Camille Guérin-Gonzales, a former UW-Madison professor who focused her teaching and research on Chicano and Latino history and social movements, passed away at age 70 Feb. 24 after more than a year-long battle with cancer.
Colleague Karma Chávez said Guérin-Gonzales’ love for Chicano culture and her passions for history and labor brought the two co-workers together.
“She was very passionate about getting other Chicanos and Latinos opportunities to succeed in this institution,” Chávez said. “She was always someone who really brought scholarship together with a mind for social justice.”
In 2003, Guérin-Gonzales became the director of what is now the Chican@ and Latin@ Studies program. She spearheaded its redesign, helping to recruit new faculty and increase the number of students in the program by 250 percent.
UW-Madison student Sergio Gonzalez said Guérin-Gonzales’ courses were the perfect way to finish an undergraduate career. He added that the professor helped convince him to return to school for a graduate program, where she served as his advisor until her retirement.
“She pushed really strong to solidify that program and give students of color a voice on campus, to show that their history and their culture was preserved and celebrated here,” Gonzalez said. “I know that the Chican@ and Latin@ Studies program on campus right now is what it is because of the work that she did in the last 10 years.”
Chávez said Guérin-Gonzales was known nationally as a mentor for Chicano and Latino studies students and for contributing to the success of many cultural organizations across the country.
“It’s not just a loss for UW-Madison,” Chávez said. “It’s really a loss in a much broader sense.”
