by Rivkela Brodsky
and Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
Enrique Lamadrid says unless the Office of Equal Opportunity discovers skeletons in his closet, he will be the new director of the Chicano/a Studies Program.
About five offices need to sign off when a department selects a director. Peter White, dean of University Studies, said he is awaiting approval from the office before making an official announcement.
Lamadrid, who has been serving as interim director, was one of four candidates vying for the position. He was named interim director after a previous search following the retirement of Eduardo Hern†ndez Ch†vez turned up a solo candidate, Dorothy Baca.
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The Lobo reported last March that during a closed meeting lasting nearly an hour and a half, the majority of committee members did not recommend Baca for the position. Baca responded with the belief students had their best interests at heart.
White said Lamadrid was unanimously accepted. However, Lamadrid said he was not unanimously supported.
"There's always controversy surrounding leadership positions," he said. "I think I've got solid support, but it's not unanimous."
Lamadrid said if anybody believed in conspiracy theories, they might think the director is being announced in the summer so students wouldn't know.
"Some may not be satisfied, but generally most will be," White said.
Lamadrid said Chicano studies has been one of the cornerstones of his career. He taught the first Chicano literature class at the University of Oregon and is an avid folklorist.
Lamadrid said being a folklorist gave him an advantage because it puts him in constant contact with the community, which is vital to the program.
The department held a national search for a new director last fall.
Four candidates were selected from the national search and the committees eventually narrowed it down to two, White said.
Students were able to participate in the decision. White said he took individual letters and read comment forms from the students at the candidate forums.
Lamadrid has published many books related to Chicano studies and is a full-time professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and a New Mexican researcher. If announced as director, Lamadrid said, inclusion, cultural activism, language recovery and internationalism will be major goals. As interim director, he said in his platform he hoped to serve as more than a caretaker for a legacy more than 30 years in the making.
"One big thing is putting New Mexico on the map for Chicano studies," he said. "Sometimes Chicano studies leaves New Mexico out of the picture a little bit. I just want to get it back in the picture as completely as I can."
