User:Rolando Diaz

Biography of Rolando J. Diaz Author, [Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories], Volume I; Freelance Writer, [Nuestra Cultura Magazine]; University Administrator

Rolando Josue Diaz was born in Allende, Coahuila, Mexico on September 22, 1964. At the age of a few months, his parents, Ricardo and Olga Diaz, brought him, along with his older brother, Ricardo, Jr., to Eagle Pass, Texas. Growing up, physically, culturally, and linguistically between two worlds, Rolando developed an appreciation for and an understanding of the nuances of both the Mexican and the American societies.

In May of 1983, Rolando graduated from Eagle Pass High School, the first to do so in his family. At the University of Texas at Austin, he met Lewanda Lou Fields, while working on a production crew of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Right after graduation from UT, they were married, on June 27, 1987. Later that summer, they moved to Denton, Texas, where Rolando pursued a Master's degree in Drama at the University of North Texas. He graduated from UNT in August of 1988. At this time, Rolando entered Texas Woman's University to pursue a Master's degree in English, with a Spanish minor. He graduated in May of 1990. In the fall of 1990, Rolando entered the doctoral program at the University of Kansas. While at TWU and at KU, Rolando worked as a college-level English instructor.

In August of 1992, Rolando decided to leave the doctoral program and pursue a career in higher education administration when he accepted the position of Assistant Director of Minority Affairs at the University of Kansas. In July of 1993, Rolando and Lewanda moved to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater where he worked for almost four years as Coordinator of Hispanic and Vietnamese American Student Programs. During this time, Rolando became involved with the United States Hispanic Leadership Conference. Through this conference, Rolando was able to meet such national Hispanic leaders as Henry Cisneros, Juan Andrade, Jr., and Esther Valladolid Wolf. He also served on the USHLC Planning Committee.

In the spring of 1994, Rolando joined with other Hispanic faculty and staff members at OSU to establish the OSU Hispanic Faculty and Staff Association. While at OSU, Rolando served as Advisor to the Hispanic Student Association and to the Vietnamese American Student Association. Each of these organizations was able to break ground with such programs as the Oklahoma Regional Alliance for Leadership and Education, Vietnamese American Student Leadership Conference, the OSU Hispanic Faculty and Staff Scholarship, the Vietnamese American Student Association Scholarship, the Vietnamese Leadership Forum, the Hispanic Summit, and other initiatives which resulted in a better environment for students on campus.

In April of 1997, Rolando and Lewanda moved to Kearney, Nebraska, where Rolando served as the Director of the Office of Multicultural and International Student Services until the end of January of 2000. While at UNK, he served as advisor to the Hispanic Student association, the Students of Color Organization and helped established such programs as Hispanic Heritage Month. In January 31, 2000, Rolando was appointed as the Director of the Student Development Center at the University of Texas at El Paso. While at UTEP, Rolando was instrumental in developing programs such as Minerpalooza and Minerfest, which showed tremendous growth in attendance. Under his watch, the number of student organizations and Greek organizations showed tremendous growth and campus involvement.

In December of 2004, Rolando accepted the position of Director of Student Life at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Coming at a pivotal time in the university’s history, Rolando was responsible for the oversight of the Student Union, Student Senate, Volunteer Center, Student Program Board, and New Student Orientation. Overall, Rolando’s experience in higher education combined a background in the performing arts, English and Spanish language development, multicultural and international issues, student programming and student development across a wide range of organizations. His “students first” philosophy helped him to maintain his on-going commitment to higher education until 2009 when he decided to pursue his writing and consulting career full-time.

He graduated with his third Master’s degree in May of 2008, this one in Bilingual Education. He is currently working on a fourth Master's degree, this time it is in Spanish. His first book, Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories, Volume I, was published by Outskirts Press in June of 2007. His first on-screen role was in Cowboy Funeral, scheduled for release in the spring of 2009. The second film role was in the film Conflict of Interest, which is scheduled for release in the spring of 2009. Rolando currently works as an independent consultant and freelance writer.