Richard Salvatierra

Inducted Class of 2001

A 1939 graduate of Tucson High School, Dick lettered in baseball and basketball. While at the University of Arizona (1943 graduate, B.A. and M.A.) he lettered in baseball under Coach J.F. McKale. During his school years he also played on various local semi-pro baseball teams, as well as playing American Legion baseball. Today he is an active participant in local Senior Olympics and tennis singles.

Following a 28-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, Dick returned to Tucson and for the past 25 years has been actively involved in helping Hispanic and other minority youngsters, specifically stressing the importance of education. Working at the UA, he was one of the organizers of a program titled Academic Preparation for Excellence (APEX), formed to encourage middle and secondary-school students to think in terms of higher education, primarily ethnic-minority students. He is one of the organizers of the Hispanic Professional Action Committee (HPAC), which has as its main purpose the monitoring of the condition of ethnic minorities in the workplace, in education, etc., to assure that there is equity and opportunities for advancement.