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UW–Madison symposium will trace five decades of Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies
A two-day campus gathering Oct. 16-17 will mark 50 years since student activism led UW–Madison to establish its Chicano Studies Program. The free event will bring founders, alumni, students and community partners together for panels, an exhibit and a keynote by UCLA poet Rafael Pérez-Torres.
Fifty years after student organizers pressed UW–Madison to create a program focused on Chicanx/e and Latinx/e histories and experiences, the university will mark the anniversary with a public symposium on campus Oct. 16-17.
Titled “Desde 1976: Education, Culture, and Community,” the gathering at Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall will bring together program founders, alumni, faculty, students and community partners to reflect on five decades of teaching, scholarship and community engagement.
Students began organizing in 1972, seeking greater representation and academic attention for Chicanx/e and Latinx/e communities at the university. Their efforts included lobbying and protests, and UW–Madison established its Chicano Studies Program in 1976, said Hope Kelham, the program’s communications specialist.
“It was really students organizing and lobbying and basically just protesting until they were heard,” Kelham said.
The movement was part of a broader push for ethnic studies on college campuses, following the establishment of African American Studies at UW–Madison in 1969.
Friday’s program will open with an exhibit on the program’s history and a panel featuring some of its founders. The exhibit will include a 76-page booklet documenting student activism, community work, faculty research and scholarship.
Saturday’s panels will cover the program’s contributions and the experiences of current students and alumni. Graduates have pursued careers in fields including law, health, education and entertainment. Pérez-Torres, a poet and scholar at UCLA, will deliver the keynote on Chicanx poetry and dramatic poetry. The day will close with a reception featuring the Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Band.
The anniversary program will also host a discussion on comparative racialization on Monday, Oct. 19, with scholars whose work examines divisions among racial and ethnic groups.
The events are free and open to the public, but organizers are asking attendees to register online to help estimate food needs. The program is also launching a “50 to 50” campaign, aiming to raise $50,000 in 2026 to support its next 50 years.
Kelham said the anniversary is an opportunity to make the program’s history and the activism behind its creation accessible to current students and the wider community.