Arnoldo De León, Ph.D.

Arnoldo De León, Ph.D.

Dr. Arnoldo De León taught at Angelo State University between 1973 and 2015, retiring as Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus. A specialist in Mexican American History, he authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited a total of twenty-one books and published numerous articles and book chapters. Perhaps the most notable of these publications is They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes Toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821-1900 (University of Texas Press, 1983), a monograph regarded as a classic in Tejano history. Other of his volumes include The Tejano Community, 1836-1900 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982); Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston (Houston: Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston, 1989); and Tejano West Texas (Texas A&M University Press, 2015).

Among his more memorable distinctions, De León served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Houston in 1986; held the C.J. “Red” Davidson Professorship in History at Angelo State from 1988-2015; and gained induction into the Texas Institute of Letters in 1996. In 2013 the National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies (NACCS) Texas foco presented him with the “Premio Estrella de Aztlán Life Time Achievement Award” for his contributions to Tejano History. In recognition of his career achievements, the Texas State Historical Association in its annual meeting of 2018 held a session titled “Tejana/o Resilience: A Panel in Honor of Arnoldo De León.” In 2021 Robstown High School selected De León as an exemplary graduate from RHS (class of 1962). That same year, Angelo State University named its History Department in his honor.