Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with UC

From September 15 to October 15, UC is recognizing the significant accomplishments of the Latino community during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Join us in celebrating this cherished annual celebration with events and resources from throughout UC.

Zoom backgrounds

Display your pride for UC’s connections to the Hispanic community by downloading a Zoom background with the Spanish version of the UC wordmark. Files are available with and without the Hispanic Heritage Month tagline:

• Download Zoom background with “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month” tagline
• Download Zoom background with Spanish-language wordmark only

Virtual events

The following events are free and accessible to all members of the UC community. All listings reflect Pacific time. Select each link for registration details.

UC Berkeley Library National Hispanic American Heritage Month Celebration 2025
Sept. 16, 12:45 p.m.
Join us for a webinar spotlighting the research and contributions of three distinguished scholars whose work enriches our understanding of Latin American and Afro-Latinx communities through social policy, culture, and education. This event will feature Janaina Campos Lobo, Ph.D., professor of humanities at UNILAB in northeastern Brazil; Nodia C. Mena, Ph.D., Spanish lecturer at Guilford College; Mariela Noles Cotito, Ph.D., professor of discrimination and public policy at Universidad del Pacífico in Lima; and Antonia Mardones Marshall, Ph.D., assistant professor of education at the University of Tarapacá and principal investigator at the MIGRA Millennium Nucleus.

Latinas in Agriculture
Sept. 17, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Latinx and Friends employee resource group (ERG) for a conversation with Ofelia Lichtenheld, agave producer and member of California’s Women Agave Growers Collective; Claudia Quezada, environmental justice coordinator for Líderes Campesinas, one of California’s most influential grassroots organizations supporting farmworker women; and Ricardo Vela, Emmy-winning journalist and manager of news and information outreach in Spanish at UC ANR. *Note that this webinar will be conducted in Spanish and simultaneously interpreted in English.

Legacy, Science and Deportation
Sept. 24, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UC ANR Latinx and Friends ERG for a conversation between Adriana Mejía Briscoe, Ph.D., professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Irvine, and Ricardo Vela, Emmy-winning journalist and manager of news and information outreach in Spanish at UC ANR. While tracing her ancestry, Dr. Adriana Mejía Briscoe uncovered a century-old corrido written by her great-great-grandfather about the mass deportations of Mexicans in the 1930s. The discovery connected her personal story to a larger narrative of resilience and displacement in Mexican American history. *Note that this webinar will be conducted in Spanish and simultaneously interpreted in English.

Virtual Poetry Reading Cafecito
Sept. 29, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UCSF Chicané Latiné Campus Association for a Virtual Poetry Reading Cafecito. Led by our own Roberto Ariel Vargas, we’ll read and share excerpts from some of our favorite Latiné poets, celebrating the richness of our culture, voices and community. Bring your cafecito, your heart and your voice!

Deportations – Then and Now
Oct. 1, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UC ANR Latinx and Friends ERG for a conversation between Isidro Ortiz, Ph.D., professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at San Diego State University, and Ricardo Vela, Emmy-winning journalist and manager of news and information outreach in Spanish at UC ANR. Dr. Ortiz is a leading scholar on Latino politics, education and public policy. Over his career, he has analyzed the historical and contemporary impact of deportation policies on Latino communities, offering critical insight into how these forces shape identity, opportunity and family life.

Should Latino Farmworkers Be at the Center of UC ANR’s Work?
Oct. 8, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UC ANR Latinx and Friends ERG for a conversation between Katherine Jarvis-Shean, Ph.D., orchard systems advisor at UC ANR, and Ricardo Vela, Emmy-winning journalist and manager of news and information outreach in Spanish at UC ANR. As a Cooperative Extension orchard systems advisor, Dr. Jarvis-Shean provides practical, science-based solutions to growers while also questioning how agricultural research can better serve the labor force that sustains California’s farms. Her leadership in outreach and applied research underscores the need to place farmworkers at the center of the conversation about agriculture’s future.

Celebrating Our Own – UC ANR Hispanic of the Year 2025: Ana Pastrana
Oct. 15, 12 – 1 p.m.
Join the UC ANR Latinx and Friends ERG for a conversation between Ana Pastrana, Ph.D., UC ANR’s plant pathology advisor for Southern California, and Ricardo Vela, Emmy-winning journalist and manager of news and information outreach in Spanish at UC ANR. Dr. Pastrana has dedicated her career to helping growers prevent and manage crop diseases, strengthening harvests and community resilience. UC ANR proudly honors her as the 2025 Hispanic of the Year for her outstanding contributions to California agriculture and the communities she serves. Following the tribute to Dr. Pastrana, UC ANR Vice President Dr. Glenda Humiston will share closing reflections on the importance of equity, inclusion and innovation in serving California’s diverse communities — reaffirming UC ANR’s commitment to advancing opportunity for all.

Reading lists and campus resources

UC Berkeley Equity & Inclusion: Latinx Heritage Month webpage: 

UC Berkeley Library: Recently published Latinx literature in the Library’s collection

UC Davis Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success: Latinx Heritage Month

UC Merced Library: National Hispanic Heritage Month reading list

UC Merced Newsroom: Hispanic/LatinX Heritage Month

UC San Diego: 5th Annual Latinx Heritage Month Commemoration

UCSF Multicultural Resource Center: Latinx Heritage Month at UCSF

UC Santa Barbara Library – Chicana/o Studies Hispanic Heritage Month Guide

UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering: Hispanic and Latinx STEM-discipline trailblazers

Latinx community employee resource groups

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab: Latin American & Native American (LANA) Employee Resource Group

UC Berkeley: Alianza Staff Organization

UC Davis: Latinx Staff & Faculty Association

UC Irvine: Chicano/Latino Staff Association

UCLA: Latino Staff & Faculty Association

UC Office of the President: Latinx Staff Association

UC Riverside: Latina/Chicana Staff & Faculty Group

UC San Diego: Chicanx/Latinx Staff Association

UCSF: Chicané Latiné Campus Association

UC alumni connection

Systemwide: UC Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association

Do you have a related UC resource or event to share that is free, open and accessible to UC community members at all locations? Send the details to ucnetwork@universityofcalifornia.edu. We will be happy to add your listing to this page.