Roderick K. Hawkins is the Associate Dean of External Affairs and Chief of Staff at Northwestern University’s School of Communication. He supports the strategic vision of the Dean of the school and leads teams that manage communications, events, high school initiatives, and performing arts venues in Evanston and Chicago.

Before joining Northwestern, he was the Communications Director at Advance Illinois. Prior to that, Hawkins was Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Engagement in the office of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Prior to the Emanuel administration, Hawkins was Vice President of External Affairs at the Chicago Urban League. He previously was the Deputy Press Secretary to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. He was a Communications associate at The Chicago Community Trust where he led the launch of their philanthropic initiatives in the African American and Latino communities.

Hawkins is a 2023 Center on Halsted Human First Award recipient. In 2018, he was named one of Chicago’s notable LGBTQ executives in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Hawkins is vice-chair of the board of the Auditorium Theatre and an advisory board member for iHeartMedia Chicago and the Black Information Network. From 2015-2021 he served on the board of Lambda Legal.

Hawkins is a graduate of Louisiana State University.