Luis G. Pedraja

Born in Cienfuegos, Cuba on May 25, 1963, Pedraja emigrated to Spain with his parents in 1969 and later to Miami, Florida where he spent most of his childhood. He attended Stetson University, receiving a B.A. in Religion in 1984, during which time he was ordained as a Baptist minister and worked with migrant workers in Central Florida. Upon graduation he continued his studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning his M.Div. in 1987. Pedraja continued his education at the University of Virginia where he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy and Theology in 1994.

Pedraja taught religion, philosophy, and theology at the University of Puget Sound (1993–94) and Southern Methodist University (1994–2000). During this time, Pedraja served a co-chair of the Hispanic American Religion, Culture, and Society Group of the American Academy of Religion. In 2000, he became Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean, and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary. In 2004, Pedraja became a vice president at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and served in that role until 2011. Pedraja served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Antioch University Los Angeles from 2011 to 2016. From 2016-2017 he served as the Interim Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the Peralta Community College District, which serves four colleges in Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley. On May 9, 2017, Pedraja was approved by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education to become the sixth President of Quinsigamond Community College, where he is currently president.[2] Pedraja also served as President of La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion (1999–2003) and as the editor of Apuntes, the oldest journal of Latino/a theology from 2000 to 2010.

Pedraja married Amber Lamont Pedraja in 1996. Together they founded two non-profit organizations, WellpetUSA and The Crystal Dove Foundation. Amber Lamont Pedraja died of cancer in 2008.

Pedraja is primarily noted for his work in Latino/a theology, where he focuses on how language and culture affect not only the Latino/a worldview, but also everyone's religious and philosophical perspectives. This is particularly evident in his Christology, where he explores the complexity of language, culture, and identity to inform his understanding of Jesus as one who stands with the oppressed.[3] In terms of cultural identity, Pedraja marks a shift in Latino/a theology from ethnocentrism, an effort to assert the significance of one's identity, to transculturalism, which uses identity and culture to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.[4] His work also proposes using Mestizaje as a way of understanding the question of Jesus' humanity and divinity. In his first book, Jesus is my Uncle, Pedraja also introduces the concept of "ontopraxis," arguing that being and action are interconnected.[5]

Pedraja's scholarship has also focused on process philosophy, particularly focusing on the writings of Alfred North Whitehead, postmodernism, and theodicy. Recently, he has also worked on higher education policies and practices, particularly in the areas of governance, international quality assurance initiatives, strategic planning, and assessment.