Luis Leobardo Arroyo
Luis Arroyo 
Professor & Chair
FO3-308
985-4640
Doctor Luis Leobardo Arroyo is Professor and Chair of the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies at California State University Long Beach. Before going to CSULB in  August 1995, he worked at several other Universities. At the University of California at Davis, Dr. Arroyo taught
history and established a major in Chicano Studies with emphasis in the social sciences. At Stanford University, he taught history and directed the Program on Mexican Culture Studies in the United States. At Humboldt State University, he was the first chairman of the  department of Ethnic
Studies. In addition to teaching, Dr. Arroyo has also been a faculty advisor to numerous student organizations, including Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan.

Dr. Arroyo is the oldest of three sons. His brother Manuel is a doctor, practicing family medicine; his youngest brother Ruben is a factory worker. They grew up in Pacoima in Los Angeles, County, which was also the home of 1950's rock and roll star Richie Valens (Ricardo Valenzuela), the subject of the recent movie "La Bamba."

Dr. Arroyo's mother Nellie was born in Pueblo, Colorado, and raised in Porterville in the San Joaquin Valley of California. After the death of her father, she left school (having finished the sixth grade)  to work in the fields and canneries in order to help support her family. Dr.Arroyo's father Leobardo was born in Ciudad Juarez and raised in Mexico City. After the death of his father, he left school (after completing the third grade) in order to help support his family. During World War II, Leobardo migrated to the United States as a bracero. With the end of World War II, Leobardo and Nellie married and moved to Los Angeles County. Leobardo found employment as a laborer in a clay and pipe factory; he later worked for nearly two decades as a custodian in a General Motors car plant. Nellie worked cleaning newly-built houses in the San Fernando Valley for several years and then worked as a merchandise marker for nearly a decade. Thanks to their hard work, sacrifice, and encouragement, Luis and his brothers developed a love for learning and excelled in public schools.

At the University of California at Santa Barbara, Dr. Arroyo received the B.A. degree in Philosophy and then the M.A. degree in Modern European and Latin American history. He earned the Ph.D. in United States history at the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Arroyo has written many articles and books on the history of Mexican workers in the United States.

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