Please join the Institute for the Study of Los Angeles (ISLA) and the Center for Community Based Learning (CCBL) as we host events curated by Visiting Scholar Dr. Vicki Ruiz. This event is sponsored by the Mellon Foundation's Arts & Urban the Experience Grant, Howard & Roberta Ahmanson.
In 1995 Mary Ann Villarreal conducted her first oral history interview. With a list of questions, a cassette recorder, and microphone in hand she met Marisela Norte at the Astro Burger on Beverly Blvd. In between the street noise, she collected a set of moving stories about the places that inspired Norte’s writings. A few years later, Villarreal used both a cassette recorder and digital video camera to capture the oral histories of the women who took center stage in her book Listening to Rosita. Recording them in their 80s, Villarreal captured their voices and for some, performances as they recalled their days in front of audiences. In this talk, Villarreal shares her experiences with using new technologies for her oral histories and translating their significance on the South Texas landscape.
Mary Ann Villarreal supports a dynamic academic community, working to continue the momentum of California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in creating an institutional vision and environment that centers diversity and inclusion in the Cal State Fullerton experience. Since joining CSUF, Villarreal has led the development and implementation of major university initiatives such as the University Strategic Plan (2013-2018; 2018-2023), the Mellon Mays Fellows program, and the President’s Commission on Equity and Inclusion. She also led the expansion of CSUF's Office of First Year Experience (OFYE). The OFYE now serves approximately 500 undeclared first year students as they transition into higher education, and partners with the Global Titan Experience to engage them in study abroad opportunities. Villarreal is an award-winning author for her book Listening to Rosita: The Business of Tejana Music and Culture, 1930–1955. Currently she serves on the AAC&U Board of Directors and American Historical Association Committee in Gender and Equity. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Arizona State University and an A.B. from Mount Holyoke College. Before coming to Cal State Fullerton, Villarreal held faculty positions in Colorado and Utah.
