Author Archives: fernandn

New Finding Aids: January – March 2024

SCARC completed 4 new finding aids January – March 2024 and updated 1 finding aid; as of the end of March, SCARC has 1145 finding aids in Archives West.

These finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, the SCARC website, and the OSU Library discovery system a.k.a. “the catalog.” The links below are to the guides in Archon, SCARC’s finding aids website.

New collection guides created this quarter:

Judy Kitzman Papers, 1972-2015

The Judy Kitzman Papers consist of materials generated and collected by alumna and Oregon State University Women’s Crew coach Judy Kitzman. Made up of photographs, scrapbooks, instructional guides, newspaper clippings, a research paper, and historical essays, this collection documents Kitzman’s particpation in competitive rowing for OSU first as a student and then as the coach of the team. Kitzman’s involvement in the Portland-area crew community after her departure from OSU is also reflected in this collection. Kitzman died in 2017.

OSU Kalmekak Community Outreach Program Records, 1994-2018

The Oregon State University (OSU) Kalmekak Community Outreach Program Records document the administration and outreach activities of this organization. OSU Kalmekak was established at OSU in 1996 and was active until 2018. The program sought to serve and advocate for the Latino/a and Chicano/a community of Corvallis – and more broadly the state of Oregon – within higher education, as well as increase cultural and racial awareness within the Corvallis area.

Oregon State University Pennant Collection, ca. 1920-2020

The Oregon State University Pennant Collection is made up of six pennants promoting Oregon State University as well as its earlier incarnations: Oregon Agricultural College and Oregon State College. Two of the pennants specifically commemorate Oregon State College’s participation in the 1942 and 1957 Rose Bowl games. The pennants were donated to the OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center by the Office of University Relations and Marketing and two other donors.

Kathleen A. Kerr Papers, 1935-1990

The Kathleen A. Kerr Papers document the instructional career of Oregon State University dance professor Kathleen A. Kerr. This collection is primarily made up of guides to various folk dance styles assembled and written by Kerr for use in her folk dancing classes. These guides include a few generated in the 1930s and 1940s that Kerr collected for reference. Kerr taught dance coursework in the Physical Education Department from 1975 to 1989.

Finding aids that were updated / expanded and re-uploaded to ArchivesWest:

Panhellenic Council Records, 1922-2015

The Panhellenic Council Records document the origins, administration, and activities of sororities at Oregon State University. The Panhellenic Council, established in 1917 at OSU, is the governing body for a portion of the sororities at OSU, responsible for creating rules and oversight that is outside of the institution’s range.

Bonus! Enhanced description of a finding aid:

See the blog post “Enhanced Description for the Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Papers: highlighting Indigenous Mexican, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Oaxaca Communities” to learn more!

Enhanced Description for the Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Papers: highlighting Indigenous Mexican, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Oaxaca Communities 

A folder from the Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Papers

The Erlinda Gonzales-Berry Papers document the research and publishing of Gonzales-Berry in the fields of Latino literature and culture and immigration from Mexico to the United States. Her research files include, but are not limited to, a plethora of notes, articles, presentations, book chapters, newspaper clippings, and reports. In the container list for the collection guide, the majority of the folder titles describe the material types but not necessarily the subjects or topics covered within the materials themselves. This was an opportunity for enhanced description, which is related to and supports “reparative description”, which is a “remediation of practices or data that exclude, silence, harm, or mischaracterize marginalized people in the data created or used by archivists to identify or characterize archival resources.” (SAA Dictionary)

In 2023, OSU Masters graduate student Sharon Salgado, shared the need for enhanced description to highlight Indigenous Mexicans, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Oaxaca communities documented within the collection. She was using the papers for her research project and noted that it would have been helpful to her as a researcher if the representation of these communities within the materials was more explicitly included as part of the collection guide. She shared her research notes, specifically noting the materials she referenced. 

The collection guide was updated to include a “Statement on Description” that included the keywords – so the collection would show as a result when searched – with a link to this blog post. We also added four Library of Congress Subject Headings: Zapotec Indians, Mixtec Indians, Triqui Indians, and Oaxaca (Mexico: State).

This blog post includes a statement from Salgado as well as her research notes which include the folders within the collection she referenced, along with the specific materials she used in her research.

Below is a statement from Salgado: 

“Dr. Erlinda Gonzalez-Berry carefully selects the materials in this collection and includes the works of other important scholars, like Stephen Lynn, who dedicated their lives to telling the stories of Indigenous Mexicans, mostly from the state of Oaxaca, migrating to Oregon. The main ethnicities in the records are Mixtec, Zapotec, and Triqui. However, other Indigenous identities reside in the Beaver State, like Purépechas from Michoacán, Mexico. Even though the materials about the lives and experiences of Indigenous Mexicans in Oregon and in the US are scarce, their importance to the US economy is fundamental. Their work in the fields, service industries, nurseries, and other businesses is essential for developing the state and the Pacific Northwest farming and agricultural sector. 

The materials are collections of newspaper cuts and individual research conducted by scholars, which focus on the struggles of Indigenous Mexican farmworkers to obtain fair wages and stop exploitation in the fields, as well as the struggle to find translators since most of the Oaxacans speak their Indigenous languages and not Spanish or English.”

Sharon Salgado, OSU Masters Student, 2023 Graduate

Below is the list of folders within the collection referenced, along with the specific materials she used in her research. Note: for ease of access, the materials listed have been moved to the beginning of the folder. 

Box-Folder 1.7 Immigration in Oregon, 1995-2009

  • “The New Pluralism in Woodburn, Oregon – A Community Study Conducted in 2003-2004” Summary Report written by Ed Kissam and Lynn Stephen, September 2006. Note: The Mixtec community is represented in the report, and there is a reference to El Oaxaqueno, a newspaper published in California on page 23.
  • “Cultural Citizenship and Labor Rights for Oregon Farmworkers: The Case of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Nordoeste (PCUN)” by Lynn Stephen. Human Organization Vol. 62, No. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 27-38 (12 pages); Published By: Society for Applied Anthropology. Note: Leonides Ávila, a Mixtec organizer and farmworker who worked for PCUN.

Box-Folder 1.13 Journal Articles, 1995-1996

  • Chapter from the 1995 book Marginal Spaces edited by Michael Peter Smith, Chapter 5 “Mixtecs and Mestizos in California Agriculture: Ethnic Displacement and Hierarchy among Mexican Farm Workers, Contributors” by Carol Zabin 

Box-Folder 1.16: Mexicans in Oregon, 1974-2006 

  • Stephen, Lynn (2004). “The Gaze of Surveillance in the Lives of Mexican Immigrant Workers” Development 47 (1), 97-102. Note: Stephen’s article mentions Indigenous Mexicans; she specifically describes the story of Marina Bautista, a 27-year-old undocumented immigrant from the Mixtec region of Oaxaca.
  • Sarathy, Brinda (2006). “The Latinization of Forest Management Work in Southern Oregon: A Case from Rogue Valley” Journal of Forestry, October/November 2006.
  • Slatta, Richard Wayne (1974). “ Valley Migrant League.”  In Chicanos in Oregon: An Historical Overview (Masters Thesis, Portland State University). [full text available online]
  • McGlade, Michael S. (2002). “Mexican Farm Labor Networks and Population Increase in the Pacific Northwest” APCG Yearbook, Volume 62. Note: The connection between rural and urban, page 51.
  • Executive Order 13166: Limited English Proficiency Resource Document: Tips and Tools from the Field, September 2004. Note: Page 67 “…trainings focused on teaching interpretation skills to speakers of indigenous languages including Mixteco, Triqui, Zapoteco, Nahuatl, Tarasco, Akateco, Kanjobal, and others.”
  • Stephen, Lynn (2004). “Mixtec Farmworkers in Oregon: Linking Labor and Ethnicity through Farmworker Unions and Hometown Associations.” In Indigenous Mexican Migrants in the United States, edited by Jonathan Fox, Gaspar Rivera-Salgado.
  • Fairchild, Stephen T. and Nicole B. Simpson (2004). “Mexican migration to the United States Pacific Northwest.” Population Research and Policy Review, 23 (3).  
  • Dash, Robert C. (2002-2003). “Latinos, Political Change, and Electoral Mobilization in Oregon,” Latino(a) Research Review 5, no. 2-3.
  • Oregon Center for Public Policy (2007). “Undocumented Workers are Taxpayers, Too.” Issue Brief, Revised April 10, 2007. 
  • O’Connor, Pat (2006). “Occupations by Race in Oregon,” Oregon Employment Department, OLMIS.

Box-Folder 1.21 Newspaper Articles, 1943-2007 

  • “Idiomas poco hablados causan problemas en tribunal” El Hispanic News, January 20, 2005. Note: Key words: Texmelucan, Zapoteco, Oaxaca, Mixteco. Información en el artículo: sólo alrededor de 4,100 personas en el mundo [hablan el idioma Texmelucan Zapoteco]
  • “Not Quite Home” by Ernestine Bousquet, The Bulletin, December 26, 2004. Note: Not Quite Home: After settling in Central Oregon, an immigrant family holds tight to its Mexican culture and traditions. 
  • “La Oaxaqueña proves small businesses have a place in the market” by Richard Jones, El Hispanic News, September 29, 2004. Note: Article about La Oaxaqueña Frutería in Portland, Oregon; Lázaro García, owner.
  • “Immigrants from Mexico’s indigenous groups work to preserve traditional medicine,” Juliana Barbassa, El Hispanic News, January 5, 2006.  

Box-Folder 1.25: Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) and Freedom Ride, 2001-2003

  • PCUN Fighting for Farmworker Rights (compilation of news clippings – blue title page). Note: See the article, “Native Americans join farmworkers in protest against Bracero Bill” 

Box-Folder 2.8: Transnationalism, 1998-2005

  • Presentation Slides “Mexican Transnationalism from Above and Below” Note: Slide 6 “Transnationalism from Below: At Community Level” mention of Mixteco Farmworkers in Salem, OR.
  • Guarnizo, Luis Eduardo, and Michael Peter Smith. “The Locations of Transnationalism.” Transnationalism from Below: Comparative urban and community research (1998): 3–34. 2 copies.
  • Goldring, Luin. “The Power of Status in Transnational Social Fields.” Transnationalism from Below: Comparative urban and community research (1998): 165–195.

New Finding Aids: October – December 2023

SCARC completed 3 new finding aids October – December 2023 and updated 2 finding aids; as of the end of December, SCARC has 1141 finding aids in Archives West.

These finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, the SCARC website, and the OSU Library discovery system a.k.a. “the catalog.” The links below are to the guides in Archon, SCARC’s finding aids website.

New collection guides created this quarter:

Oregon State University Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Student Experience StoryCorps Collection (OH 053)

The Oregon State University Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Student Experience StoryCorps Collection is comprised of video recorded testimonies provided by EECS students from non-traditional or historically underserved backgrounds. The stories shared by these students are meant to document their experiences while also providing insight to university and industry leaders on approaches to improve support for Engineering students from underserved communities. The collection is entirely born digital and the raw video of each interview is available online.

COVID-19 at Oregon State University Collection, 2020-2023

The COVID-19 at Oregon State University Collection consists of materials submitted to or collected by multiple projects whose aim was to document university and community life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection includes submissions to a collecting initiative led by the Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC); two outreach activities sponsored by the OSU Libraries; and an additional collecting project led by OSU Psychology professor Regan Gurung. The collection also includes compilations of university- and library-wide broadcast emails communicating operations adjustments necessitated by the pandemic, as well as university social media posts reflecting the culture of remote work at OSU. The collection is rounded out by a print zine published by the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, and an assortment of pandemic-related websites that have been preserved by SCARC staff within the Internet Archive. The collection is largely born digital, supplemented by a smaller paper component.

Julie Green Papers

The Julie Green Papers document paintings and other art works created and exhibited by Art Professor Julie Green. Along with photographs of their pieces, this collection includes published information about exhibitions of Green’s art, in particular, “The Last Supper” series. Joining the Oregon State University Art Department in 2000, Green taught coursework in painting and drawing. They died in 2021.

Finding aids that were updated / expanded and re-uploaded to ArchivesWest:

*These finding aids are featured as part of SCARC’s reparative description work*

United States War Relocation Authority Reports, 1942-1946

The United States War Relocation Authority Reports are comprised of more than fifty mimeographed reports detailing the operation of War Relocation Authority (WRA) concentration camps used to house Japanese American incarcerees during World War II.

Mildred and Frank Miles Scrapbook of the Santo Tomás Internment Camp, 1942-1947

The Mildred and Frank Miles Scrapbook of the Santo Tomás Internment Camp scrapbook includes documents and ephemera produced at Santo Tomás during the Miles’ imprisonment there, as well as materials written about the camp after liberation. Many materials document daily life in the camp. The Santo Tomás Internment Camp was created by the Japanese military after occupation of Manila, the capital of the Phillipines. It was located on the campus of the University of Santo Tomás in Manila, and housed over 4,000 incarcerees for nearly the entirety of World War II.

Colegio César Chávez, 50th Anniversary

Colegio December 12, 2023 Event Promotion

On December 12, 2023, PODER: Oregon’s Latino Leadership Network hosted an event to commemorate the official 50th Anniversary of the Colegio César Chávez. It was on this date in 1973 when Colegio community members decided on the name in honor of the activist. The event began with a presentation by Colegio co-founders Sonny Montes and José Romero followed by a community conversation, which was recorded and is available online. The evening continued with an introduction from PODER Board Chair Anthony Veliz; a welcome by Chemeketa Community College Woodburn campus Dean Elias Villegas; a reading of the Governor’s Colegio César Chávez Proclamation by Javier Cervantes, Office of the Governor – Racial Justice Advisor; and concluding remarks from Montes and Romero. And, the Colegio exhibit was featured as part of the event!

Check out all of the blog posts related to Colegio César Chávez and see below for event photos!

Oregonian newspaper clipping re: Colegio’s new name
Colegio 50th Event Group Photo of Event Attendees
Colegio 50th – December 12, 2023 – Community Conversation
Colegio 50th – December 12, 2023 – Evening Event Agenda
Colegio 50th – Exhibit
Colegio 50th – Exhibit and Evening Event Space
Colegio 50th – Evening Event Table
Colegio 50th – Evening Event Program
A presentation by Colegio co-founders Sonny Montes and José Romero
The Governor’s Colegio César Chávez Proclamation presented to Anthony Veliz by Javier Cervantes
Closing remarks by Colegio co-founders Sonny Montes and José Romero
Colegio 50th Photo Collage
Colegio 50th Photo Collage

Colegio César Chávez Exhibit ~ Chemeketa Community College Tour

Jennifer Cox, Dean of Library and Learning Resources, Chemeketa Community College, cutting the ribbon at the November 20, 2023, Salem Campus exhibit opening

After attending the Colegio César Chávez 50th Celebration and Commemoration event in August, Chemeketa Community College requested a copy of the Colegio César Chávez exhibit to tour across its various campus locations, and we are delighted to announce the exhibit is now on tour!

Colegio César Chávez Exhibit ~ Chemeketa Community College Tour Dates and Locations:

  • November 20th-December 28th ~ Salem Campus
  • January 3rd-February 9th ~ Woodburn Center
  • February 12th-March 22nd ~ Yamhill Valley Campus
  • March 22nd-April 1st ~ Salem Campus – César Chávez Day Celebration
  • April 2nd-May 17th ~ Polk Center
  • May 17th-June 30th ~ CCRLS (Chemeketa Community Regional Library Service) Partner Library-Newberg Public Library

Additionally, there has been interest from Blue Mountain Community College in displaying the exhibit in the summer or fall of next year.

On Monday, November 20th, the Salem Campus held an informal exhibit opening; about a dozen people attended and received a tour and Q&A of the exhibit. The exhibit begins in the library (building 9) of the Chemeketa Community College ~ Salem Campus with the history exhibit panels located throughout the second floor’s skybridge. The calendar and timeline panels are grouped on the main floor by the stairs leading up to the library.

Salem Campus Exhibit Photos

The calendar and timeline panels are grouped on the main floor by the stairs leading up to the library (building 9)

About a dozen people attended the opening and received a tour and Q&A of the exhibit

The history exhibit panels are located throughout the second floor’s skybridge

Add Glitter to the Archives! A Crafternoon with the OSU Queer Archives

“Glitter in the Archives” began in 2016 as part of Oregon Archives Month and OSU’s Queer History Month celebrations. The crafternoon event, featuring copies of materials from the OSU Queer Archives, was hosted in the SCARC reading room and ran from 2016-2019, and it’s finally back!

This year we collaborated with the Libraries’ Crafternoon series and the event was hosted in the main lobby of the library, hence the new name “Add Glitter to the Archives.”  As before, one of the event’s main goals was to use (copies of) archival materials to imagine queer futures, particularly as they pertain to OSU and the surrounding community. For information and photos from past events, see the blog posts for Glitter in the Archives, 2016-2019 

We have some ideas for the event’s future, including hosting an OSQA materials SCARC Open House the week after the crafternoon event, and we hope folks will join us in October 2024!

Here’s the crafternoon setup featuring lots of glittery collaging supplies and copies of OSQA archival materials ~ 14 people joined us for the event!

“Add Glitter to the Archives” Crafternoon
Crafternoon Supplies

The event also showcased Glitter creations from past years:

Glitter Crafts from the Archives

Participants had the opportunity to donate their craft creations to OSQA – we received 5 donations!

October 2023 Crafts

Here are more photos of the crafting in action:

New Finding Aids: July – September 2023

SCARC completed 2 new finding aids July – September 2023 and updated 2 finding aids; as of the end of September, SCARC has 1138 finding aids in Archives West.

These finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, website, and the OSU Library discovery system a.k.a. “the catalog.” The links below are to the guides in Archon, SCARC’s finding aids website.

New collection guides created this quarter:

James R. Sedell Papers, 1819-2011

This collection consists of materials collected and generated by Dr. James R. Sedell. Sedell was a researcher at Oregon State University, focusing on stream ecosystem research in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, who also held positions at Weyerhaeuser Co., the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest and Southwest Research Stations, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This collection primarily consists of project materials and reference materials, and also includes over 100 of his publications and manuscripts, conference materials, as well as his research from Mount Saint Helens after its 1980 eruption. National Science Foundation Proposals and project justifications are restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests to access these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.

Marion F. Bolton Papers, 1950-1984

The Marion Bolton Papers document Bolton’s career at Kerr-McGee, an American energy company active in uranium mining in the American Southwest during the middle of the 20th century. Materials primarily relate to Bolton’s service as general manager at Kerr McGee’s Shiprock site, as well as the lawsuits brought against the company by the Navajo Nation seeking damages and compensation for the endangerment of Navajo mine workers and the destruction of Navajo land. Due to the presence of medical information within these lawsuits, these files are restricted. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist.

Finding aids that were updated / expanded and re-uploaded to ArchivesWest:

Colegio César Chávez Collection, 1965-1982

The Colegio César Chávez was established in 1973 as a four year Chicano serving institution in Mount Angel, Oregon. The Colegio César Chávez Collection consists of correspondence, publications, and photographs from the Arthur and Karen Olivo and Andrew Parodi Family and depicts their time living on the college campus grounds. The majority of the items from this collection have been digitized and are available upon request. Additionally, there is a July 2012 oral history interview with Andrew Parodi and Karen Olivo regarding their experiences living at the Colegio.

Asian & Pacific Cultural Center Records, 1983-2016

The Asian & Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) Records document programs and events sponsored by the Center; students and staff active in the Center; and other student organizations associated with the Center. The Center was established at Oregon State University in 1991 to educate the campus and local community about Asian and Pacific Islander cultures as well as the Asian Pacific American (APA) experience.

And a BONUS from earlier this summer!

The Food and Farming History LibGuide is now public!

The work of farmers and scientists, consumers and producers, writers and historians come together in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.  The guide highlights archival and manuscript collections at SCARC, library books or journals in both our rare books collections and the main stacks, and offers links to our online collections and other resources.  It also offers tips for keywords and search strategies for each section, as well as information about how the content in specific archival collections will meet your needs.

The Urban League of Portland’s 2023 Equal Opportunity Day

Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner, Oregon Convention Center, September 28, 2023

The OMA attended the 2023 Urban League of Portland Equal Opportunity Day dinner and celebration! This was the first in-person dinner since 2019; this year, as we have done in past years, we brought a display to showcase the history of the Urban League of Portland and share information about the archival collection. In the pre-dinner cocktail hour, we spoke with about two dozen people to share that the collection is open and accessible to the public.

See past blog posts about the Urban League of Portland events and collection information.

Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Display

At the dinner, the Urban League of Portland’s President, Nkenge Harmon Johnson, engaged in a conversation with Rukaiyah Adams, CEO of the 1803 Fund, which seeks to grow shared prosperity, through investments in community-based organizations and through smart financial investments. They spoke about the importance of Black wealth, which includes financial wealth, and importantly, cultural and community wealth. Harmon Johnson and Adams grew up together and both benefitted from the work of the Urban League in their youth; Adams shared that if anyone wants to see the fruition of the investment of the Urban League of Portland in Black youth, to look at her.

Nkenge Harmon Johnson and Rukaiyah Adams
Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Program
Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Program

More photos of the display are below!

Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Display
Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Display
Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Display
Urban League of Portland EOD Dinner Display

We look forward to the 2024 Equal Opportunity Day!

Colegio César Chávez Exhibit

Colegio Exhibit: 50th-anniversary artwork, bookmarks, and pins

The SCARC 2023-2024 exhibit is Colegio César Chávez: The Legacy Lives On / El legado sigue vivo!

The OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center’s Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) served as a project partner and event planning committee member for the Colegio César Chávez 50th Anniversary Celebration which took place on August 26, 2023.

For more information about the event, see the blog post: Colegio César Chávez 50th Anniversary Celebration

The exhibition curated for the event is now available to the public!

  • When: The 2023-2024 academic year (September 2023 – summer 2024)
  • Where: The Valley Library 5th Floor SCARC Exhibit Cases (open during SCARC’s open hours: 10am-4pm M-F) and the SCARC 5th Floor Alcove Exhibit Space, across the hallway from the reading room (open whenever the library is open)
  • What: The exhibit in the cases showcases the Colegio’s history and the exhibit in the alcove showcases a Chicano history timeline and artwork from a 1979 Colegio calendar

Digital Copies of the Exhibit Panels are Available via Oregon Digital

Photos of the Exhibit!

Colegio History Exhibit, Part 1 in the 5th Floor Exhibit Cases
Colegio History Exhibit, Part 2 in the 5th Floor Exhibit Cases
Colegio Calendar Timeline Exhibit, in the 5th Floor Exhibit Alcove
Colegio Calendar Timeline Exhibit, in the 5th Floor Exhibit Alcove
Colegio Calendar Timeline Exhibit, in the 5th Floor Exhibit Alcove: Intro and Calendar Dates Panels
Colegio Calendar Timeline Exhibit, in the 5th Floor Exhibit Alcove: January-June Artwork and January-March Timeline

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PODER’s Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Latino Leadership Summit

On Friday, September 15, 2023, the Colegio exhibit was featured as part of the Latino Leadership Summit in Salem, OR. Members of the Colegio were recognized and honored as part of the morning program. Dozens of the attendees had the opportunity to view the exhibit and learn about this important part of Oregon’s history!

Program for PODER’s Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast & Latino Leadership Summit
Members of the Colegio were recognized and honored as part of the morning program.
Colegio bookmarks and pins (all gone by the end of the event!)
The Colegio exhibit in the Salem Convention Center
The Colegio exhibit in the Salem Convention Center
The Colegio exhibit in the Salem Convention Center

Colegio César Chávez 50th Anniversary Celebration

COLEGIO CESAR CHAVEZ 50TH ANNIVERSARY: CELEBRATING A COLLEGE WITHOUT WALLS

On August 26, 2023, PODER: Oregon’s Latino Leadership Network, hosted an incredible commemorative and celebratory event to honor the history and legacy of the Colegio César Chávez at the Father Bernard Youth & Retreat Center in Mt. Angel, Oregon, the original site of the Colegio. Hundreds of community members, including many who were a part of Colegio’s history, participated in the event!

In addition, the event and Colegio’s history were featured in an article by OPB: “Nation’s first four-year, independent Chicano university celebrates 50 years since founding in Oregon” by Meerah Powell and Emily Hamilton, as well as an article in The Oregonian “50 years later, a pioneering Chicano college in Oregon continues to inspire the fight for educational equity” by Sami Edge.

The OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center’s Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) was honored to serve as a project partner and event planning committee member.

The OMA curated an exhibit to showcase the Colegio’s history and legacy, and also organized an archives tabling activity featuring the resources from the OMA’s Latino/a collections as well as from the Oregon Historical Society and the University of Oregon’s Special Collections and University Archives. And, the U of O’s Latino Roots exhibit was also displayed.

The Colegio exhibit will be available for viewing in the 5th floor of the OSU Valley Library mid-September 2023 – summer 2024; for more information about a potential loan of the panels contact natalia.fernandez[at]oregonstate.edu

Below are photos of the exhibit and tabling activity!

The full day of activities was amazing!

Below are photos from the morning program:

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Gustavo Balderas
Celedonio (Sonny) Montes Jr. reflecting on Colegio’s legacy

More about the event!

The day began with a morning program followed by an afternoon of family-friendly activities, viewing the exhibit, and workshops led by members of Colegio’s administration, staff, and students.

Below is information and photos shared by PODER via their newsletter:

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