Chairholder 2004-2005: Gaspar Rivera-Salgado

Professor Gaspar Rivera Salgado

In September 2004, Professor Gaspar Rivera Salgado was appointed to the Prince Claus Chair by Utrecht University for the period 2004/2005. Born in 1965, in Tecomaxtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, Professor Rivera-Salgado is an expert in indigenous rights.
Professor Rivera-Salgado was appointed on the basis of his academic work in this field of indigenous rights, particularly in Latin America and the United States. He currently works as an independent consultant in the non-profit sector.

With regard to the Chair`s activities for the public, Utrecht University organised a secondary-school student demonstration on Human Rights and Migration, with the support of Professor Rivera-Salgado. For more information (in Dutch), go to http://mensenrechten.ivlos.uu.nl.

Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, summary curriculum vitea

  • Professor Rivera-Salgado is Program Director of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California in Los Angeles.
  • He holds an BA in Latin American Studies and a MA in Sociology, both at the University of California, Santa Cruz. At the same university he obtained a PhD in Sociology in 1999.
  • Professor Rivera-Salgado has held positions at several academic institutions in the Unites States, at Columbia University – New York, University of California – Santa Cruz, University of California – San Diego and the University of Southern California. At the moment he is Director of Transnational Communities Program, at the Immigration Museum of New Americans, San Diego, California. He has been a Social Science Research Council Fellow.
  • Professor Rivera-Salgado has been rewarded several honors and research grants, among others of the Rockefeller Foundation. 

    For the C.V. of Professor Rivera-Salgado, please click here.

    Contact information:

    Gaspar Rivera-Salgado Ph.D.
    Program Director
    UCLA Labor Center

    Mailing Address
    Center for Labor Research and Education
    11000 Kinross Ave., Ste. 200
    Box 951478
    Los Angeles CA 90095-1478

    Phone: (310) 206-3910
    Fax: (310) 794-6410
    E-mail: grsalgado@iir.ucla.edu
    http://www.labor.ucla.edu/

Inaugural Address of Professor Gaspar Rivera Salgado, 14 April 2005

Professor Rivera-Salgado has given his inaugural address at Utrecht University on April 12, 2005. 

Download Inaugural address Rivera Salgado (PDF file, 161kb)

Appointment Prof. Rivera-Salgado

September 2004

Mexican Professor appointed to the Prince Claus Chair

The University Board of Utrecht University has appointed Professor Gaspar Rivera-Salgado as holder of the Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity for 2004/2005, following his nomination by the Curatorium. The Prince Claus Chair is a rotating chair in the field of development and North-South relations and was established by Utrecht University and the Institute of Social Studies (ISS).

Professor Rivera-Salgado (born in 1965, in Tecomaxtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico) was appointed on the basis of his academic work in the field of indigenous rights, particularly in Latin America and the United States. He holds a doctorate in Sociology and currently works as an independent consultant in the non-profit sector. He has previously held positions at several universities in the United States (including the University of California, at UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego, and Columbia University). Coming from a Mixteco Native American background himself, he is the author of many publications about the rights of indigenous peoples. Professor Rivera-Salgado will be based at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht.

The Curatorium of the Prince Claus Chair is chaired by Princess Máxima of the Netherlands. Young academics from Africa, Asia or Latin America are eligible for appointment to the Chair for one academic year, with the Chair alternating annually between Utrecht University and the ISS. In establishing the Prince Claus Chair, Utrecht University and the ISS aim to advance research and teaching in the field of development and equity, in line with Prince Claus’s views and ideas in this regard. Previous holders of the Chair are Professor Mansoob Murshed (from Bangladesh) and Professor Amina Mama (from Nigeria/South Africa).

Professor Rivera-Salgado is the first Native American to be appointed Professor in the Netherlands. On April 12, 2005 Professor Rivera-Salgado will give an inaugural address at Utrecht University.