Lauro Cavazos

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Lauro Cavazos
4th United States Secretary of Education
In office
September 20, 1988 – December 12, 1990
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byWilliam Bennett
Succeeded byLamar Alexander
10th President of Texas Tech University
In office
1980–1988
Preceded byLawrence Graves (interim)
Succeeded byRobert W. Lawless
Personal details
Born
Lauro Fred Cavazos

(1927-01-04)January 4, 1927
Kingsville, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 2022(2022-03-15) (aged 95)
Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpousePeggy Ann Murdock[1]
Children10
Parents
  • Lauro F. Cavazos Sr.[1][2] (father)
  • Tomasa (Quintanilla) Cavazos[1][2] (mother)
Relatives
Education
Military service
AllegianceUnited States[2]: 112 
Branch/serviceUnited States Army[2]: 112 
Years of service1944 (1944)—1946 (1946)[2]: 112 

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[edit]

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.[1] His father served as foreman of the showcase Santa Gertrudis cattle division.[3]: 19  Through his maternal ancestry, he was a descendant of Texas Revolution heroine Francita Alavez, the "Angel of Goliad".[1]

Cavazos enlisted the United States Army in 1944[2]: 112  and served state-side in an infantry unit in the waning days of World War II.[1] He was the brother of U.S. Army General Richard E. Cavazos.[4]

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.[2]: 113-114  He later transfers to Texas Technological College (currently Texas Tech University) where he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in zoology,[5]: 54 . He later earned a Ph.D. in physiology in 1954 from Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa.[6] While in college, he was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Career[edit]

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.[1] From 1980 to 1988, he served as President of Texas Tech University.[1] He was both the first alumnus and the first Hispanic to serve as Texas Tech president.[citation needed]

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.[1] 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.[1]

Awards[edit]

In 2006, his alma mater Iowa State University awarded him the Distinguished Achievement Award, their highest honors.[6]

Personal life[edit]

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.[7][1]

Bibliography[edit]

  • — (19 February 2008). A Kineño Remembers: From the King Ranch to the White House. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-1603440448. LCCN 2005034155. OCLC 62509065. OL 37108732M. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  • —; Preuss, Gene B. (6 June 2016). A Kineño’s Journey: On Family, Learning, and Public Service. Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 978-0896729681. LCCN 2016017176. OCLC 951172368. OL 29322303M.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McFadden, Robert D.; Sandoval, Edgar; Traub, Alex (16 March 2022). "Lauro Cavazos, First Hispanic Cabinet Member, Dies at 95". The New York Times. eISSN 1553-8095. ISSN 0362-4331. LCCN sn00061556. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023. 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.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h — (19 February 2008). "Chapter 5: The Road from Kingsville". A Kineño Remembers: From the King Ranch to the White House. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-1603440448. LCCN 2005034155. OCLC 62509065. OL 37108732M. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ^ Ezzell, Ben; Ezzell, Nancy (14 February 1980). "Texas Tech to install president April 15". The Canadian Record. Vol. 91, no. 7 (1 ed.). Canadian, Texas. p. 19. eISSN 2834-2054. ISSN 2834-2046. OCLC 14062638. Retrieved 28 March 2023 – via University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History.
  4. ^ Williams, Don (18 November 2013). "Bobby Cavazos, son of the King Ranch, Tech all-American, dies at 82". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. eISSN 2331-6357. ISSN 2331-6349. LCCN sn86088055. OCLC 13942131. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023. 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.
  5. ^ Williams, Bob; Thompson, Jayne, eds. (1949). La Ventana. Vol. 24. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University. p. 54. hdl:2346/48689. Larry Cavazos ... Kingsville
  6. ^ a b "Iowa State University alumni, friends to receive top awards April 20". Iowa State University. April 17, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Driggars, Alex (16 March 2022). "A Texas Tech trailblazer: Former University President, Cabinet Secretary Lauro Cavazos dies at 95". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. eISSN 2331-6357. ISSN 2331-6349. LCCN sn86088055. OCLC 13942131. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023. 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.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of Education
1988–1990 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by
Lawrence Graves
Interim
 President of Texas Tech University
1980–1988 		Succeeded by
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