Dr. Louis M. Holscher, Professor (1997) *

Lou Holscher received a B.A. in Sociology and History (1968), M.A. (1971) and Ph.D. (1975) in Sociology from Washington State University, and an M.A. in Education Management and Development form New Mexico State University in 1981. He received his J.D. from Arizona State University in 1986.

Lou has over 25 years teaching and research in Chicana/o and ethnic studies. Teaching interests include Chicanas/os and the criminal justice system, Chicano music and popular culture, Mexican immigration and other demographic issues, and the border. He was one of the first academics to write about Chicano murals in Los Angeles and other cities in the southwest, and published one of the first studies on Chicano/Anglo intermarriage in Arizona and New Mexico. He has written about Chicano music for over twenty years, including a monograph on the song La Bamba. Professor Holscher recently finished an article on narcocorridos with Dr. Celestino Fernandez, who he has collaborated with on a number of projects over the past two decades. During the spring 2002 semester he was on sabbatical completing interviews and gathering research on a book on the emergence and evolution of the Chicano music industry.

*Professor Holscher has been a SJSU faculty member since 1988. He was tenured and promoted to full professor in 1993.

Dr. Professor Jose Carrasco, (1969)

Jose Carrasco received his B.A. (1966) in English/American Literature and Life-Time Secondary Teaching Credentials from SJSU, a MUP (1973) In Urban & Regional Planning from SJSU, and a M.A. (1985) in Social Sciences and a Ph.D. (1988) in Education from Stanford.

He is one of the founding members of the MAS Department at SJSU over thirty years ago, and served as Department Chair from 1988 – 1997. He has also served as Associate Dean in the School of Social Work and Coordinator of the School’s Community and Social Planning Program, and taught in the Departments of Social Sciences and Urban Planning at SJSU. He has written works in literature, including a book of poetry, as well as in areas of education, urban planning, and community organizing. He has done extensive community organizing, and integrates his practical experiences into the theoretical approaches in his teaching. His contributions to the field of organizing are national and internationally recognized, especially his expertise in Faith-Community Based Organizing where he is often cited and referred to in the literature, most recently in Cultural Dilemmas of Progressive Politics by Stephen Hart. He travels extensively to consult with and train the leadership of racially and ethnically diverse organizations. His work takes him throughout the U.S. and to many other countries, including Germany, Italy, and Spain, plus he has been featured on Romanian television

Dr. Marcos Pizarro, Assistant Professor (1999)

Marcos Pizarro is currently in his fourth year as an Assistant Professor in Mexican American Studies at San José State University. He received his BA from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from UCLA's Graduate School of Education. He is the son of Leonard and Helena Pizarro, the husband of Maria Esther Fernandez, and the father of Xóchitl and Citlali.

Pizarro does work with Chicana/o students at various stages in their schooling and tries to understand how interventions can help these students develop strategies that might aid them in their efforts to succeed in school. He recently completed a book on his research with Chicana/o youth in East Los Angeles and the Yakima Valley of Washington State. The book explores the relationship between the identities of Chicana/o students and their academic performance with a focus on lessons that will aid those interested in enhancing the educational performance of these youth. Currently, he is working closely with a few Latina/o-based Charter Schools and coordinates MAESTR@S, an Institute for Teachers who work with Chicana/o Youth, to help teachers develop innovative strategies for educationally empowering Chicana/o youth. He has also been developing a new research methodology that is based on social justice and grounded in the Chicana/o community.

Pizarro, a former elementary school teacher, has taught in the Chicana/o Studies programs at UC Berkeley and Washington State University and been a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA's Chicano Studies Research Center and UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education (through the Ford Postdoctoral Fellowship for Minorities).

Dr. Julia Curry Rodriguez, Assistant Professor (2000)

Julia Curry Rodriguez received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara (1980), and her M.A. (1985) and Ph.D. (1988) in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Her research focuses on immigrant women and children using qualitative methods. She co-directed a research project on the impact of Proposition 227 in California school districts. For MAS she teaches courses on gender and sexuality, literature, and comparative Latino immigrant cultures. She has been very active in the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, serving as Executive Director, and with Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social. Dr. Curry has organized “read-out-loud” efforts at one school in the San Jose School District involving university students and staff for the national Reading Day of the Department of Education. She is organizing the development of a library for the charter school, Academia Calmecac, of MACSA in San Jose.

Dr. Gregorio Mora-Torres, Lecturer (1989)

Gregorio Mora Torres graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of Santa Clara (1976), and his M.A. (1980) and Ph.D. (1987) in History from the University of California, Irvine.

His areas of specialization are Latin American, Chicano, and U.S. history. He has taught a wide diversity of courses in Chicana/o Studies at both the undergraduate and graduate level. His research interests include 19th century Sonora, Mexico, and 19th century California history. At present, he is writing a history of Mexicans/Chicanos in the Santa Clara Valley, and preparing for publication the memoirs of Jose Maria Amador, an early Californio, and the 1861-62 diaries of Jesus Maria Estudillo, a College of Santa Clara student. He has acted as a consultant to various media sources on Latin American immigration, Mexican politics, and local Chicano social/political issues.

Phillip G. Tabera, Lecturer (1997)

Phillip was born and raised in Salinas, attending local schools such as Sherwood Elementary, El Sausal Jr. H.S., Alisal H.S., Hartnell College, UCSC, and San Jose State University. He holds a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Mexican American Studies (Public Policy emphasis). Phillip is married to Hermelinda Rocha - Tabera, College Instructor, Early Childhood Education at Hartnell Community College. There are four children, Felipe 22, PVT 1st. Class USMC, Gregorio 13, Joaquin 11, and Lorena 6.

Phillip is presently employed as a Lecturer in the Mexican American Studies Department, California State University, San Jose and teaches courses in Contemporary Speech and Rhetoric Mexican American Perspective - Core Course, The Mexican American Community, MAS 10 A & B, and MAS 175 and Mexican American History and Culture and at California State University Monterey Bay in the Human Communications and World Languages and Cultures Department. Additionally, Phillip is the Project Coordinator of the Brown N' Proud Mural Project and Grant Writer/Programs Consultant to local non-profit organizations in East Salinas.