Monday, October 2, 2023

BROWNSVILLE NATIVE, COLORADO COLLEGE DEAN, BROTHER OF 138TH DISTRICT COURT JUDGE ARTURO NELSON, DIES. LISTEN TO HIS STORY ON YOUTUBE LINK INCLUDED AT BOTTOM OF POST

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Colorado Springs Col. – Word has reached us that Victor Nelson-Cisneros, a Brownsville native and retired associate dean at Colorado College, died Saturday.

Nelson-Cisneros was a member of a Brownsville family which includes his bother 138th District Judge Arturo Nelson Cisneros.
A ceremony is planned for October 14, 2023. Our condolences to his family.

Nelson-Cisneros attended Texas Southnost College and earned an A.A. before attending Texas A&I at Kingsville (Now Texas A&M-Kingsville) where he received his Master's degree. While there, he and other A&I students led local high school students and residents protesting the lack of minority participation in local the school and in local government. That led A&I to establish the Ethnic Studies Program and he was named the founding director of Ethnic Studies Program.

His biography at Colorado College indicates that Cisneros joined the college in 1981 to serve as the assistant dean of the college. 

"Known for his candid, compassionate, and direct style, Nelson-Cisneros arrived at CC following graduate study in history at both the University of Texas and the University of California. He also spent time on the board of the National Rural Center, working on a government-funded grant to explore job growth and equal employment in the non-metro area of the Sun Belt.

In 2020, Cisneros was named as the recipient of the Gresham Riley Award, which recognizes faculty and staff who have made a significant difference to the Colorado College community through outstanding service, commitment, and accomplishment. 

The continuing concern for and support of students and alumni demonstrated by such individuals ensures the general well-being and future excellence of the college. These accomplishments exemplify the important contributions made by Gresham Riley, the 10th president of Colorado College, 1981-1992. 

Nelson-Cisneros joined Colorado College in 1981 to serve as the assistant dean of the college.

During his 31 years of service, he was instrumental in developing inclusion and visibility across the college, and establishing the Riley Scholars Program, which brought over 65 minority faculty scholars to campus. He also played an integral role in founding the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Minority Concerns Committee as well as the ACM Minority Scholars Program itself.

His role at the college primarily focused on faculty development and student experience, with particular emphasis on inclusion, representation, and opportunity expansion. CC's renowned and celebrated Venture Grants grew under his leadership, and he initiated mentoring options for non-tenured faculty, as well as serving as an interim dean of the college for the 2004-05 academic year. In 2006, he was named associate dean of the college.

Colorado College's President's Leadership Awards recognize and celebrate the contributions of the college's talented and dedicated faculty and staff. The Victor Nelson-Cisneros Diversity and Inclusion Award recognizes awardees who exemplify Nelson-Cisneros's qualities in supporting diversity and inclusion on campus.

(To listen to Victor interview for the University of Texas Journalism Department "Voces Oral History Project," click on link:  https://youtu.be/wA5nnnmXz2Y?si=ERDFYHyH7GWSjbnC)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who??
Jonathan garcia willis pasted away, he was living on elm st on Idaho Wyoming he used to be a homeless resident of browntown several decades ago. das wat i hoid....

Anonymous said...

Victor left Brownsville a long time ago or at least I hadn't seen him since the 1960s. He was a good guy. Rest in Peace Victor. And my prayers for you and your brother Arturo. Both fine gentlemen. So sorry.

Anonymous said...

He sounds like someone who made Brownsville proud. RIP 🙏

Anonymous said...

One person will NEVER make browntown proud, das gringo bullshit.

Anonymous said...

I remember Victor from our first-grade class at the Trinity Lutheran School that used to be at 4th and Washington and taken over by the old police
station and now traffic control. We had good times with Mrs. Wynmeyer, our
one room schoolteacher who taught 1st and 2nd grade together in the same room. We were best buddies then. RIP Victor!

Anonymous said...

I don't even remember who was my teacher when I was in first grade. I think it was a TV.

Anonymous said...

2;58 - your first-grade teacher must have been there only for the 25th. Many of us still remember the one who started us off in 1st grade. We had some good teachers who were rough and tough but made sure we learned. I only had
2 at Cummings who had no business in the classroom (JR and JB for history and English.)

rita