A Latino law professor is being remembered for his seminal work advancing civil training and immigration rights, in addition to pushing for extra variety in the legal career and in law colleges throughout the nation.
Michael Olivas, who retired because the William B. Bates distinguished chair of law and director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance on the University of Houston Law Center, died on April 21 on the age of 71 following issues from a blood clot.
Colleagues and legal students from across the nation pointed to his trailblazing work and his legacy forward of a funeral mass and memorial Saturday in his hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico — the place he returned after his retirement.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who occurred to be an in depth good friend of Olivas, gave a eulogy Saturday.
“He personally touched so many lives. Not just here, but all around the globe, including mine,” Grisham stated. “He was a deeply respected scholar, a devoted educator, an insightful mentor and, of course, a beloved husband and family member.”
Olivas left behind a prolific physique of labor preserved in award-winning books and quite a few articles. He was the recipient of prestigious awards, together with the Association of American Law School’s Triennial Award, the best honor a law professor can obtain, and the University of Houston’s Esther Farfel Award.
“As someone who was once a young Hispanic law student, I am particularly touched by stories of his dedication to the matters of young students of color,” Lujan Grisham stated. “What an incredible role model he must have been to learn from and be inspired by.”
Houston lawyer and former Hispanic National Bar Association president Benny Agosto stated Olivas “set an example that regardless of your background, excellence in your work is expected and required.”
“Professor Olivas was a true hero for a lot of us, as he was for many years the only Latino law professor in Houston,” Agosto stated. “Others have come and gone, but he was there as an institution.”
Aside from his scholarship, Olivas was warmly remembered as a mentor to college students, professors and deans.
“So many people in his field, they looked up to him for guidance,” stated Sandra Guerra Thompson, Newell H. Blakely professor of law on the University of Houston’s Law Center and a colleague and good friend of Olivas.
Guerra Thompson recalled how Olivas pushed law colleges to spice up their Latino college after going via registries anticipating to seek out Hispanic law professors however then seeing “there was just nobody out there,” as Olivas had instructed Law.com in 2001.
Few Hispanic law professors have been actively instructing again then, prompting Olivas, with the assist of the Hispanic National Bar Association, to begin the yearly “Dirty Dozen List” stating 12 law colleges across the U.S. that did not make use of a single Hispanic law professor.
Although he took some warmth from the focused colleges, his efforts led to the numerous development and hiring of Hispanic law professors on the establishments, in accordance with Thompson.
“We owe him for this right. This was his vision and his effort and him taking the heat — that made that possible,” Thompson stated.
Olivas helped advance and diversify establishments by reaching out to proficient legal professionals after which coaching many to turn out to be legal counsel at universities or different entities.
Shaping coverage
His work helped form state and nationwide insurance policies on a number of points, together with training and immigration rights.
Olivas served a number of phrases as a board member of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Thomas Saenz, the group’s president and normal counsel, stated Olivas was pivotal in advancing points relating to immigrant youth, together with addressing challenges Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients confronted in acquiring greater training.
“His efforts to collect and disseminate data and information about how those issues were being addressed nationwide were really of incalculable benefit to the broader national community,” Saenz stated.
Saenz stated that state insurance policies that took place from Olivas’ work have been capable of be replicated nationally.
In his spare time, Olivas cultivated a ardour for rock ‘n’ roll that ultimately grew right into a radio present. After he retired from the University of Houston after nearly 4 many years, he grew to become often called the “rock ‘n’ roll law professor” and would talk about legal points affecting the music trade on the airwaves of New Mexico’s Albuquerque Public Radio (KANW).
Saenz stated the easiest way to honor Olivas is by guaranteeing higher illustration of Latinos in the legal career — extra professors, legal professionals and in addition extra Latino judges.
His work, Saenz stated, “was about ensuring inclusion for the growing Latino community in all aspects of American life.”
Nicole Acevedo contributed.