, director of the听听at the University of Notre Dame, has received a lifetime achievement award for excellence in community service from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).
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Founded in 1968, the Los Angeles-based MALDEF is the leading Latino legal civil rights organization in the United States. Fraga received the honor from the organization in recognition of his continued work serving students as well as the community and his efforts to bring these two groups together.
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鈥淟uis鈥� legacy lies in all of the students he has mentored, both undergraduates and graduates. It lies in the research he has done that has made an impact in a practical way. And it lies, finally, in his leadership administrative capacity,鈥� said Tom Saenz, MALDEF鈥檚 president and general counsel. 鈥淗e has established a strong record of a Latino administrator thriving and making new contributions, innovating and ensuring that universities are coming closer and closer to communities that they serve.鈥�
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Fraga has contributed research to lawsuits filed by MALDEF and other civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP and ACLU, on numerous cases, including work on the 1965 Voting Rights Act with Chandler Davidson, research professor and Tsanoff Chair of Public Affairs Emeritus at Rice University.
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Through that legal work, Fraga learned how academic research could be used to make influential decisions within the court system.
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鈥淲hat we do as scholars isn鈥檛 just research for research鈥檚 sake if we can apply our work to affecting people鈥檚 lives to help democracy become stronger,鈥� Fraga said.
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His research has had an invaluable impact, enabling important court cases to be decided in favor of those being marginalized.听Fraga has provided expert testimony in voting rights cases in California and Washington.
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Working with the New Language Program听through Notre Dame鈥檚听, Fraga helped establish the first-ever Spanish-English, two-way immersion program in a Catholic school in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend at Holy Cross 91视频 in South Bend.听听
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Fraga also collaborated with the Notre Dame听听to bring the听听to campus. This program provides a one-week academic boot camp enrichment opportunity to military veterans and those planning to leave military service. This program further strengthens the University鈥檚 commitment to the armed forces and to share its resources with those who have given to this country, just as Fraga鈥檚 father did through his Navy service during World War II.
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Luis Fraga with founding ILS听director听Gil Cardenas and wife听Dolores Garcia
Previous winners of the MALDEF听excellence in community service award include Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation; Brent A. Wilkes, former CEO of United Latin American Citizens; Cynthia Telles, director of the UCLA Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic; and Paul Schrade, coordinator of the RFK-12 Community Task Force.
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A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Fraga has spent his career bringing a distinct and enriching voice to the intellectual capacities of universities across the country, enabling them to better serve all students 鈥� including those whom universities are not accustomed to serving in their research and teaching.
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鈥淚 have held my work to a higher standard because it is not enough to develop a theory that is parsimonious, replicable听and salient 鈥� it must be meaningful and viable,鈥� Fraga said. 鈥淐an it actually work in a way that might contribute to improving peoples鈥� lives, work to give more people a chance to improving their own lives?鈥�
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Fraga also works to inspire transformative leaders who he encourages to use their values and vision to serve those who are not traditionally served and find inspiration for a bigger, more inclusive future. He has听served on the Notre Dame Task Force on DACAmented and Undocumented Students to support cohorts of undergraduate students otherwise overlooked.听听
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ILS鈥櫶�听was initiated by Fraga with the goal of engaging prominent figures in politics, entertainment, the arts, business, activism, the church听and other fields. These influential leaders present both their personal experiences and a vision of effective leadership in their spheres of influence with the goal of inspiring and informing young leaders about the possibilities, pitfalls听and principles they should know as leaders in our contemporary world.
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Helping students 鈥渦nderstand the public consequences of their private decisions鈥� has been a goal of Fraga鈥檚. He also allows this lesson to guide his own work, using his knowledge, resources听and support to give back.听
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鈥淪omeone who has had as many privileges as I鈥檝e had carries a great deal of responsibility,鈥� he said.
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A graduate of Harvard University, Fraga received his master鈥檚 degree and Ph.D. in political science from Rice University.听His primary research interests are in American politics, where he specializes in the politics of race and ethnicity, Latino politics, immigration policy, education politics, voting rights policy听and urban politics.听Fraga鈥檚 two recent books highlight this research, the co-authored "Latino Lives in America: Making It Home"听and "United States Government: Principles in Practice," a high school textbook.
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Fraga was one of six principal investigators on the Latino National Survey, the first-ever state-stratified survey of Latinos in the U.S. This survey explores questions regarding political attitudes, beliefs, behavior听and policy preferences.听听
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Luis Fraga with听ILS Director of Undergraduate 91视频, Karen Richman, and the Cross听Cultural Leadership听Program Chicago interns.
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In 2011,听Fraga was named听one of the top 鈥�100 Influentials鈥� in the U.S. by听Hispanic Business听magazine and served as a member of Barack Obama鈥檚 President鈥檚 Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
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Fraga is听currently the acting chair of the听, the Notre Dame Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership, the Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science, and a fellow in the听. He has previously served on the faculty at the University of Washington, Stanford University听and the University of Oklahoma.听
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All of Fraga鈥檚 work intimately aligns with the mission of the Institute for Latino 91视频 and the University of Notre Dame by advancing the understanding of the fastest-growing and youngest population in the United States and the U.S. Catholic Church and preparing transformative leaders in all disciplines of study.听
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鈥淣otre Dame allows me to live my Catholic faith, pursue my research on American political development听and teach the next generation of leaders in the country, the world听and the Church as no other university can,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can live my Catholic values in all aspects of my life 鈥� my family, community听and work 鈥� without any artificial boundaries. I cherish this gift that Notre Dame has given me and my family.鈥�
Originally published by at on June 21.