such, we should remember him with admiration and love.”
According to SHPE, Garcia’s involvement in the organization he founded with other Hispanic engineers stayed consistent even when he passed off the executive director hat. He is said to have returned to the Board, and attended the National Convention each year, taking the time to talk to students one-on-one to discover their stories and motivations.
“SHPE will be forever grateful for Rod, his exceptional mind, endless compassion, and commitment to Hispanics in STEM.” SHPE CEO, Chris Wilkie said in the statement. “Today his legacy is over 13,000 strong and five decades-long. He will be deeply missed, but never forgotten.”
Like many great moments in history, the story of Rodrigo T. Garcia and city engineers—Alex Vidaurazaga, Andres Santamaria, Americo Garza, and George Esquer—in Los Angeles has been told often.
“It’s still worth telling because SHPE continues to make a difference in empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support, and development,” Garcia told Hispanic Engineer magazine in 2019.
That fall, Hispanic Engineer magazine marked Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) with a wide-ranging interview featuring Garcia, co-founder of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
A lot had changed since Hispanic Engineer magazine first interviewed him. More than 25 years on, we rediscovered how SHPE was founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, and how the organization established student chapters that would grow rapidly around the United States.
SHPE’s mission is to change lives by empowering those in the Hispanic community to realize their fullest potential and impact the world through science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) awareness, access, support, and development. Click here to read the story in Hispanic Engineer magazine.
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