Tomás Rivera Policy Institute

Creation of the Institute

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute was founded in 1985 and housed at Claremont Graduate University. It was named for Tomás Rivera, who was born in Texas to migrant farm workers and rose to become a prominent author, academic, and administrator, serving as chancellor of the University of California, Riverside. Rivera was the first Mexican American to serve as chancellor in the University of California system. The institute was founded shortly after the death of Rivera, who died in 1984 at the age of 48.

First supported by a grant of $1.3 million from the Carnegie Corporation and the Times Mirror Foundation, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute initially focused on problems faced by Latinos in education, with additional attention to the social and economic problems of the community. The institute was affiliated with Claremont Graduate University but received independent funding.

The academic studies produced by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute have made a substantial contribution to the understanding of Latinos in the United States and to the awareness of various issues throughout the past several decades. The institute has produced many working papers authored by the institute and reports authored by prominent scholars affiliated with the institute.

Beginning in 1993, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute was led for many years by Harry Pachon, a pioneer in conducting research regarding Latinos. His research in Orange County, California, revealed that archconservative Republican Congressman Robert Dornan's district contained a significant number of both Latino and female voters. Orange County had long been considered a sacrosanct stronghold of the Republican Party, but Pachon pointed out Dornan's vulnerabilities. Providing information that belies conventional wisdom regarding Latinos has always been a hallmark of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute and those affiliated with it.

Prominent contributors have included political scientists such as Rodolfo O. De La Garza, Louis DiSipio, Gary Freeman, and Jorge Chapa. The institute conducts research in many areas in which Latinos are little understood or studied. Latinos operate in between the black-white binary, with differences on the basis of race, language, citizenship status, and culture that are difficult to clarify. In addition, societal conceptions of Latinos tend to focus on them as a disorganized group with little interest in the political process. Institute studies have helped to demonstrate that a lack of information is often the reason for a lack of Latino electoral participation and incorporation. From its beginnings with a primary focus on education, under Pachon's leadership, research at the institute was done in such areas as bilingual education, immigration, and social policy. The research has varied from broad national studies to particular explorations of specific communities. Studies of problems facing areas with large Latino populations such as San Antonio, Texas, and the Inland Empire region of Southern California have been conducted. Areas such as the study of the underclass that have tended to focus on African Americans have been reframed with Latino perspectives.

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