Leonard M. Baca Scholarship Fund
Dr. Leonard Baca has been a leader in the field of Bilingual Special Education. He spent his career sharing the latest research and best practices for working with English language learners with and without disabilities. For almost 40 years, Dr. Baca served as Executive Director of the BUENO Center in the School of Education at Boulder. His commitment to quality education for linguistically diverse populations continues to positively impact students at all stages of their learning.
To continue his legacy, Dr. Baca’s students, colleagues, and friends are working to establish a Flatirons Endowment. If we are able to reach and surpass $25,000, we will establish an endowment to support scholarships for culturally and linguistically diverse students. The use of these funds will create occasions to remember Dr. Baca’s work and principled commitments. We hope you can help us in this endeavor. A few highlights of Professor Baca’s broad & distinguished career include:
- Exemplary advocacy work and superb grant writing skills that generated over $100 million of scholarships and grants for the BUENO Center to support GEDs, BAs, master’s degrees and PhDs.
- Pioneering and developing research in the field of Bilingual Special Education to meet the needs of bilingual children who are eligible for special education services.
- 3 books and 116 professional publications featuring bilingual and cross-cultural special education research and methodology used to help exceptional children.
Dr. Baca is an esteemed colleague and mentor to graduate students and younger scholars in the fields of Bilingual Education and Bilingual Special Education. “Through his professional work and personal character, Leonard Baca changed thousands of lives. Under his leadership, the BUENO Center allowed talented students with limited resources to access higher education and better lives.” - Dr. Kathy Escamilla
To make a physical donation, you can mail a check to:
University of Colorado Foundation
P.O. Box 17126
Denver, CO 80217-9155
*Made payable to “ Foundation” with “Baca Fund” in the memo box
2022 Baca Scholarship Scholars
Haydee Colin, BA in Communication and Ethnic Studies
"I chose ethnic studies for a major is because I inspire to help people, that is my life’s mission. The way to do that is to be able to understand anyone and everyone and learning about different cultures will allow me to support every individual in manner that dignifies their past."
Marithza Flores, BA in Integrative Physiology and Sociology
I chose integrative physiology as a major because I have always been interested in understanding more about how the human body works.
Andrea Martinez Reyes, BA in Exploratory Studies and Art Practices
I chose my major at Boulder because technology is an essential tool growing with us, I believe we are part of the generation who will make sure these tools are being used in the most helpful and efficient way to help one another.
Adolfo Sanchez Ortega, BA in Environmental Design, Architecture
I chose Environmental Design with an emphasis in Architecture because when I was younger I was talented at drawing. Also, my dad was a huge inspiration because he does construction and to a certain way I wanted to follow his footsteps in the construction industry but without breaking my back.