Building namesakes opened doors for so many
The new name for the School of Education’s renovated building honors the rich legacies of two pioneers in education who have transformed educational practices and advanced equity and justice: Ofelia Miramontes and Leonard Baca.
Last year, the CU Boulder School of Education embarked on an historic opportunity to rename its new campus home. A committee of alumni, students, donors, staff and faculty thoughtfully reviewed around 40 submissions to select the building’s new name, the Ofelia Miramontes and Leonard Baca Education Building.
“The name has so much meaning for our school,” said Dean Kathy Schultz. “As mentors, leaders and teachers, Ofelia and Leonard opened doors for countless educators and students of color, modeling new ways of being scholars and activists that remain important to us all.”
The name was approved by the Board of Regents and new signage installed earlier this year. As students repeatedly hear and see the Miramontes Baca name—from classes to course schedules or homecoming events—they will be reminded of the compassionate mentorship and progressive scholarship that Miramontes and Baca, and those who followed, represent.
Ofelia Miramontes was a beloved and respected professor and a pioneering bilingual education scholar. She grew up in San Diego, California, where she developed the first federally funded bilingual education program for the city. In Colorado, she was instrumental in creating bilingual programs at elementary schools.
Miramontes was CU Boulder’s first Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, long before many other higher education institutions had elevated such critical work. She created the CU-LEAD Alliance and an undergraduate scholarship program for first-generation college students and students of color. After her passing, a fellowship program for historically underrepresented education doctoral students was established in her name.
Miramontes’ legacy lives on through the students, educators and communities who have benefited from her research, mentorship and leadership. Her vision embodied and exemplified justice principles in ways that continue to enrich and influence the School of Education and campus perspectives today.
Diverse nominations of Leonard Baca painted a beautiful picture of a well-regarded researcher in the field that he initiated, earning him the title of “father of bilingual special education.” The area addresses the overrepresentation of emergent bilingual children in special education classes as well as misunderstandings of the differences between language and learning issues.
Baca, who grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, co-authored the seminal textbook, “The Bilingual Special Education Interface,” which has been touted as the central work at the nexus of bilingual and special education. He was hired as an assistant professor in 1974, and the following year, he conceptualized and created the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, the School of Education’s first research center.
In the decades that followed, Baca and the BUENO Center generated over $100 million in grants and created critical programs to support educators and provide access to education for students from historically marginalized communities seeking GEDs to PhDs.
Don’t take our word for it: Miramontes and Baca through the eyes of some of their beneficiaries
"Dr. Ofelia Miramontes had a positive impact in my personal and professional life as my PhD advisor. From the first meeting to the day of my dissertation defense, Dr. Miramontes was there as my support system and as the professor who would do everything she could to make sure I finished and defended my dissertation. Dr. Miramontes was my ‘wind beneath my wings.’ Without her unconditional support throughout the doctoral program, I would not have received my doctoral degree."
— Martha Loera-Olivas (PhdEdu’03)
“Dr. Baca's life work [la obra] has been to transform bilingual special education as a catalyst for changing education for all students. Dr. Baca manifests the commitment and passion demonstrated when research and praxis are combined.”
— David Rutledge (PhDEdu’02)
“I can't think of a better representation of equality and diversity in education than the life Ofelia Miramontes led.”
— Deborah Wolf Connell (MAEdu’89)
“Dr. Leonard Baca's influence on the educational landscape continues to impact the education of cultural and linguistically diverse populations, especially those with learning needs. Not only has he been referred to as the ‘Godfather of Bilingual Education,’ he is the creator of Bilingual Special Education. On a more personal note, he created a space for undergraduate and graduate students of color like myself that became a second home away from home.”
— Robert Garcia (MAEdu'08), BUENO CAMP director
“For many years, Ofelia taught bilingual education and special education; supported and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students, especially students of color; and published major books and articles in this critical field. She led the school's efforts to diversify its students, faculty and staff. Later, Ofelia moved to the Chancellor's Office, where she jump-started campus efforts to increase diversity and equity throughout CU Boulder. Ofelia embodied diversity and equity and acted on these principles in ways that truly broadened and enriched both the School of Education as well as campus life and perspectives.”
— Margaret Eisenhart, professor emerita
“Dr. Baca’s vision was that equity and access to increase student diversity could be accomplished without closing doors to anyone… Since its inception, the center has aspired to open doors, develop innovative programs, conduct research, and increase educational opportunities for diverse communities who have historically been excluded from opportunity and access to formal education.”
— Kathy Escamilla, professor emerita
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