Roderick Esquivel

Class of 1949: Vice president of Panama

Roderick Lorenzo Esquivel, a doctor, professor and politician, served as the second vice president of the Republic of Panama from 1984-1988.

He previously had been a member of the National Directory of the Liberal Party; minister of Labor, Social Welfare and Public Health; president of the Liberal Party and vice president of Liberal International.

He was born May 12, 1927, in Gualaca, Chiriquí, Panama. A practicing physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, he earned a degree in biology at Ripon College and was a member of Sigma Chi/Omega Sigma Chi, Science Club, French Club and Spanish Club. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago School of Medicine (now Pritzker School of Medicine).

He served in prominent roles in several hospitals around Panama, including as professor and chief of the obstetrics-gynecology department at the University of Panama.

He was ambassador plenipotentiary to the World Health Organization in 1965; and part of the Expert Committee of Federation of Faculties of Medicine Latin America which developed teaching programs in family planning.

In 1985, Ripon College presented him with an honorary doctor of laws degree. “Whatever I think or whatever I do in the field of medicine or in the field of politics, Ripon College and its very special educational system come forth in my behavior almost as automatically as a conditioned reflex,” he said.

Esquivel died Oct. 27, 2010, at age 83.

His Ripon relatives include a sister, Thelma Esquivel Carizzo, Class of 1950; and nephews Jorge Arturo Carizzo-Esquivel, Class of 1973; Javier Enrique Carizzo, Class of 1978; and Juan Luis Correa, Class of 1981.