Cordelia Candelaria

Cordelia Chávez Candelaria (born September 14, 1943) is an American educator and writer of Hispanic descent.

Early life and education Candelaria was born on September 14, 1943, in Deming, New Mexico, to Ray J. Chávez and Eloida Trujillo. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Lewis College, where she studied English and French. She then earned a Master of Arts in English and a PhD in American literature and structural linguistics from the University of Notre Dame.

Career From 1975 to 1978, Candelaria was an associate professor of English and Chicano literature at Idaho State University. She was also a program officer for the Division of Research at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1976 to 1977. From 1978 to 1991, she was an associate professor of English and head of the Chicano Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. During her time at the university, she also founded the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race in America. In 1991, she became an American literature professor and research associate at the Hispanic Research Center of Arizona State University. From 2001 to 2005, she served as chair of the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.

In 2008, Candelaria was named dean of the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University, but she resigned from the position the following year for personal reasons.

Personal life Candelaria married José Fidel Candelaria in 1961, and later Ronald Beveridge.

Film Candelaria worked on the script for the 1982 film The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez as a script co-editor and consultant. She also served as a script consultant for The Milagro Beanfield War.