Dr. Rene Rocha is Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair, Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Latina/o/x Studies Program at the University of Iowa. He received a PhD in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 2006.

A leading scholar of racial and ethnic politics in the United States, Dr. Rocha's articles are regularly published in influential journals, including The Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, American Politics Research, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, and Review of Policy Research. His research has received prestigious recognition in his field, including awards from the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, the Western Political Science Association, and the Southwestern Political Science Association.

Dr. Rocha is also a Senior Faculty Affiliate in the UIowa Public Policy Center, a collaboration which included participation in a symposium on "The Politics of Immigration." In 2019-21, he was Co-Director (with Dr. Ariana Ruiz and Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano) of the Mellon Sawyer Seminar, Imagining Latinidades. He is a frequent contributor to media programs, such as Iowa Public Radio's River to River, for which he provides political analysis.

At UIowa, he has taught courses on the politics of race, and immigration politics.