Early scholars had to force their way into University life by insisting on joining sports teams and by creating different communities such as the Club Latinoamericano, they began to build Latino spaces into the existing culture of the university. When the Chicano movement made its way to UM, it led to a more inclusive life for Latinos– curricula for Latino Studies were proposed by the Faculty which led to an increase of student programming led by Latino students. Though not always welcomed at U-M, Latino graduate students have lived up to a common family saying of “ponte las pilas” and made their mark at the University.
Most of the poster will focus on images and information about the Chicano movement at U-M, with information about early Latino students and the Michigan mandate opening and closing the chronology. In 1880, Jose Celso Barbosa was the first Latino student to get a medical degree from the University. By the start of the 20th century, Latino students earned degrees in engineering, pharmaceuticals, and dentistry. Within the humanities, the most common degrees obtained by Latino students are in Law as seen with the Benedicto Brothers, Rafael Guillermety and Jose Figueras which were also granted within the turn of the century. While the early years of graduate study at U-M saw relatively few Latino students, the rise of the Chicano movement across the U.S. in the 1970s helped start a Latino Studies curriculum at U-M, often led by newly-hired Latino faculty, which attracted an increased number of Latino students, especially into humanities fields central in Latino Studies. In 1986, the Michigan Mandate Program presented by President James J. Duderstadt, as a part of the larger effort to attract students and faculty of color, aimed to attract an increased number of Latino graduate students by increasing grant and fellowship funding available to Latino students and hiring more Latino faculty.