Professor of History and Chicano Studies at the University of Minnesota, since 1980, Dennis Valdes has spent most of his professional life teaching in the Midwest.  He earned his B.A. and M.A. at Central Michigan University and his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.  Prior to joining the faculty at Minnesota, Dennis has also had posts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Wayne State University.

Although his research began looking at Mexico, Dennis quickly turned his attention to the experiences of Mexicans in the United States and to Chicanos in the Midwest.  His groundbreaking work has documented the working lives of the Chicano and Mexicano Midwesterners in his books like Al Norte: Agricultural Workers in the Great Lakes Region and Barrios Norteños: St. Paul and Midwestern Mexican Communities in the Twentieth Century.  Dennis has also co-edited Voices of a New Chicana/o History with Refugio Rochin and has published a long list of articles.  If there was ever a scholar of the Chicana/o Midwest, Dennis is it.

Dennis’s contribution to the field of Chicano Studies is impressive. Along the way Dennis has also been part of NACCS for almost 20 years.  He has been a presenter on numerous occasions, he has served as FOCO representative, site committee member, helped organize COMPAS, and has contributed in many ways to the development and longevity of NACCS.

One of the most influential authors in Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya has earned international acclaim for his skillful mingling of realism, fantasy and myth in novels exploring the experiences of Chicanos in the Southwest. Novelist, poet, short story author, essayist, playwright and children's book writer, Rodolfo has been called “the father of Chicano literature”, “the godfather of Chicano literature in English,” “one of the best writers in this country,” “un hijo del pueblo,” and “a son of New Mexico.” 

Anaya, is not only a writer of Chicano literature he is also an advocate for developing and encouraging young Chicana and Chicano writers. Anaya and his wife Patricia established, the Premio Aztlán, in 1993 to honor new Chicano/a writers for literary excellence in works that reflect Chicano culture and experience. Recipients of this award include Denise Chávez, Pat Mora, and Alicia Gaspar de Alba.

Anaya born and raised in New Mexico, he earned B.A. and MA degrees in literature from the University of New Mexico and spent seven years perfecting his first and most famous novel, Bless Me, Ultima, published in 1972.  Anaya has taught school for thirty years, nineteen at the University of New Mexico where he continues as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Language and Literature.