James C. Wheat Jr. Chair in Leadership
To ensure that students are given ample opportunity to understand the relationship between theory and practice, the Wilson Center invites accomplished scholars and practitioners for short residencies. One of these positions, the James C. Wheat Jr. Professorship, was established in 1993 in memory of one of Richmond's most eminent financiers. With imagination and vigor, Mr. Wheat not only built a financial corporation, but was a civic leader in Richmond and Virginia and raised funds for many charitable causes. Before his death in 1992, he told friends and family of his desire to support a professorship at Hampden-Sydney, where his wife, Wiley, had served on the Board of Trustees and his son, James C. Wheat III, was a graduate of the class of 1975.
The Honorable Hugo F. Rodriguez, Jr. ’88
The Honorable Hugo F. Rodriguez, Jr. ’88 is a distinguished American diplomat, senior executive, and leadership mentor, who retired from the U.S. Department of State in 2025 after a 25-year career in the Foreign Service. A senior foreign service officer with the rank of minister counselor, Ambassador Rodriguez is widely recognized for his impact on U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere and for driving strategic modernization across the Department’s consular operations.
Most recently, Ambassador Rodriguez served as the principal deputy assistant secretary and senior advisor for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, where he led a major reorganization of the Passport Directorate and oversaw the launch of the groundbreaking online passport renewal application—one of the most significant digital transformations in the bureau’s history.
In 2022, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the ambassador to Nicaragua. Over the course of his diplomatic career, Rodriguez held numerous senior leadership positions in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, including as senior advisor, deputy assistant secretary, and acting principal deputy assistant secretary of state. Overseas, he served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Asunción, Paraguay, and as consul general at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. He also served as Mission Mexico’s acting minister counselor for consular affairs.
Earlier in his career, Rodriguez served in Washington as deputy director of the Office of Mexican Affairs, as division chief for the Western Hemisphere in the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Overseas Citizen Services, and as both watch officer and senior watch officer in the State Department’s 24-hour Operations Center. His other overseas assignments included tours at U.S. Embassies in Lima, Peru, and Rome, Italy.
A native of Pennsylvania, Rodriguez began his professional journey in the private sector, working as a currency trader for Wachovia Bank International and in international agribusiness with the Dole Fresh Fruit Company in Colombia and Honduras. These early experiences gave him a global outlook and a strong foundation in international economics, both of which informed his later diplomatic work.
Ambassador Rodriguez is a proud alumnus of Hampden-Sydney College, Class of 1988, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and was inducted into both Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa. While at Hampden-Sydney, he served as student body president and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, where he developed many of the leadership skills that would shape his career. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
In 2024, Ambassador Rodriguez received the Department of State’s prestigious Arnold L. Raphel Award for fostering a culture of leadership and for his efforts in mentoring the next generation of diplomats. His exemplary service has been recognized through numerous performance awards, including five Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards and five Superior Honor Awards.
A fluent speaker of Spanish and Italian, Ambassador Rodriguez is also a certified executive coach, continuing to support leaders across sectors through coaching, mentoring, and speaking engagements. His career is marked by a commitment to integrity, innovation, and the development of future public servants.
Past Visiting Wheat Jr. Professors
- Dr. Charles Sydnor, CEO of Central Virginia PBS
- Mr. Alfred Broadus, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
- Lt. Gen. Samuel Vaughan Wilson (USA ret), President emeritus of Hampden-Sydney College, former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
- Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin (USA ret), former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence
- Mr. Orran Lee Brown '78, Founding Partner and Chairman of Brown Greer, PLC, Richmond, VA
- The Honorable Dr. John Hillen, former Assistant Secretary of State, CEO and leadership expert
Malcolm R. Myers Distinguished Chair in Public Service
To ensure that Hampden-Sydney students are given ample opportunity to understand the relationship between theory and practice, the Wilson Center invites accomplished scholars and practitioners of public service for short and long-term residencies. One of these positions, endowed by Malcolm R. Meyers '57, is entitled "The Malcolm R. Myers Distinguished Chair in Public Service."
Visiting Myers Professors
- Douglas Wilder, former Governor of Virginia
- Congressman L.F. Payne
- Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger
- Ambassador William B. Jones
- Dr. Curtis J. Smith, former director of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA