A
quarter-million-dollar donation has made possible the establishment of the
Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center at Adams State University’s Luther Bean
Museum, as well as a scholarship fund. The gift was announced and naming of the
Center approved by the Adams State Board of Trustees at its regular meeting,
Feb. 18, held in Denver.
"We are
excited to host this center, which will be dedicated to the study and
preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the Rio Grande and its
tributaries in Colorado," said Adams State President Beverlee J. McClure.
"The Salazar family have long been staunch, active supporters of Adams
State. This extremely generous gift will produce benefits that will extend well
beyond the university and help expand the presence of the Luther Bean
Museum."
Adams State
Trustee LeRoy Salazar explained the rationale for establishment of the Center:
"Culture and history form a part of the identity of a community. The Rio
Grande del Norte Center will help to preserve the rich cultural heritage of our
area."
Artifacts,
internships and outreach
The Salazar Rio
Grande del Norte Center will be housed in the Luther Bean Museum’s second floor
mezzanine in Richardson Hall, the oldest structure on Adams State’s campus.
Established in 1976, the museum houses collections that represent the history
of the San Luis Valley and its Native American, Hispaño, and Anglo cultures.
Key to the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center will be creation of internships
for students in a range of disciplines. A web site and virtual gallery will promote
opportunities for study and research by faculty, researchers, students, and the
public, not only locally, but also nationally and internationally. Both the
physical and virtual center will be available to the public by next January.
Plans also call for partnering with area groups that promote the center’s
ideals, such as the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, Hilos Culturales,
Regional BOCES, and the ASU Archeology Field School.
The center will
house artifacts that reflect the rich history and archaeology of the Rio Grande
in Colorado. This ranges from the ancient history of Native Americans in the
Rio Grande gorge to exploration from Santa Fe into the San Luis Valley that
began in the 1700s, and the first settlements in Colorado, begun immediately
after the Mexican-American War in 1848.
"It is great
to have this legacy in place to recognize those who settled the upper Rio
Grande area," said Arnold Salazar, chair of the trustees. "The valley
has a lot of proud heritages, and I want to use the Salazar Center as a jumping
off point to preserve and share them all. This is what draws a community
together." He added the Salazar family has made a commitment to continue
fundraising to build an endowment that will support the center into the future.
Salazars support
power of education
The Salazars
continue to farm and ranch in the San Luis Valley, where their ancestors were
among the first settlers. The family designated the gift following the January
death of the Salazar family matriarch, Emma Salazar. The $250,000 donation
includes a $100,000 contribution to the Emma & Henry Salazar Memorial
Scholarship Fund for first generation Adams State students, which was recently
established by the family. An additional $100,000 will fund development of the
Salazar Center. Center start-up, internships, and museum operations will be
supported by the remaining $50,000.
LeRoy Salazar
said, "This scholarship fund is meant to support our parents’ belief in
the power of education to help change the world for the better. My mother and
father were not able to go to college, but their expectation was for all of us
to obtain a college education, and all eight children did."
Also among Emma
and Henry Salazar’s children is former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken
Salazar. He also served as Colorado’s Attorney General and then as a U.S.
Senator for Colorado. Their son John Salazar, former Commissioner of the
Colorado Department of Agriculture and former U.S. representative from
Colorado, is a 1982 graduate of Adams State. Other family members are Adams
State alumni, as well.
