Mexican American St. Mary’s: Ethnicity and Identity at a Catholic University in San Antonio, Texas, 1927–2000

Abstract: For generations, Mexican American and Latino students, mostly from San Antonio, El Paso, and South Texas border towns, have graduated from St. Mary’s University. Walking a fine line between cultural assimilation and seeking self-defined approaches to integration in U.S. society, activists among them sought a campus cultural and curricular environment that accounted for their traditions and identity. They encountered some religious and lay faculty and staff who recognized their special heritage-related culture and identity, but at the same time, the university remained mostly ambivalent about institutionalizing this diversity into campus life and curricula. As their numbers grew to approximately sixty-five percent in 2000, St. Mary’s eventually took on the designation of a Hispanic Serving Institution. This historical process of acknowledging the importance of ethnicity raises questions about how St. Mary’s University and other Catholic universities with Latino enrollments can holistically educate ethnic Mexican and Latino students in ways that speak to their history, culture, and religious traditions.