Michael Rios was appointed vice provost of Public Scholarship at UC Davis in July 2019. In this role, Rios leads university-wide efforts to recognize public scholarship in research, teaching, and creative practice.

With over 20 years of community-based research, teaching, and practice, he has collaborated with numerous public agencies, municipalities, and community groups. Rios has been recognized for these efforts, including the Association for Community Design Service Award (2005), the Prize for Creative Integration of Practice and Education from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (2003), and the University of California Chancellor's Award for Community Partnerships (2000).

A UC Davis faculty member since 2007, Rios is a professor in the Department of Human Ecology and faculty in the Community Development, Education and Geography graduate programs. His scholarship focuses on institutional change in higher education, community engagement and community-driven placemaking. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty journal articles and book chapters, and has co-edited several books including Diálogos: Placemaking in Latino Communities (2013) and Community Development and Democratic Practice (2017). Rios is co-founder of the University of California Community Engagement Network and is currently serving a three-year term (2024-2027) on the executive committee of the Association of Public Land-grant University’s Commission on Economic and Community Engagement.

Rios was born in Brooklyn, New York. He holds a bachelor's degree in architecture and urban studies from Lehigh University, a master of architecture degree and a master of city planning from UC Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in political geography from Pennsylvania State University.