Events to feature Gevirtz School faculty and alumni
Drafted by students, faculty and other delegates from across the UC system during a special conference at UC Santa Barbara in April 1969, El Plan was a 155-page manifesto and detailed blueprint for the formation of university-level Chicano Studies programs. The conference became a higher-education catalyst for the movement at UC Santa Barbara, across California and beyond, and El Plan came to be seen as a seminal document resulting in the establishment of many Chicano/Chicana studies programs. In fact, UC Santa Barbara’s own program—now entering its 50th year—was launched within months of El Plan’s release.
UC Santa Barbara will mark these milestones with a 50th anniversary conference examining the significance and enduring impact of El Plan. The Feb. 22-23 events, to be held in multiple venues on campus, are free and open to the public. See the full schedule on-line.
Among the speakers and panelists are alumni and faculty at the Gevirtz School. Former GGSE student Monique Limón—currently California State Assembly member from the 37th district—will give one of the keynote talks on Saturday, February 23. Also on Saturday, Department of Education professors Laura Romo and Richard Durán and alum Aaron Jones, director of the Educational Opportunity Program at UCSB, will all participate on panels. On Friday, alum Yolanda Garcia will participate in the Special Panel of Former Participants in the 1969 Plan de Santa Bárbara Conference.
Also on Friday, the Alumni reception will recognize Gevirtz School Ph.D. graduate Yolanda Marquez for her landmark 2007 dissertation entitled “La Universidad Con La Promesa Del Futuro: A Case Study of the University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Chicano Studies 1965-1980,” covering the development of the Plan de Santa Bárbara.