November 6, 1998
By Diana de Cardenas
Prominent education and sociolinguistics scholar Reynaldo F. Macías has been named chair of the César Chávez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction in Chicana and Chicano Studies, UCLA. Macías is a noted educator who specializes in bilingual education and policy analysis, literacy, language demography, teacher preparation and multicultural curriculum issues.
Macías is the seventh full-time, tenure-track faculty member appointed to the UCLA Chávez Center since its establishment in June 1993. He replaces Raymund Paredes, associate vice chancellor of academic development, who had served as interim chair since fall 1996.
A UCLA alumnus and Los Angeles native, Macías has written various books and authored hundreds of articles on Chicanos in higher education, bilingualism, language minorities and the changing demographics in schools.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Professor Macías join the faculty of UCLA, and I'm confident he will make an outstanding contribution to Chicano studies," said Scott Waugh, dean of social sciences. "He has a wealth of experience working with students, faculty and administrators to develop high quality academic programs."
Prior to coming to UCLA, Macías was a professor of education at UC Santa Barbara and director of the nine-campus University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute. From 1982 to 1992, he taught at the University of Southern California, where he served as director of the Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research.
Macías earned his B.A. in sociology and M.A. in education at UCLA. He later received his M.S. degree and a Ph.D. in linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
As an undergraduate at UCLA in the late 1960s, Macías was part of a student group that helped develop the Chicano Studies Research Center and the Interdepartmental Program in Chicana and Chicano studies.
One of the significant attractions in accepting this position was the opportunity to return to UCLA and help build the program in Chicana and Chicano studies through the UCLA Chávez Center, which is certainly very exciting and challenging" said Macías, who was the first graduate student chair of MEChA, the Chicano student activist group at UCLA. "I want to make sure that the faculty are very much involved in continuing to set the direction of the UCLA Chávez Center, as well as the students and community members who played a big role in creating it.
"The UCLA Chávez Center is a unique instructional center with grounds for creativity," he added. "To have a core of full-time faculty at a research institution like UCLA provides a strong foundation for higher visibility, growth and significant contributions to the field of Chicano studies that you don't find in many other institutions."
Macías hopes to bring international prominence to the UCLA Chávez Center by establishing the country's premier program in Chicana and Chicano studies. In the 30 years since UCLA established the framework for a discipline in Chicano studies, Macías has seen "a tremendous explosion of research, teaching and publications that have clearly established Chicano studies as a legitimate and burgeoning field of study."
Among his many goals at UCLA are to incorporate community service and applied research into the Chicano studies curriculum - through internships, learning experiences, student-initiated programs and education abroad programs.
"It's important to integrate all these aspects into the curriculum and training of the student so our graduates leave UCLA not only with a body of knowledge about history and culture," Macías said, " but a set of experiences that prepares them to be effective members of their community and society as a whole."
Macías also hopes to establish relationships with UCLA faculty working in various areas of Chicano studies that are currently not affiliated with the center. His immediate plans include working with the faculty, students, community leaders and the various constituencies involved with the UCLA Chávez Center in development and pursuit of common goals.
"The students and faculty at UCLA have shown a deep commitment to Chicano studies, and I intend to build on that commitment and enthusiasm to strengthen our program even more," Macías said.
Return
to Homepage