Spring Break
Hispanic studies grants awarded
By: Denton Fromme
Issue date: 7/14/05 Section: News
Currently one-third of the population of Texas is Hispanic, and it is estimated that by the year 2030, one-half of the state's population will be Hispanic, said Edward Murguia, founding director of A&M's Mexican American and U.S. Latino Research Center (MALRC). To help improve the lives of Hispanics, the center has recently named its first class of faculty research Fellows.
"The purpose of the center is to encourage research that will improve the lives of Hispanics," Murguia said. "In improving the lives of Hispanics it will improve life in general for the nation."
The 11 fellows from four colleges were awarded developmental grants for research projects involving the Hispanic population and issues such as health, housing and the elderly, Murguia said.
"The purpose of developmental grants is to think about a project and get some background information, then write a grant application for major funding," he said. "What we want is just for professors to direct their research energies to solving problems and issues with the Latino population."
The fellows include professors Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Ann Lessem, Marisol Perez, Marco Portales and Jyotsna Vaid from the College of Liberal Arts; Zulmaris Diaz and Juanita Vargas from the College of Education and Human Development; Frances Gelwick and Cruz Torres from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Carlos Reimers and Cecilia Giusti from the College of Architecture.
Murguia said the center is open not only to Latinos, but to any professor who wants to research an aspect of the Hispanic population.
"It's really the first intercollegiate and interdisciplinary Latino organization on campus," Murguia said.
Ann Lessem, a MALRC Fellow who is researching retirement patterns among the Hispanic population, said the center has been crucial to her research.
"There's no way we could have done this research without their funding it," she said.
Antonio Cepeda-Benito, a Fellow researching computer-based drug prevention programs for Mexican-American children, said the funding will benefit more than just those in the areas being researched.
"The purpose of the center is to encourage research that will improve the lives of Hispanics," Murguia said. "In improving the lives of Hispanics it will improve life in general for the nation."
The 11 fellows from four colleges were awarded developmental grants for research projects involving the Hispanic population and issues such as health, housing and the elderly, Murguia said.
"The purpose of developmental grants is to think about a project and get some background information, then write a grant application for major funding," he said. "What we want is just for professors to direct their research energies to solving problems and issues with the Latino population."
The fellows include professors Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Ann Lessem, Marisol Perez, Marco Portales and Jyotsna Vaid from the College of Liberal Arts; Zulmaris Diaz and Juanita Vargas from the College of Education and Human Development; Frances Gelwick and Cruz Torres from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Carlos Reimers and Cecilia Giusti from the College of Architecture.
Murguia said the center is open not only to Latinos, but to any professor who wants to research an aspect of the Hispanic population.
"It's really the first intercollegiate and interdisciplinary Latino organization on campus," Murguia said.
Ann Lessem, a MALRC Fellow who is researching retirement patterns among the Hispanic population, said the center has been crucial to her research.
"There's no way we could have done this research without their funding it," she said.
Antonio Cepeda-Benito, a Fellow researching computer-based drug prevention programs for Mexican-American children, said the funding will benefit more than just those in the areas being researched.
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