As the foliage changes hue on our sprawling 295-acre campus, we’re reminded that change is constant. We’re also reminded of the beauty that exists all around us. Not unlike the biodiversity of the trees on our campus, cultural diversity adds richness to the Oregon experience.
This month and next, we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month (aka Hispanic Heritage Month). The cultural observance began as a week-long and eventually month-long celebration in the United States. It honors the lived experience of people with ancestral ties to the Caribbean Spanish-speaking nations, Central America, Mexico, and South America, across religions, political ideologies, race, ability, gender and class, to name a few. Each year at the University of Oregon, from September 15th through October 15th, we recognize the triumphant journeys of Hispanic and Latinx Americans on campus and beyond.
Before we can look to the future, we must reflect on the past, acknowledging the influence of Spanish explorers, the leadership and resilience of indigenous communities, and the amazing contributions of vaqueros, whose skill with cattle played an important role in18th-century Oregon agriculture. Additionally, the contributions of Latines from all over the world have impacted science, art, the judiciary, education, politics, the environment and so much more in the place that we now call Oregon and beyond. Just a sample of the amazing contributions of Latines can be found in Alyssa Reynoso-Morris' 2025 book: Bold, Brilliant, Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present.
Reynoso-Morris' book reminds us of the significant role that higher education plays in holding space for students to learn, grow and challenge themselves and others. That is why we are so grateful to students who lead groups like MEChA, UO Muxeres, Latinx Law Student Association, Unidos@UO Hispanic Public Relations Association and the Latine Male Alliance. Open to students from all backgrounds, their student leaders design innovative programming to encourage and inspire students as they work toward healthy achievement and timely graduation.
As part of our UO community of lifelong learners, we encourage faculty, students and staff to continue learning about the historical and contemporary contributions and struggles of Latines in Oregon and beyond. Since charity begins at home and spreads abroad, check out the amazing stories, documentaries and class offerings from the Latino Roots Project, and read the HSI Task Force's Report to learn more the efforts are being made to ensure that all our students have an opportunity to grow and thrive.
This Latinx Heritage Month, we encourage you to engage with the contributions of our Latinx community at UO: Review the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies’ website. Support the Patos Alumni Network, a vibrant collective of UO alumni whose work advances the UO mission. Send a care package to the residents of the Latinx Academic Residential Community. Or write a note of thanks and gratitude to members of the Latinx Strategy Group. Find out about the faculty, staff and students whose research, creative activity, teaching and service include mapping Oregon’s history and labor practices, enhancing our state’s forest industry, improving biomedical research, enhancing language preservation, bioregional revitalization and so much more.
The good news is that the recognition of Hispanic Heritage needs not end on October 15th. From October 22 through November 5, we encourage the UO community to engage with the Day of the Dead Altares at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art to acknowledge ancestors who continue to inspire us all. Hispanic Heritage is American heritage. We encourage everyone to lean into and embrace its richness throughout the year.