RICHARDSON, Texas (Feb. 4, 2004) — Dr. Laura Gonzalez, a researcher and professor of anthropology in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), has received the Distinguished University Faculty Award from the Texas Association for Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) for her support of the growth and development of Latino students and community.

Gonzalez, who was formally presented the award Jan. 29 during the organization's annual conference in Corpus Christi, teaches field methods to graduate, undergraduate and community college students who conduct research in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.

The author of two books and numerous articles in both English and Spanish, Gonzalez has written about such issues as international migration and its impact on families, the undercount of Hispanics in the U.S. Census, social and political networks, creating trans-national communities and ethnographic approaches for studying hidden, or marginal, populations.

Gonzalez also has authored and co-authored several grant proposals for research in Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Texas.   Her current research, a collaborative effort with other scholars about access to higher education for Hispanic and immigrant students, has been recognized by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and the Pew Hispanic Center at the University of Southern California.

Gonzalez earned her doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara.   Her educational background includes a concentration in anthropology, and her work focuses on Latinos.

TACHE was founded in 1974 by university faculty and administrators who shared a common concern about the under-representation of Hispanics in Texas colleges and universities.   The organization has nearly 600 members and has advocated strongly and effectively for programs and legislation that seeks to increase the representation of Hispanic students, faculty and administrators in Texas colleges and universities.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls about 13,700 students. The school's freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university's web site at www.utdallas.edu.