About

About the CSRC

The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was founded in 1969 with a commitment to foster multidisciplinary research efforts as part of the land grant mission of the University of California. That mission states that University of California research must be in the service of the state and maintain a presence in the local community.

The CSRC strives to balance interdisciplinary and applied research in ways that can impact traditional academic departments and disciplines.  Through all of these efforts, the CSRC exemplifies UCLA’s institutional priorities – academic excellence, civic engagement, and diversity – and remains committed to research that makes a difference.

Since its founding, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) has played a pivotal role in the development of scholarly research on the Chicano-Latino population, which is now the largest minority group and the fastest growing population in the United States. The CSRC is one of four ethnic studies centers established at UCLA in 1969 that are now part of the Institute of American Cultures (IAC), which reports to the Office of the Chancellor at UCLA. The CSRC is also one of four founding members of the national Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR, est. 1983), a consortium of Latino research centers that now includes twenty-five institutions in the United States.

The CSRC was designed to have a systemic impact on the campus and in the field. Its research mission is supported by five distinct components: a library with special collections archive, an academic press, collaborative research projects, public programs and community-based partnerships, and a competitive grant and fellowship program.

The CSRC emerged in the midst of social protest against profound disparities in educational access for the Mexican-descent population in the United States. It was originally named the Mexican American Cultural Center (1969–71). The name was changed to the Chicano Studies Center in 1971 and then to the current Chicano Studies Research Center in 1980. In its first two years its administration consisted of an Executive Committee that reported to a “Mesa Directiva” composed of students, faculty, and administrators. In 1971 the directorship was created, and the Mesa Directiva and the Executive Committee were combined into a Steering Committee. Since 1973 the CSRC has had an annually appointed Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) per the requirements for a UC Organized Research Unit (ORU).
 
In 2003, the CSRC in conjunction with the three other UCLA ethnic studies research centers - American Indian Studies Center, Asian American Studies Center, and Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies - proposed a Faculty Diversity Initiative, the goals of which these centers are still in pursuit. To learn more about this effort, click here.
 

Directors

Mesa Directiva, 1969–71
Professor Simón González (Education), 1971–72
Professor Rodolfo Alvarez (Sociology), 1972–74
Professor David A. Sanchez (Mathematics), 1974, Interim
Professor Juan Gómez-Quiñones (History), 1974–84
Professor Raymond Rocco (Political Science), 1984–85, Interim
Professor David Hayes-Bautista (Medicine), 1986–92
Professor David Lopez (Sociology), 1992–93, Interim
Professor Guillermo Hernández (Spanish), 1993–2002
Professor Chon A. Noriega (Film and Television), 2002–present
 

CSRC Annual Reports

193 Haines Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544

(310) 825-2363
Fax: (310) 206-1784
crscinfo@chicano.ucla.edu

Find us in the UCLA in the Community Directory, a guide to the multitude of ways UCLA works to improve lives across Greater Los Angeles.

 

SUPPORT THE CSRC

We welcome gifts and donations for our wide variety of projects and initiatives. Please visit the Giving page to learn more.