The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities established the HACU Hall of Champions to honor those who embody the mission of the Association through exemplary efforts “To Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education.” The 2012 HACU Hall of Champions inductee was Tomás A. Arciniega, Ph.D., who was honored on October 22, 2012, during HACU’s 26th Annual Conference.
Tomás Arciniega served as president of California State University, Bakersfield, and was its longest serving president with 21 years of leadership. At the time of his appointment, he was one of only seven Latinos to ever have served as a university president. Arciniega served on the HACU Governing Board from 1994 to 2000 and again from 2003 to 2011, including as chair from 1996 to 1997.
Arciniega served as a professor of educational administration at The University of Texas at El Paso, dean of education at San Diego State University, and provost at California State University, Fresno.
He was a presidential appointee to the National Council on Education Research and served as a board member for the Aspen Institute, Air University, ETS, and the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund. He was a founding member of the board of trustees for the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at Claremont Colleges, and a past president of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Arciniega earned a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
