Thursday, November 5, 1998
Chavez Center names chair
APPOINTMENT: Alum Macias to focus on student opinions
By Dennis Lim
Daily Bruin Contributor
A former student of UCLA will soon return to teach in the
classrooms and lecture halls where he once sat as a student.
Reynaldo Macias, a UCLA alumnus and professor of education at UC
Santa Barbara, was appointed chair of the Cesar Chavez Center for
Chicana and Chicano Studies last month.
"Most people feel a deep connection to their alma mater, I
certainly do," Macias said.
Macias who received both his B.A. and his masters degrees from
UCLA, said his wife and older son also graduated from UCLA.
Macias’ appointment means interim chair Raymund Paredes will
leave the position and return his full attention to his job as
associate vice chancellor of academic development.
While most have celebrated the new appointment, representatives
from the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán (MEChA)
welcome Macias’ appointment, but question the time it took to
appoint a new chair.
"MEChA is satisfied that the position has been filled, but not
happy with the fact that it has taken a couple years to appoint a
new chair," said Henry Perez, MEChA chairman.
"For the past couple of years we have had a university
administrator as interim chair who has not been able to devote his
full time to his role," Perez added.
Paredes agreed with Perez’s evaluation, saying he could not
adequately divide his time between his two roles.
Paredes also said the Chavez Center needed a full-time chair; he
served as interim chair since the fall of 1996, when then-chair
Hector Calderon left the position.
Macias hopes to unite the center’s members around a common
agenda for the future.
Macias has not yet determined the substance of the center’s
agenda, but hopes to make it a product of staff, faculty and
student input.
"There will be a lot of meetings before we have any agenda
ready," he said.
"I need to listen to a lot of people involved with the center,
and see where they want it to go and what goals they have for the
future," he added.
Macias hopes to address issues such as curricular reform,
expansion of internship positions and growth issues within the
faculty.
Perez wants Macias to consider changing the structure of the
Chavez Center to include more student input and opinion in its
decision making.
"The students will not be satisfied until their input is taken
seriously in the decision-making of the center," he said.
"It was created through student and community struggle. For that
reason student opinion should be considered and sought after in
most decisions," Perez continued.
Paredes said that as a personal friend of Macias, he sees the
appointment of Macias as a great advancement for Chicana/Chicano
studies at UCLA.
"He’s a prominent researcher and administrator," Paredes said.
"He studied here, knows the campus well, was involved in the early
Chicana/Chicano movement and has connections to many influential
Latino groups."
"On top of all that he’s a very nice, accessible person," said
Paredes. "UCLA is very lucky to have him."
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