Jorge Chapa

Jorge Chapa, 62, of Urbana, Ill., passed away at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana on October 19 in the evening. Jorge was born in Monterry, Mexico on August 10, 1953, the son of Juan and Olga Chapa. He married Belinda De La Rosa on September 4, 1982, in San Francisco, Calif. Jorge is survived by his mother, his wife, two sons; Juan and Roberto Chapa, one brother; Juan Chapa, and four sisters; Olga Chesser, Mercedes Robertson, Rosalinda Dussault and Elizabeth Chapa. Jorge has a PhD and MA in Sociology, as well as an MA in Demography, all from the University of California at Berkeley. His BS is from the University of Chicago in Biology (Honors) with a minor in Sociology. Jorge began his distinguished academic career at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he rose to the rank of tenured professor and Associate Dean in the Graduate School. His research focused on Latino educational achievement and access to higher education, as well as the demographic aspects of policy making. Much of Jorge's research and policy work was driven by a desire to make positive change in the world. He was an expert witness for ten redistricting legal cases in Texas, Illinois, and Arizona. While at the University of Texas, he joined other professors and legislators to form the Top Ten Percent Plan, which significantly increased the enrollment of underrepresented minorities in Texas. He was also a Research Scholar at the Tomas Rivera Center in San Antonio, Tex. After eleven years of making life-long friends, mentoring students and faculty, and gaining wonderful memories like the birth of his son, he moved to Michigan State where he served as Interim Director of the Julian Samora Institute for one year. He was then recruited to become the founding Chair of the Latino/a Studies Program for Indiana University at Bloomington. At Indiana, he recruited and mentored many Latino faculty and saw the program grow, as well as watching over the growth his two sons. He was also Adjunct Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership, Latin American Studies, Sociology, and Public and Environmental Affairs. During this time he was also an External Evaluator for the Chicago ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities in Education) Partnership, where he met and became good friends with current Illinois Board of Higher Education Commissioner Santos Rivera and his wife Sulyema Perez. Jorge joined the University of Illinois in the fall of 2006, where he taught in Latina/o Studies and Sociology; served in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) and Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program; and became Director of the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society (CDMS). Through CDMS, he mentored faculty and students through fellowships and internships. He raised awareness of educational inequality at the University and sought to improve those conditions through conferences, seminars, and publications. At IGPA, Jorge contributed to policy conversations at Illinois on these subjects over the past four years through public writing, speaking to groups, and working with state agencies and legislative groups. This academic year, Jorge was the co-principal investigator of the Race and Inequality Policy Initiative. He worked with the Illinois Board of Higher Education to assess and improve their tracking of members of racial and ethnic minority groups in undergraduate and graduate education across the state's colleges and universities. He was also involved at the campus level in initiatives to improve the representation and success of such students in higher education. In the Latina/o Studies Department, he was in the process of starting a public engagement project that would make it possible for more Latina/o students to transfer from Parkland College to the University of Illinois. Jorge was a prolific scholar. He was widely published on the subjects of Latino policy issues and demographic trends and their political implications. His seminal 2004 book on Latino immigration to the Midwest, Apple Pie and Enchiladas (coauthored with Ann V. Millard on the University of Texas Press), is the standard treatment of one of the most important political and demographic changes to the region in the past generation. He was the author, editor, co-author or co-editor of 12 books, and he published 15 refereed journal articles and 18 book chapters. Jorge was incredibly involved in the scholarship of public engagement, writing for and speaking to a wide range of non-academic audiences in Illinois and around the country. In particular, he worked on many voting rights court cases and spoke frequently about the use of data in these cases. Jorge's cheerful demeanor, positive attitude, and willingness to help will be greatly missed. He was a great citizen and friend, and will be missed by all that knew him. A memorial visitation will be held on Friday, October 23, 2015 from 4-8 p.m. with a sharing time at 6 p.m. Services will be held Sunset Funeral Home, 710 N. Neil St. Champaign, IL. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in his name to the University of Illinois Foundation at 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801. The funds will be used to establish the Jorge Chapa Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please join Jorge's family in sharing memories, pictures and video on his tribute wall at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com or bring them to the share at the service. Poster boards will be available to display them.

Visitation Oct 23, 2015 Friday, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Sunset Funeral Home & Cremation Center Champaign-Urbana Chapel 710 N. Neil Street Champaign, IL 61820 Service Oct 23, 2015 Friday, 6:00 PM Sunset Funeral Home & Cremation Center Champaign-Urbana Chapel 710 N. Neil Street Champaign, IL 61820