Rupert Rhodd was born in East Kingston, Jamaica and lived in Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth. He attended Central Branch Primary School, Wolmer’s High School and the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

If you asked Rupert to tell you about himself in one sentence, he would say that he has been “called” to be a teacher and to help others achieve through education. Rupert Rhodd has a PhD in Economics from Fordham University in New York and is currently an associate dean in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University. He oversees FAU’s College of Business program in Broward County, Florida

Dr. Rhodd actually began teaching as a teenager at St. Matthew’s Church where he taught Sunday School. After graduating from Wolmer’s Boys School, he attended the University of the West Indies where he earned a Bachelor of Science (honors) degree in Economics. Rupert returned to his alma mater Wolmer’s and taught Mathematics and Economics before migrating to the US in 1979. He has taught in China, the Bahamas and Panama. He moved to Florida in the l989 and has been teaching at Florida Atlantic University since that time.

Rupert is the founder of the Coalition of Jamaican Alumni Associations of Florida, an umbrella group for Jamaican Alumni Associations and fraternities in Florida, and co- founder of Wolmer’s Alumni Association (Florida). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the City of Parkland, a member of the board of the Florida Chapter of the University of the West Indies, and a member of the board of the Tower Forum.

As a researcher, Dr. Rhodd’s papers have appeared in many academic Journals. He is also the co-author of a book on Caribbean Economic Development “Contemporary Issues in the Development of Caribbean Economies”, and a Bar Chart Study Guide on International Business.

Rupert has many favorite childhood memories living with his grandparents in Water Works district, Westmoreland and growing up with my cousins and trying to pull one over on grandpa. He adored his grandfather who taught him to love the community in which he live and to help others. He met his parents for the first time and his England-born sister Althea when he was around nine years old because they went to England to work when I was very young and left Rupert and his  sister Marie with their grandparents. Although he actually lived with his parents for a short time in Jones Town in Kingston.

Rupert is inspired by his father who was a family man who cared deeply for his family and was torn between being with his children and migrating to England to earn a living. His father never went to high school but was highly intelligent and was always supportive of his children.

Rupert is the heart of the Jamaican Alumni community in Florida where in 2006 he founded the The Coalition of Jamaican Alumni Association of Florida (CJAAF) Inc. keeps the Jamaican community in Florida informed about matters relating to education in Jamaica. The CJAAF serves as a central repository for information on Jamaican alumni associations in Florida. Like the associations that fall under its umbrella, CJAAF, Inc., is also dedicated to the improvement of educational opportunities for students in Jamaica as well as those that have migrated to the United States of America, and to the improvement of communities in Florida.

The CJAAF serves as a central repository for information on Jamaican Alumni Associations in Florida; To help in the unification and streamlining of activities of Jamaican Alumni Associations in Florida, and to help publicize their events; To be involved in, support, and promote community development in Jamaica and the United States.

CJAAF publishes the Coalition Monthly, a newsletter with research on events  and issues affecting schools and graduates from schools and colleges in Jamaica, and is also a newsletter highlighting the activities of Alumni associations in Florida.