2009-2010 Academic Year News and Events
The 2009-10 academic year marks a watershed moment for the Ethnic Studies Program at Santa Clara University—its 40th Anniversary! Since its genesis in 1969, the Ethnic Studies Program at Santa Clara University has witnessed both positive and turbulent periods that culminated in subsequent movements such as the peaceful Unity III movement in 1999, which is commemorated in the 40th Anniversary logo to the right.
A great deal of energy envelopes and surrounds the Ethnic Studies Program today. An undergraduate companion
major in Ethnic Studies at Santa Clara University is on the near horizon that will allow Santa Clara students to enhance their primary majors with theoretical and empirical understandings of the intersections of race and ethnicity.Today, in Santa Clara County, over fifty percent of its residents speak a different language besides English. Asian Americans and Latinos comprise of 30.5 percent and 25.7 percent, respectively, of Santa Clara County’s total population and will likely witness greater increases in the 2010 U.S. census. In the state of California, for the first time in our nation’s history, no single racial majority population exists.
To highlight these emerging racial and ethnic issues, the Ethnic Studies Program is proud to celebrate its 40th Anniversary during the 2009-10 academic year with many exciting events, panels, book talks, and film screenings that involve alumni, current students, faculty, and outside speakers.We hope that all of you, alumni and current students, staff, and faculty can join us in this year’s festivities!
Dr. James S. Lai
Director
