Dr. Rosina Ruiz Valle Elected New Centro Cultural Hispano President

Valle’s newest challenge of service is stepping in as president of the Board of Directors for the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos.

Written and submitted by Shelley Henry
It has been said that the passion one has for her pueblo—her people—makes one a shining star within a village. If that is the case, Dr. Rosina Ruiz Valle truly is a shining star in San Marcos, where she has demonstrated her commitment and dedication to this community her entire life.

Valle’s newest challenge of service is stepping in as president of the Board of Directors for the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos. She will succeed Ruben Becerra, who has led the Center’s Board for the past two years.

One of the original founders of Centro, Valle joined with five women—the late Ofelia Vasquez Philo, Lupe Costilla, Gloria Salazar and Margie Villalpando—to establish the community organization back in 2004. Centro was created to meet three goals: preserve and promote the history and culture of Hispanic-Americans; educate the Hispanic younger generations about their roots, culture and history; and instill the importance of preserving valuable Hispanic artifacts and perpetuating the cultural heritage of Hispanic-Americans.

Located on Lee Street within the old Bonham Elementary building, once the location of the city’s “Mexican School,” Centro now houses an art gallery, a library and a museum and serves as headquarters for multiple public programs for citizens of all ages.

As president, Valle will bring to the Board a wealth of knowledge about the culture and history of our community. Raised in a family of seven children, Valle’s parents, Lillie Ruiz and the late Ruben Ruiz, instilled in their children the importance of service and involvement. Valle learned those early lessons well and has been an integral part of San Marcos activities and campaigns over the past four decades.

With a special passion for the value of education, Valle is a proud graduate and distinguished alumna of San Marcos High School’s Class of 1974. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Southwest Texas State and a Master’s Degree in Education from Sul-Ross. A lifelong learner, she additionally obtained her Doctoral Degree in School Improvement from Texas State University in 2014.

Valle retired from the San Marcos CISD after 35 years of service. During her career, she devoted 20 years in the classroom as an elementary teacher, lead teacher and reading specialist. The next 15 years were dedicated to administrative positions including At-Risk/ Attendance Coordinator, Executive Director for the San Marcos Education Foundation, Director of Community Partnerships and the District’s Early Childhood Coordinator.

Presently Valle is Associate Director for the Center for P-16 Initiatives at Texas State University, where she also is lecturer on the faculty.

Joining Valle on the Executive Board at Centro are Dr. Israel Najera, vice president; Karen Munoz, secretary; Frank T. Arredondo, treasurer; and Lupe Costilla, parliamentarian.

New members of the Board include Mariana Zamora, Melissa Rodriquez, Sonja Villalobos and Munoz, and returning members are Charles Campise, Linda Kelsey Jones, Frank Contreras, Celia Rosales, Rosie Garcia, Dr. Monica Valadez and Clem Cantu-Caskey.