Guide to the Tomás Rivera Archive
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf6r29p0kq No online items Guide to the Tomás Rivera archive Compiled by Armando M. Martinez; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services Special Collections & Archives The UCR Libraries P.O. Box 5900 University of California Riverside, California 92517-5900 Phone: 951-827-3233 Fax: 951-827-4673 Email: [email protected] URL: http://library.ucr.edu/view/collections/spcol © 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Guide to the Tomás Rivera 253 1 archive Descriptive Summary Title: Tomás Rivera archive Date (inclusive): circa 1954-1984, undated Date (bulk): 1970-1980 Collection Number: 253 Creator: Rivera, Tomás Extent: 82.5 linear feet (198 document boxes) Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department. Riverside, California 92517-5900 Abstract: Tomás Rivera was born on December 22, 1935 in Crystal City, Texas. Rising from humble beginnings as the son of Mexican migrant farm workers, Rivera went to Southwest Texas State University, where he received his B.S. in English Education in 1958. Aiming higher, he returned to Southwest Texas State to get a Master's in Education in 1964 and then, in 1969, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in Romance Literatures. Rivera taught at the university level for many years at various institutions before becoming chancellor at the University of California, Riverside in 1979, the first minority chancellor in the University of California system. He served as chancellor until his untimely death on March 16, 1984. The Tomás Rivera archive contains more than 85,000 items in 198 document boxes (82.5 linear feet) which are divided into five sections: Biographical Works, Literary Manuscripts, Educational Material, Civic Leadership, and Illustrative Material. Folders further subdivide each box. Languages: The collection is in English and Spanish. Access An appointment is required to view this collection. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item]. Tomás Rivera archive, Collection 253. University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives, University of California, Riverside. Acquisition Information His wife, Concepcion Rivera, donated the Tomás Rivera archive. It continues to be added to due to an annual Tomás Rivera Conference, a Tomás Rivera Documentary Project, donations by friends and colleagues, and new publications being written about his life and work. Processing History Compiled by Armando M. Martinez, edited by Clifford R. Wurfel, introduction by Luis Leal, foreword by Eliud Martinez. Completed in 1992. Biography Tomás Rivera was born on December 22, 1935 in Crystal City, Texas. Rising from humble beginnings as the son of Mexican migrant farm workers, Rivera went to Southwest Texas State University, where he received his B.S. in English Education in 1958. He then taught English and Spanish in high school in San Antonio, Crystal City, and League City. Aiming higher, he returned to Southwest Texas State to get a Master's in Education in 1964 and then, in 1969, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in Romance Literatures. From teaching he moved to administration. He began as an Associate Professor of Spanish at Sam Houston State University in 1969; he moved to the University of Texas in San Antonio in 1971 to be a professor of Spanish and Directory of Foreign Languages. Five year later he was Vice President for Administration there, a post he held for two years, at which time he moved to the University of Texas at El Paso to be its Executive Vice President. In 1979, Rivera became Chancellor at UCR, where he served until his untimely death on March 16, 1984. He was survived by his wife, Concepcion; daughters Ileana, Irasema; son, Javier. With diligence and intelligence Rivera overcame the great handicap of his youthful poverty and rose to success through academic achievement. He was a strong proponent of education, as his career in the academic work indicates. He was also a writer and a poet of some note. Writing about the life of migrant workers. Guide to the Tomás Rivera 253 2 archive The University of California Riverside library, which house social science and humanities, was renamed in his honor. It is in the Tomás Rivera Library that the archive is housed. They are administered by UCR Special Collections & Archives and available by appointment only. Contact Special Collections & Archives at 951-827-3233. Collection Scope and Content Summary The Tomás Rivera archive contains more than 85,000 items in 198 document boxes (82.5 linear feet) which are divided into five sections: Biographical Works, Literary Manuscripts, Educational Material, Civic Leadership, and Illustrative Material. Folders further subdivide each box. The Catalog has three indexes: subject, title, and name, which reference the Section, Box and Folder number. The Archive also contains more than 1,000 books from Dr. Rivera's private library. A portion of this collection remains unprocessed. Please contact Special Collections & Archives for additional information regarding this material. Collection Arrangement This collection is organized into five sections and three sub-sections: Section 1. The Biographical Works of Tomás Rivera. Sub-section 1.1. Correspondence of Tomás Rivera. Section 2. The Literary Manuscripts of Tomás Rivera. Sub-section 2.1. Literary Manuscripts of Chicano Writers. Sub-section 2.2. Literary Material of Tomás Rivera. Section 3. The Educational Material of Tomás Rivera. Section 4. The Civic Leadership of Tomás Rivera. Section 5. The Illustrative Material of Tomás Rivera. Foreword Armando M. Martínez, archivist, has brought to completion The Tomás Rivera archive catalog. It was for me a pleasure to witness the stimulating effect on this young scholar of Tomás Rivera documents during the seven-year process of archival work. The Catalog compiled by Armando M. Martínez and edited by Clifford R. Wurfel makes available to international scholars and writers and biographers the systematic order and conceptual coherence of Tomás Rivera's prolific work in countless areas of intellectual and creative endeavor. The Tomás Rivera archive catalog exhibits praiseworthy professional skills, organizational abilities, insight, and a rare enthusiasm--all commensurate with Armando's task as principal archivist. I must emphasize the rare enthusiasm, because it is genuinely sincere. His work is that of a person whose intellectual curiosity has been inspirited and made more insightful by his subject. It is careful, meticulous, and conscientious. The succinct descriptions of the archive contents are clearly written. They compress and at the same time give an ample sense of each of more than 85,000 items in the Tomás Rivera archive. These descriptions, the systematic classification of Tomás Rivera's work, and the Index of the Catalog will be invaluable to scholars. In sum, the Catalog is a scholarly reference work of high caliber. In going over the completed manuscript of The Tomás Rivera archive catalog,I was struck by the staggering amount of correspondence that evinces Tomás' bountiful professional and creative support of others, his unselfishness, and his extraordinary energy. I remember Concha telling me that he used to arrive at the fourth floor of the UC Riverside Administration building at six in the morning. Beginning the workday that early and leaving the office long after five o'clock was a regular pattern in his life. Many persons who wrote letters to Tomás included manuscripts of short stories, novels in progress, poetry collections or anthologies, and scholarly articles and books in various academic disciplines. Requesting that he read, analyze, review, and critique them. And he did. Ponderous in number also, are the requests that he write letters of recommendation for academic positions, merit increases, promotions to full professor, applications to graduate schools. Tomás Rivera responded to these and countless other demands on his time: to serve on various educational and professional committees at national and regional levels, to present papers, to guide people working on dissertations, and to serve as reader and judge on writing competition committees. Professor Luis Leal emphasizes the breadth of Tomás Rivera's influence and predicts that this influence will grow. With the publication of The Tomás Rivera archive catalog,Tomás' influence influence during his lifetime can be assessed, and will grow, in proportion to the discovery of the full range of his historical, philosophical, educational, and artistic thought. This Catalog makes possible many discoveries for interested writers and scholars. It is an excellent guide to the Tomás Rivera archive documents, which permit one to follow the trajectory of the life and the personal vision of a multifaceted creative writer and thinker. Guide to the Tomás Rivera 253 3 archive Documents of the archive show the quality of a mind and literary art that were shaped at a specific moment in American