Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business since 2016, today was named the 15th president of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He will begin his new role July 1.
During nearly a decade at Rice, Rodriguez led a period of significant growth and transformation for Rice Business, expanding enrollment, increasing faculty hiring and launching new academic programs while elevating the school’s national and global reputation.
Under Rodriguez’s leadership, MBA enrollment doubled, tenure-track faculty grew by more than 40% and Rice launched its first online graduate degree program. He also introduced a hybrid MBA program, oversaw the renovation of McNair Hall, helped break ground on a new state-of-the-art business school facility scheduled for completion this fall and welcomed the Virani School as the home for Rice’s undergraduate business programs.
Rodriguez also expanded entrepreneurship initiatives, integrated global field experiences into the MBA curriculum and developed a relationship with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.
“Peter Rodriguez has been a transformative leader for Rice Business and our university,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Under his ambitious, steady guidance, the school significantly expanded its size and national and global reputation, launched innovative new programs, strengthened entrepreneurship and experiential learning opportunities and created pathways for many more students to access a world-class business education. We are deeply grateful for Peter’s vision, energy and inspiring commitment to excellence, and while we will miss him at Rice, we know Wake Forest University will benefit tremendously from his leadership and wisdom.”
An economist and professor of strategic management, Rodriguez was named dean of the year by Poets & Quants in 2025. He guided Rice Business through several major challenges during his tenure, including hurricanes, freezes, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, while fostering a culture centered on being attentive, responsive and kind.
“We are deeply grateful for Peter’s steady, thoughtful and ambitious leadership at Rice Business," said Robert T. Ladd ’78, chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees and a former chairman of the Council of Overseers for the Jones Graduate School of Business. “He has laid a strong foundation for the future of the school, its students, faculty and staff and the important role it plays for Houston, the state and the broader world. On behalf of the board of trustees, we wish Peter and Kathleen all the best and know he will make a great impact as the president of Wake Forest.”
Rodriguez has also played an active leadership role beyond the university. He currently serves on the Houston Branch board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where he contributes insights on regional economic conditions. He has also served on the boards of Good Reason Houston, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and Texas 2036.
“Rice Business has been an incredibly meaningful part of my life for 10 years, and I am deeply grateful for the talented faculty, staff, students, alumni, board of advisors members and partners I worked with every day,” Rodriguez said. “The school is larger, stronger and more visible than it was a decade ago, a reflection not only of the business school community but of Rice University’s extraordinary culture of excellence and collaboration. I am excited to carry those lessons with me to Wake Forest, a university I have long admired for its commitment to students, scholarship and meaningful engagement with the world.”
“We are proud of Peter and excited for his new opportunity to lead a top private university, though we will certainly miss his ambitious yet deeply thoughtful and inclusive leadership at Rice Business,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Rice will launch an international search for the next dean of Rice Business this summer. Dittmar has appointed Jeff Fleming, the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Professor of Finance and director of the doctoral program, as interim dean. Fleming has been part of the Rice faculty for more than 30 years and has served in multiple senior leadership roles at Rice Business, including associate dean, senior associate dean and deputy dean.
Rodriguez’s final day at Rice will be June 5. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas A&M University and earned both his master’s degree and doctorate in economics from Princeton University.