photo by L. Salgado

Topping off a list of career superlatives, Arturo Madrid, the Murchison Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Trinity University, was honored in July with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ford Salute to Education. The Spanish professor known for mentoring students and faculty thanked the San Antonio community for accepting him and his wife, Antonia Castañeda, as they have shared what he described as “our advantage” by opening doors to others, particularly Latinos.

“We feel that our almost 15 years here have been recognized and appreciated,” he said, adding that the achievement award should have been given jointly to him and his wife. Castañeda recently retired from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio as an associate professor of history, and after being named Scholar of the Year for the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. Like her husband, she developed a reputation for mentoring Chicana/o students and faculty.

Trinity economics professor Jorge G. Gonzalez recommended Madrid for the lifetime achievement award, describing him as a role model and mentor for Latinos in higher education. Gonzalez wrote in his nomination letter, “Professor Madrid has devoted his life to opening the doors of higher education to students from all backgrounds. He has always paid special attention to those students that often do not get the same opportunities as others.”

Madrid also is known as a valuable resource for his faculty colleagues, Gonzalez said, adding, “When I have had to make a difficult decision at Trinity, his door has always been open and he has spent as much time as needed providing me careful advice. I have been fortunate to have him as a role model and mentor.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award has been around since 1987. Recipients are chosen by a committee of San Antonio leaders.

The descendent of a Spanish-Mexican family that settled in New Mexico at the end of the 17^th century, Madrid has long been involved in the legal, educational, and cultural affairs of Latinos. In 1984 he founded the Tomás Rivera Center, the nation’s first institute for policy studies on Latino issues. He also served as national director of the Ford Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship Program for Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans. A strong advocate for the expansion and improvement of higher educational opportunities, Madrid served as director of the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education and was a member of the U.S. Commission on the Future of Higher Education. He’s also a fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, the nation’s premier foreign policy association. He previously was the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities’ Charles Frankel Prize.

Of his latest award, Madrid said he was honored to be in the company of the event’s other recipients, who included media pioneer and Trinity Trustee Emeritus Emilio Nicolás; Lynda de la Viña, dean of the College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio, whom he mentored at the Ford Foundation Fellowship; Trinity graduate and Artpace founder Linda Pace, who died earlier this year from breast cancer.

Academic and Professional Honors:

Matt Garcia Service Award, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2002

 Tomas Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award, The 15^th Annual Tomas Rivera Conference, University of California, Riverside, 2002

 Visiting Research Scholar, The Center for Regional Studies, The University of New Mexico, Summer, 2000

 Visiting Policy Fellow, The Rockefeller Institute, Dartmouth College, October, 1999

 The Charles Frankel Prize, the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1996

 Fellow, Council of Foreign Relations, 1990 to present

 Distinguished Scholar Award, National Association of Chicano Studies, 1991

 Outstanding Accomplishment in Higher Education (1993), Hispanic Caucus, The American Association of Higher Education

 Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year (1998), Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education

 Board Memberships

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Founding Member, Board of Directors, 1998- present; Member, Executive Committee

Latino/a Journal of Research & Policy, Latino/a Research & Policy Center, University of Colorado, Denver, Editorial Advisory Board, 1998 to present

 Charter School Resource Center of Texas, Board of Directors, 1997 to present

Arte Público Press, University of Houston, Board of Directors, 1996 to present

Intercultural Development Research Association, Board of Directors, 1994 to present

Latino USA. Chair, National Advisory Board, 1999-2001

Inter-University Program for Latino Research, Chair, National Advisory Board, 1995-2000

Universidad Autónoma de México Foundation, Founding Member, Board of Directors, 1999-2001

National Chicano Council for Higher Education, Founding Trustee, 1975 to present; President, 1975 to present.

National Center for Education and the Economy, Founding Trustee, 1988 – 1997

© 2007 Trinity University