THOMAS RIVERA CENTER

The Thomas Rivera Center is a national institute for policy studies. Its mission is to help government and corporate decision makers develop and implement policies and programs to improve the socioeconomic and educational status of the Mexican-origin and the larger Latino population of the United States. To carry out this mission, the Center conducts studies, produces reports, distributes information and promotes discussion of the vital issues and challenges facing Latinos.

The Center is specifically interested in identifying policies and programs that improve the quality of education, employment, and human services available to Latinos, that create better economic opportunities for the Latino community, and that increase Latino participation in the governace of American institutions.

Chartered as an independent, non-profit corporation, the Tomas Rivera Center is governed by an elected Board of Trustees and an appointed president. The Center is affiliated with the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California, and with Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

The work of the Thomas Rivera Center is carried out by researchers based in Universities throughout the United States and by staff located in the Center's headquarters in Claremont, California, and in its Texas office in San Antonio. Current major initiatives include a project on the supply and preparation of Latino teachers, a program to empower Latino academics, and a policy research project on the economy of the Latino community in San Antonio.

To inform those persons who are developing policies and programs that affect Latinos, the Center produces and distributes publications on critical policy issues. These publications fall into three categories:

• sourcebooks (statistical data)
• reports (research and analyisis)
• executive summaries (discussion and recommendations).

The Center began operating in January 1985 with the support of major grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and The Times Mirror Foundation. Its Texas Foundation is supported by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the United Services Automotive Association of San Antonio. In addition, the Center receives generous support from corporations, foundations and individuals throughout the United States.

Recent Major Publications

• Hispanic Colorado: A Sourcebook for Policy-making (1989) 93 pp.
• Hispanic Texas: A Sourcebook for Policy-making (1989) 123 pp.
• One Voice, One Future. Executive Summary of the Los Angeles County Latino Assessment Study (1989) 24pp.