‘Like a God figure to these kids’

Dr. Gus Garcia, leader in bilingual education, leaves legacy at CSUB

By California State University, Bakersfield

September 28^th, 2022

When California voters were asked to ban bilingual education from public schools in the late 1990s, Augustine “Gus” Garcia wondered how, if you take away their language, those English learners could ever be expected to succeed.

This champion for the under-represented, who died Monday at the age of 83, had built the foundations for bilingual education in the region when he joined the new state college on the outskirts of Bakersfield in 1972, becoming a role model to generations of future teachers as one of the few Latino faculty members in the early history of the university.

To Dr. Garcia’s delight, voters eventually overturned that controversial law, and the university picked up where he left off, certifying teachers in bilingual education to meet the needs of the diverse families of the San Joaquin Valley.

“I know his impact will transcend his life,” said Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman, professor of teacher education at CSUB. “He kept bilingual education and multicultural education alive, especially during the nearly 20 years when bilingual education was illegal in California. He helped create a culture where English language learners and bilingual students have the opportunity to succeed in a society that has always marginalized them.”

CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny called Dr. Garcia’s death an incalculable loss to the university and the region.

“Gus retired from CSUB, but he never left us,” she said. “He was deeply committed to our students and the future of our groundbreaking Teacher Education Program, which he helped build. In the long and proud history of this university, there are names that will be remembered forever. Gus Garcia is on that short list.”

Rocio Munoz, executive director of state and federal programs at the Bakersfield City School District, studied with Dr. Garcia from 1989 to 1994, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at CSUB.

“He was very much about connecting with students,” she said. “Within the lecture, he would give a lot of advice about things we would encounter as teachers. He really understood first-generation college students like me. He made it a point to talk about how difficult it might get, and he would always talk about the importance of sticking with our studies and continuing and not giving up. At the conclusion of class, when most students would leave and go on to their next class, he would have a crowd around him. That was very unusual for professors to take that time.”

And the guidance didn’t stop after graduation, said Dr. Garcia’s wife, Pilar Garcia, who teaches English learners at Horace Mann Elementary in east Bakersfield.

“We would see his former students all the time and he’d remind them, ‘You don’t have that doctorate yet!’ They were probably thinking to themselves, oh god, here he comes again,” she said with a laugh. “And he would say to them, ‘Don’t forget the community when you’re finished. They helped you. You help them.’”

‘Here at the beginning’

Born in Bakersfield on May 28, 1939, Dr. Garcia graduated from Garces Memorial High School in 1957. After college, he served as an elementary school teacher in San Diego, from 1964 to 1972, when he signed on for the adventure of helping build a teacher education program from scratch at the new college in his hometown.

“In the early days of bilingual education, he developed all the programs at Cal State,” said Dr. Thomas Martinez, a longtime colleague of Garcia’s, who taught public policy and administration at CSUB. “When Cal State was built, it meant a lot to this community, and Gus was here at the beginning to build the school of education.”

The two became immediate friends after meeting on campus in the mid-1980s, when Dr. Martinez joined the university and Dr. Garcia returned at the invitation of then-President Tomás Arciniega, after working at the University of the Pacific and San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton for a few years.

“There were not many Latino faculty members or students at that time,” Dr. Martinez said. “Now the campus is filled with Latinokids and it’s tempting to think of that as a natural thing but that shift hasn’t just been evolutionary as the demographics have changed. It’s been revolutionary. It took a lot of work from a lot of people to reach out to those kids and populations and make them welcome.”

During his long career at CSUB, Dr. Garcia worked in teacher education, advanced educational studies and educational administration. He retired from CSUB in 2009 and continued onin the Faculty Early Retirement Program until 2014.

But his work as a supporter of CSUB never stopped.

“Gus was the first person to call me after news of my appointment as dean to welcome me and to provide me with a rundown of the history of education at CSUB,” said Dr. James Rodriguez, dean of the School of Social Sciences and Education since 2020.

Zelezny, too, received the hospitality of the Garcias, who invited her to their home for a reception with faculty and community members on a busy weekend when she was moving from Fresno to Bakersfield in 2018.

“Gus felt like Dr. Zelezny was a breath of fresh air, and he was so happy that the university was in good hands,” Mrs. Garcia said.

That certainly extends to the teacher education program, Dr. Rodriguez said, noting that dozens of teachers receive theirbilingual certification every year.

“I would say the spirit of social justice is alive and well at CSUB generally but certainly within the school of Social Sciences and Education and within the education program because of early faculty leaders like Gus,” he said.

In 2018, Garcia was part of the first class of six to be inducted into the CSUB Faculty Hall of Fame. Dr. Suleiman was one of several nominators.

“This is not a professor, this is not a teacher, this is like a god figure to these kids, who are quite young, coming out of high school,” he said. “For many, the future is full of foreboding and apprehension, so they come into the program and get someone like Gus and they would feel affirmed socially, culturally, academically and lifted up. That overshadows everything else, once you create that climate of self-worth.”

Away from the university, Dr. Garcia was active in his church, with the Knights of Columbus and at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, where his grandchildren attend.

“He connected with the children,” his wife said. “The children are saying, ‘Where’s Gus, where’s Gus?’ He was my rock. My friend. The love of my life. Always there for me, always willing to do anything for me as I was for him. Always there for his children and loved his grandchildren. He was a family guy.”

Dr. Martinez said Dr. Garcia had a wonderful sense of play.

“Everybody who knows him would say he always had a smile and a hug and a bad joke. I’ll really miss those bad jokes.”

Dr. Garcia is survived by his wife; sons Michael, Stephen and Nicolas Garcia; daughter Cathy Garcia, stepson Patrick Mendoza and several grandchildren. His daughter Jill Garcia-Britt preceded him in death.