Cosechando Sueños: Cultivating a Diverse Future in Space
Join MSU Denver and the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies for an inspiring day at the 2024 Richard T. and Virginia M. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship on Tuesday, October 8. This year’s Castro Professor, José Hernández, a former NASA astronaut and accomplished author, will be headlining a series of engaging events. Don’t miss the chance to hear his extraordinary journey from migrant farmworker to space explorer. These events, held at Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus, are open to all MSU Denver students, faculty, staff, and the broader community.
José M. Hernández
José M. Hernández, a former migrant farmworker, was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004. He flew as a flight engineer on the 2009 STS-128 mission aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Before his astronaut career, José worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, contributing to significant advancements in space technology and medical imaging. He has authored several books, including his autobiography, “Reaching for the Stars,” and now runs Tierra Luna Engineering, focusing on aerospace technologies and renewable energies.
Richard T. and Virginia M. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship
Originally started as the Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship was initiated in 1997 to foster multiculturalism, diversity, and academic excellence at Metropolitan State University of Denver. In 2021 the name changed to Richard T. and Virginia M. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship to recognize the labor and passion that Virginia Castro brought to the Chicano movement in Denver with Richard. The professorship brings renowned Latinx scholars, artists, and leaders of distinction to MSU Denver to conduct classes, seminars, performances, and lectures for students, faculty, staff, and the larger Denver community.
About Richard T. Castro
Richard T. Castro (1946-1991), an educational and civil rights activist, was one of Colorado’s true champions of disenfranchised communities. From a young street social worker in the early 1970s to executive director of Denver’s civil rights agency, Castro was known as a fighter for human justice and dignity. At 25, Castro became one of the youngest lawmakers ever elected to the House of Representatives, a post he held for five terms. Castro led many struggles for social justice, including opposition to English-only legislation. He was a leading spokesperson in the debate on Mexican immigration. A bust commemorating Castro, sculpted by noted Denver artist Emanuel Martinez, sits in the rotunda of the state capitol.
An Activist at MSU Denver
Castro was an early instructor in what would become the Chicana/o Studies Department at MSU Denver. He was an outspoken leader on the importance of education to meet the needs of a culturally diverse population.
A Denver native, Castro received his bachelor’s degree from MSU Denver and his master’s degree in community organization from the University of Denver. While working his way through DU, he taught part-time at MSU Denver and was a youth counselor. He was a student activist with such organizations as the Displaced Aurarians and the United Farm Workers. During that time, Castro was arrested after intervening when police allegedly beat a Latino youth. The incident sparked an intense awareness of relations between the police and the Latino population. Throughout this incident and others like it, Castro advocated change through education and politics, rather than violence.
Castro once said, “Education’s role in our society cannot be minimized…It is quite probably the most critical investment a people can make.”
The Richard T. Castro Professorship illustrates how MSU Denver continues to build on its multicultural heritage and commitment to diversity. MSU Denver enrolls the highest number of students of color of all the four-year colleges and universities in the state.
The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Becoming an HSI was a 12-year initiative that started in 2007 leading to Metropolitan State University of Denver receiving designation during the Spring of 2019. MSU Denver aspires to become a model Hispanic-Serving Institution by creating and sustaining initiatives that support students as they achieve their academic goals and prepare for their careers.