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CSUN’s Acuña, regarded as a ‘founding father’ of Chicano Studies, dies at 93

March 24, 2026

Cal State Northridge professor Rodolfo “Rudy” Acuña, regarded as a “founding father” in the field of Chicano Studies in America, has died, the university announced. He was 93.

Acuña was founder of CSUN’s Department of Chicano and Chicana Studies, a leading voice among Chicano educators nationwide and an busy activist for social justice. He taught at the university for more than 40 years.

No cause of death was provided. Funeral plans are pending.

Acuña was a prolific writer of essays, reviews, academic texts and children’s books. His 1972 book “Occupied America: The Chicano Struggle Toward Liberation” is one of the seminal works of the Latino political movement.

The book inspired Eva Longoria to enroll at CSUN for her master’s degree in Chicana/o Studies while she was starring on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” according to the university.

Rudy AcuÃ±a at California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles, California, February 3, 2016. (Photo by Lee Choo/ CSUN)

“We are indebted to his many contributions and will forever carry with us the many lessons learned,” Gabriel Gutierrez, current chair of the department, posted on Facebook. “¡Dr. Rodolfo Acuña, Presente!”

“Dr. Acuña opened a door through which many many have followed,” said a social media post from Wendy Carrillo, who served in the state Assembly from 2017 to 2024 and is running for state Senate. “He showed us a world that that could be and he made it happen.”

Social media tributes were plentiful on Tuesday as Acuña’s fellow educators and former students memorialized the educator.

“I had the honor of knowing him not just as a professor, but as a mentor during my time as the national student representative for NACCS,” one former student wrote. “I’ll never forget the evening in San Antonio when he and a few other professors treated us to dinner; he had the whole table laughing with his stories. It was in those types of moments that he made us feel like part of the professional community, not just students. While he will be deeply missed, his legacy lives on in every one of us fortunate enough to have crossed his path.”

Said another: “Rudy Acuña didn’t just teach Chicano Studies — he was the key architect in building it. He challenged power, told our stories, and helped generations of students see themselves in history.”

Rudy Acuna's 1972 book "Occupied America: The Chicano Struggle Toward Liberation" is one of the seminal works of the Latino political movement. Photo: Amazon — Rudy Acuna’s 1972 book “Occupied America: The Chicano Struggle Toward Liberation” is one of the seminal works of the Latino political movement. Photo: Amazon

Acuña was born in Boyle Heights in 1932 and grew up not far away. Acuña received a bachelor’s degree in 1957 and a master’s degree in 1962 from what is now Cal State Los Angeles and a doctorate in Latin American studies from USC in 1968.

He got his start as an educator teaching at San Fernando High before moving on to Los Angeles’ Cleveland High and L.A. Pierce College.

In 1992, Acuña sued UC Santa Barbara after a faculty review panel rejected his application for a senior professorship at the school, claiming racial bias. A jury found that he was discriminated against because of his age and he was awarded $325,000, which he used to create a foundation to help people who faced employment bias.

Three of his books earned the Gustavus Myers Award for the Outstanding Book on Race Relations in North America. Acuña has also received the National Hispanic Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics Historian of the Lions Award, among others.

“He has mentored thousands of students and faculty who today have become significant contributors to U.S. society and the hemisphere for that matter,” said Gutierrez said of Acuna earlier this year.

Acuña wrote, according to Gutierrez, more than 40 course proposals to establish a curricula for the department in in its formative days.

Other books included “Sometimes There is No Other Side: Essays on Truth and Objectivity,” “Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles,” “US Latinos: An Inquiry,” and “The Sonoran Strongman.”

Acuña was honored with many tributes and awards during his career.

Acuña received the National Hispanic Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics’ Historian of the Lions Award, among others.

Just this month, CSUN announced that he had been selected for the John Hope Franklin Award.

According to the university, the award was created in 2004 by Diverse Issues in Higher Education to honor the memory of Franklin, an educator, historian, writer and civil rights pioneer.

Acuña said he was particularly moved by this honor.

“He was a giant,” Acuña said, describing Franklin, whom he heard speak during the 1960s, when he was pursuing his doctorate degree. “At the time, he was the best-known black historian in the country. The way he came in and carried himself, he was such a figure.”

Until recently, according to the CSUN website, Acuña was still writing and teaching classes at the department he founded in 1969.

“You become like a grandfather and look at the kids, and you take pride in them,” Acuña said earlier this year in a post on the CSUN website. “Life has been good to me, and I have to give back. That’s about it.”

City News Service contributed to this report

CSUN’s Acuña, regarded as a ‘founding father’ of Chicano Studies, dies at 93 Orange County Register

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CSUN’s Acuña, regarded as a ‘founding father’ of Chicano Studies, dies at 93

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