Lauro Cavazos
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| 4th United States Secretary of Education | |
| In office September 20, 1988 – December 12, 1990 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | William Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Lamar Alexander |
| 10th President of Texas Tech University | |
| In office 1980–1988 | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Graves (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Robert W. Lawless |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lauro Fred Cavazos (1927-01-04)January 4, 1927 Kingsville, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 15, 2022(2022-03-15) (aged 95) Concord, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Peggy Ann Murdock[1] |
| Children | 10 |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States[2]: 112 |
| Branch/service | United States Army[2]: 112 |
| Years of service | 1944 (1944)—1946 (1946)[2]: 112 |
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Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. (January 4, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American educator and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Education, and was the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet.
A sixth-generation Texan, Cavazos was born on the King Ranch near Kingsville, Texas, and was the son of Lauro F. Cavazos Sr. and Tomasa (Quintanilla) Cavazos.[1] His father served as foreman of the showcase Santa Gertrudis cattle division.[3]: 19 Through his maternal ancestry, he was a descendant of Texas Revolution heroine Francita Alavez, the "Angel of Goliad".[1]
Cavazos enlisted the United States Army in 1944[2]: 112 and served state-side in an infantry unit in the waning days of World War II.[1] He was the brother of U.S. Army General Richard E. Cavazos.[4]
Shortly after his discharge from the Army, Cavazos enrolled at Texas College of Arts and Industries (currently Texas A&M University–Kingsville), majoring in journalism.[2]: 113-114 He later transfers to Texas Technological College (currently Texas Tech University) where he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in zoology,[5]: 54 . He later earned a Ph.D. in physiology in 1954 from Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa.[6] While in college, he was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi.
Following a stint on the faculties of Tufts University and the Medical College of Virginia, Cavazos served as Dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine from 1975 to 1980.[1] From 1980 to 1988, he served as President of Texas Tech University.[1] He was both the first alumnus and the first Hispanic to serve as Texas Tech president.[citation needed]
A Democrat, Cavazos served as Secretary of Education from August 1988 to December 1990 during the Republican Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. He was confirmed by the Senate in a 94-0 vote.[1] He resigned in December 1990.
Following his resignation as Secretary of Education, he returned to the faculty of Tufts University where he served as Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine.[1]
In 2006, his alma mater Iowa State University awarded him the Distinguished Achievement Award, their highest honors.[6]
Cavazos was married to the former Peggy Ann Murdock; they had ten children and lived in Massachusetts. He died in Concord, Massachusetts, on March 15, 2022, at the age of 95.[7][1]
Lauro Cavazos, the United States secretary of education from 1988 to 1990 under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and the nation's first Latino to serve in a cabinet post, died on Tuesday at his home in Concord, Mass. He was 95.
Bobby Cavazos was a brother of former Tech President Lauro Cavazos and four-star U.S. Army Gen. Richard Cavazos. Their father, Lauro Sr., was a King Ranch foreman.
Larry Cavazos ... Kingsville
Lauro F. Cavazos, Jr., a pioneering education administrator who served as the first Mexican-American president of Texas Tech University and the first Hispanic person to hold a U.S. Cabinet position, died Tuesday in Concord, Massachusetts. [...] He was 95 years old.
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| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Education 1988–1990 |
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| Preceded by
Lawrence Graves |
President of Texas Tech University 1980–1988 |
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