Historical Note
Colegio César Chávez, located in Mt. Angel,Oregon formed from the
existing Mount Angel College in 1973. Mt. Angel College was established by
the Catholic Order of Benedictine Sisters in 1888. The school was
originally chartered as a women's academy. In 1897 it was rechartered as
normal school. In 1947 Mt. Angel Normal School became Mt. Angel Women's
College and in 1957 Mt. Angel Women's College became coeducational due to
mounting financial problems. As such, the college was subsequently renamed
Mt. Angel College.
In 1973, Mt. Angel College lost its accreditation from Northwest
Association of Schools and Colleges because of its lack of financial
stability. Two faculty members, Sonny Montez, Director of Ethnic Affairs
and Ernesto Lopez, Dean of Admissions proposed that the institution
redirect the focus of the college to be a Chicano serving institution.
On December 12, 1973 Mt. Angel College officially became Colegio Cesar
Chavez. College founders and students considered a number of names but
chose the farm labor activist César Chávez as their namesake.
As the first and only independent Chicano-oriented and managed
four-year college to emerge in the nation, Colegio César Chávez occupies
an unparalleled place in Chicano history. According to the Chicano scholar
Carlos Maldonado, "Colegio Cesar Chavez was a product of converging social
and educational forces of the Chicano movement and innovation in higher
education". The mission of the Colegio was to provide educational
opportunities for people who were denied access to higher education, to
create a "college without walls" that emphasized collaboration between
students, staff, administrators, their families, and the greater
community. The Colegio also sought to provide an educational setting that
was completely bilingual and bicultural. Students were required to take 15
credits in each of the four core areas: social science; the humanities;
and natural sciences/mathematics; and oral/written bilingual
communications. In addition, life experience was also recognized as
learning and students received credits for this as well.
Colegio César Chávez also served as a source of Chicano culture and
activism in Oregon; this was accomplished through performances, lectures
and guest speakers at the college. Among the significant Chicano leaders
that visited and supported the Colegio were César Chávez , Rodolfo"Corky"
Gonzales, Jose Angel Gutierrez, and Chicano poets Alurista and Abelardo
"Lalo" Delgado.
Constantly plagued by financial difficulties, administrative
instability, and lack of support from the external community, Colegio
César Chávez lost it's accreditation in 1981. The last classes were held
in 1982 and the Colegio officially closed their doors in June 1983. The
campus was abandoned and their main creditor, HUD, foreclosed on the
property. HUD was set to auction off the campus when an anonymous donor
interceded. The ownership of the land and the buildings occupied by the
college reverted back to the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel in 1985.
Content Description
The Colegio César Chávez Collection consists of materials that were
collected by Arthur and Karen Olivo and their son Andrew Parodi. The
materials include publications, correspondence, a bilingual college
catalog, a Mount Angel College Year book, and photographs. The photographs
depict the time period in which the Olivo and Parodi family lived on the
grounds of the college campus. They include photographs of the campus; the
Olivo and Parodi family gatherings on the campus grounds; and a poetry
reading by the Chicano poet and activist Alurista (Alberto Baltazar Urista
Heredia) at the Colegio.