"Love is necessary in the classroom. A teacher should realize that if he has love for children he will be creating lasting happy individuals. A degree of love brings security to a child and makes him feel worthwhile. A child realizes he is loved and in turn will respond as a unique individual to that love."                                                                 ~Tomás Rivera, 1961

Tomás Rivera -- novelist, poet, and University Chancellor -- was born on 22 December 1935 in Crystal City, Texas. For almost twenty years, Rivera worked alongside his family members as a migrant worker. This experience formed the basis of his best-known literary work, ...Y No Se lo Trago la Tierra / And the Earth Did Not Part, and also helped form his educational philosophies concerning people of color. In 1979, Rivera was named Chancellor at the University of California Riverside. He was both the youngest chancellor ever and the first minority chancellor at this university. The Rivera Library was named for him after his death (in 1984) from heart attack. The Tomás Rivera Archive at UCR is housed in Special Collections & Archives and contains over 85,000 items. Chicana/o Latina/o Net (CLNet) has compiled a short  photo essay  of his life. More information about Tomás Rivera can be found in the UCR libraries using the selected bibliography below. Print Reference Materials American National Bibliography (REF E176 A53 1999 v. 18). The Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Americans (REF E184 S75M49 1997) Chicano Literature: A Reference Guide (REF PS153 M4 C46 1985) Dictionary of Literary Biography (Chicano Writers, First Series) (REF PN451 D5 v.82) Hispanic Literature Criticism (REF PQ6039 H5 1999 v. 2) Audiovisual Media Sources Tribute to Tomás Rivera (Media Library; cassette 179) Encuentro, conversations with Chicano leaders: interviews with leading Chicano writers guest, Tomás Rivera. (Media Library; videorecording 1152) Juvenile Sources (Fiction) Tomás and the Library Lady (EducServJuv PZY.M78819 To 1997)

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