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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
![]() A Guide to the Arcadia Lopez Papers, 1910s-2003
BiographicalArcadia Hernandez Lopez was born December 21, 1909, in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She was a refugee from the Mexican Revolution, and came to live with her family on the West Side of San Antonio. At age 7, not knowing English, she entered school and although there was a language barrier, she never gave up and eventually overcame it. She graduated high school and went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education from Our Lady of the Lake University. She went on to earn her Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in education and a Doctorate from Nova University in Florida. She became one of Texas’s first bilingual education teachers and spent more than 40 years as a bilingual education teacher and as the supervisor and coordinator of bilingual programs at the San Antonio Independent School District. After her retirement she joined Our Lady of the Lake University as director of its bilingual training program. Lopez authored her biography, "Barrio Teacher."It tells her story of escaping the Mexican Revolution, coping with the confusion of immigration and living through the Great Depression. Having difficulties brought on by language barriers in the classroom, Lopez dedicated her life to bilingual education. Throughout her career she was recognized for her dedication to education and received numerous awards, including the Ford Salute to Education and San Antonio Light’s Woman of the Year Award. She was also inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame. Arcadia Lopez was married but had no children. Her husband was a World War II veteran and small-businessman. She died January 16, 2007 at the age of 97. At her death she donated $700,000 to UTSA, establishing the UTSA Arcadia Lopez Endowed Scholarship fund to be used for scholarships in bilingual education. UTSA College of Education and Human Development created "A Tribute to Arcadia H. Lopez Ph.D." DVD (produced by UTSA Center for Distance Learned and Academic Technology) in 2007. See Archives and Special Collections staff for access to this DVD. Sources: UTSA Today website - http://www.utsa.edu/today/2007/10/lopez.cfm, My SA website - http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA100407_01A_Bilingual_13796b098_html5011.html, and Texas Legislature Online - http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/SR00153F.htm Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThe collection spans the years 1910s-2003 and contains albums of photographs, clippings, and cards; a datebook; Margil yearbook from 1920 from Our Lady of the Lake University; scrapbooks documenting her life, travels and career, consist of photographs, clippings, certificates, and various cards; a distinguished service award; and Santitos. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThis collection is housed at UTSA's Main Campus and must be accessed via the John Peace Library Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use the Collections Request Form. Use RestrictionsThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents Related Materials
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred Citation[Identification of item], Arcadia Lopez Papers, MS 234, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. Acquisition InformationDonation from Dr. Robert Milk in December 2009 (Acc. 2009-066). Processing InformationEncoded and described by Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, January 2010. Processed by Nikki Lynn Thomas, Manuscripts Curator, March 2010. Return to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Collection
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