Lauro Cavazos

{{Short description|American educator and politician (1927–2022)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Lauro Cavazos

| image = Cavazos.jpg

| order = 4th

| office = United States Secretary of Education

| president = Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush

| term_start = September 20, 1988

| term_end = December 12, 1990

| predecessor = William Bennett

| successor = Lamar Alexander

| office2 = 10th President of Texas Tech University

| term_start2 = 1980

| term_end2 = 1988

| predecessor2 = Lawrence Graves (interim)

| successor2 = Robert W. Lawless

| birth_name = Lauro Fred Cavazos

| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|1|4}}

| birth_place = Kingsville, Texas, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|3|15|1927|1|4}}

| death_place = Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.

| party = Democratic

| mother = Tomasa (Quintanilla) Cavazos{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}{{r|Cavazos_20080219}}

| father = Lauro F. Cavazos Sr.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}{{r|Cavazos_20080219}}

| relatives = {{ubl|descendant of Francita Alavez{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}{{r|Cavazos_20080219|page=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/18/ 18]}}|Richard E. Cavazos (brother)}}

| spouse = Peggy Ann Murdock{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}

| children = 10

| education = {{ubl|Texas Tech University (BS, MS)|Iowa State University (PhD)}}

| allegiance = United States{{r|Cavazos_20080219|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/112 112]}}

| branch = United States Army{{r|Cavazos_20080219|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/112 112]}}

| serviceyears = {{Start date|1944}}{{mdash}}{{end date|1946}}{{r|Cavazos_20080219|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/112 112]}}

| rank =

| unit =

| commands =

}}

Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. (January 4, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American educator and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Education, and was the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet.

Early life and education

A sixth-generation Texan, Cavazos was born on the King Ranch near Kingsville, Texas, and was the son of Lauro F. Cavazos Sr. and Tomasa (Quintanilla) Cavazos.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}} His father served as foreman of the showcase Santa Gertrudis cattle division.{{r|Ezzell_19800214|page=[https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth184157/m1/19/ 19]}} Through his maternal ancestry, he was a descendant of Texas Revolution heroine Francita Alavez, the "Angel of Goliad".{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}

Cavazos enlisted the United States Army in 1944{{r|Cavazos_20080219|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/112 112]}} and served state-side in an infantry unit in the waning days of World War II.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}} He was the brother of U.S. Army General Richard E. Cavazos.{{r|Williams_20131118}}

Shortly after his discharge from the Army, Cavazos enrolled at Texas College of Arts and Industries (currently Texas A&M University–Kingsville), majoring in journalism.{{r|Cavazos_20080219|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/113 113-114]}} He later transferred to Texas Technological College (currently Texas Tech University) where he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in zoology,{{r|LaVentana_1949|p=54}}. He later earned a Ph.D. in physiology in 1954 from Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2006/apr/best.shtml|title=Iowa State University alumni, friends to receive top awards April 20|date=April 17, 2006|website=Iowa State University|language=en-us|access-date=November 21, 2018}} While in college, he was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Career

Following a stint on the faculties of Tufts University and the Medical College of Virginia, Cavazos served as Dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine from 1975 to 1980.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}} From 1980 to 1988, he served as President of Texas Tech University.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}

A Democrat, Cavazos served as Secretary of Education from August 1988 to December 1990 during the Republican Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. He was confirmed by the Senate in a 94-0 vote.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}} He resigned in December 1990.

Following his resignation as Secretary of Education, he returned to the faculty of Tufts University where he served as Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine.{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}

= Awards =

In 2006, his alma mater Iowa State University awarded him the Distinguished Achievement Award, their highest honors.

Personal life

Cavazos was married to the former Peggy Ann Murdock; they had ten children and lived in Massachusetts. He died in Concord, Massachusetts, on March 15, 2022, at the age of 95.{{r|Driggars_20220316}}{{r|NYT_McFadden_20220316}}

Bibliography

{{cite book | last1 = Cavazos | first1 = Lauro F. | author-mask1 = 1 | date = 2008-02-19 | title = A Kineño Remembers: From the King Ranch to the White House | url = https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/ | url-access = registration | language = en | publisher = Texas A&M University Press | pages = 113–114 | isbn = 978-1603440448 | lccn = 2005034155 | oclc = 62509065 | ol = OL37108732M | access-date = 2023-03-28 | df = dmy-all }}
{{cite book | last1 = Cavazos | first1 = Lauro F. | last2 = Preuss | first2 = Gene B. | author-mask1 = 1 | date = 2016-06-06 | title = A Kineño's Journey: On Family, Learning, and Public Service | language = en | publisher = Texas Tech University Press | isbn = 978-0896729681 | lccn = 2016017176 | oclc = 951172368 | ol = OL29322303M | df = dmy-all }}

References

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite news | last1 = Williams | first1 = Don | date = 2013-11-18 | title = Bobby Cavazos, son of the King Ranch, Tech all-American, dies at 82 | url = https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/football/2013/11/18/bobby-cavazos-son-king-ranch-tech-all-american-dies/15065938007/ | url-status = live | url-access = limited | work = Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | language = en-us | eissn = 2331-6357 | issn = 2331-6349 | lccn = sn86088055 | oclc = 13942131 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230328120551/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/football/2013/11/18/bobby-cavazos-son-king-ranch-tech-all-american-dies/15065938007/ | archive-date = 2023-03-28 | access-date = 2023-03-28 | quote = Bobby Cavazos was a brother of former Tech President Lauro Cavazos and four-star U.S. Army Gen. Richard Cavazos. Their father, Lauro Sr., was a King Ranch foreman. | df = dmy-all }}

{{cite book | last1 = Cavazos | first1 = Lauro F. | author-mask1 = 1 | date = 2008-02-19 | chapter = Chapter 5: The Road from Kingsville | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/page/112/ | chapter-url-access = registration | title = A Kineño Remembers: From the King Ranch to the White House | url = https://archive.org/details/kinenoremembersf00cava/ | url-access = registration | language = en | publisher = Texas A&M University Press | pages = 113–114 | isbn = 978-1603440448 | lccn = 2005034155 | oclc = 62509065 | ol = OL37108732M | access-date = 2023-03-28 | df = dmy-all }}

{{cite news | last1 = Ezzell | first1 = Ben | last2 = Ezzell | first2 = Nancy | date = 1980-02-14 | title = Texas Tech to install president April 15 | url = https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth184157/m1/19/ | work = The Canadian Record | language = en-us | volume = 91 | issue = 7 | edition = 1 | location = Canadian, Texas | page = 19 | eissn = 2834-2054 | issn = 2834-2046 | oclc = 14062638 | via = University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History | access-date = 2023-03-28 | df = dmy-all }}

{{cite book | author = | editor-last1 = Williams | editor-first1 = Bob | editor-last2 = Thompson | editor-first2 = Jayne | date = 1949 | title = La Ventana | language = en-us | volume = 24 | location = Lubbock, Texas | publisher = Texas Tech University | page = 54 | hdl = 2346/48689 | hdl-access = free | quote = Larry Cavazos ... Kingsville | df = dmy-all }}

{{cite news | last1 = Driggars | first1 = Alex | date = 2022-03-16 | title = A Texas Tech trailblazer: Former University President, Cabinet Secretary Lauro Cavazos dies at 95 | url = https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/2022/03/16/former-texas-tech-president-lauro-cavazos-dies-95/7064794001/ | url-status = live | url-access = limited | work = Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | language = en-us | eissn = 2331-6357 | issn = 2331-6349 | lccn = sn86088055 | oclc = 13942131 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230328133631/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/2022/03/16/former-texas-tech-president-lauro-cavazos-dies-95/7064794001/ | archive-date = 2023-03-28 | access-date = 2023-03-28 | quote = Lauro F. Cavazos, Jr., a pioneering education administrator who served as the first Mexican-American president of Texas Tech University and the first Hispanic person to hold a U.S. Cabinet position, died Tuesday in Concord, Massachusetts. [...] He was 95 years old. | df = dmy-all }}

{{cite news | last1 = McFadden | first1 = Robert D. | author-link1 = Robert D. McFadden | last2 = Sandoval | first2 = Edgar | last3 = Traub | first3 = Alex | date = 2022-03-16 | title = Lauro Cavazos, First Hispanic Cabinet Member, Dies at 95 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/lauro-cavazos-dead.html | url-status = live | url-access = subscription | work = The New York Times | language = en-us | eissn = 1553-8095 | issn = 0362-4331 | lccn = sn00061556 | oclc = 1645522 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230305230108/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/lauro-cavazos-dead.html | archive-date = 2023-03-05 | access-date = 2023-03-28 | quote = Lauro Cavazos, the United States secretary of education from 1988 to 1990 under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and the nation's first Latino to serve in a cabinet post, died on Tuesday at his home in Concord, Mass. He was 95. | df = dmy-all }}

}}

External links

[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00035/tsw-00035.html Lauro F. Cavazos papers (Texas Tech Archives)]
[http://www.answers.com/topic/lauro-cavazos Answers.com-Lauro Cavazos]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050121044516/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,973018,00.html "Cancel Our Reservations" - Time Magazine article regarding use of frequent flier miles]
{{C-SPAN|3749}}

{{s-ttl|title=United States Secretary of Education|years=1988–1990}}

{{succession box | before = Lawrence Graves
{{nobold|Interim}} | title = President of Texas Tech University | years = 1980–1988| after = Robert W. Lawless}}

Category:1927 births

Category:2022 deaths

Category:Academics from Boston

Category:Academics from Texas

Category:American academics of Mexican descent

Category:American politicians of Mexican descent

Category:George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members

Category:Hispanic and Latino American members of the Cabinet of the United States

Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in Massachusetts politics

Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in Texas politics

Category:Iowa State University alumni

Category:Massachusetts Democrats