Miguel Rodriguez is known for his rapport with students.
As a former campus safety supervisor—and Daemen’s first director of community standards and student advocacy—he’s a bridge between the college and students, supporting their well-being while running a fair conduct process.
He’s also an artist and writer.
Next to Rodriguez in his Wick office sits one of his original abstract paintings, illustrations of the writers Albert Camus and Raymond Carver, and a copy of Rodriguez’s book of poetry and short stories, The Worlds of Us.
“My passion is writing,” he said, rattling off the three books that changed his life:
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- The Art of Loving by Eric Fromm
- What We Talk About When We Talk about Love by Carver
Working on his second book, Rodriguez writes when he can—admitting the quiet and solitude needed to work can be a challenging prospect for a father of three young children.
Rodriguez’s first book, published in 2017
The New York City native first moved to Buffalo for college and found the city to be the best of what was familiar and foreign: it was quiet and noisy, urban and open.
After graduating with a degree in criminal justice from SUNY Buffalo State and starting a family, Rodriguez moved back to the Big Apple and worked as a security officer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
The physical and emotional demands of the position inspired his enrollment in a master’s program in security management at John Jay College in Manhattan.
Entering a newly created role will allow Rodriguez to put his own stamp on the position—drawing on his experience as a first responder, a security officer, and training in law enforcement.
“It’s all encompassing,” he said. “I’m focused on making sure campus is safe and students are valued, heard and treated equally, while following the rules.”
He will aim to keep an open line of communication with students, many of whom he knows on a first-name basis from his time patrolling campus as a safety supervisor.
“I want to hear their ideas for how we make our campus even better,” he said.