They Left Their Mark

Featuring numerous first-person accounts from students, faculty, and staff at the University of Texas at Austin, this volume details Latino contributions in the development of the state's flagship university from when the first Latino graduated in 1894 to the present. Until the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) was established in 1970, that participation was mostly invisible, unrecorded, unacknowledged, and in many instances, underappreciated. Yet, Latinos have persevered, creating institutional change that extends far beyond the Forty Acres.This book looks at a range of experiences, changes, and projects: Latino students from predominantly Mexican American border communities who are in the minority when they arrive in Austin; efforts by UT professors to gain pay equity; and, among the most lasting endeavors, the creation of the NPR-affiliated radio program, Latino USA. In many cases, the contributors were eyewitnesses or participants in the events they document, and their recorded interviews recounting events and institution-building may be accessed at the Nettie Lee Benson's Latin American Collection at the UT Austin campus, as part of the Center for Mexican American Studies archives. In this way, CMAS is creating the primary source material for future scholarship.