Dr. Gonzalo Garza is a Central Texas educator and former marine. One of nine children, he was born January 10, 1927 in New Braunfels, Texas, to Carlos Garza and Victoria Gonzalez Garza. The son of Mexican American migrant workers, Garza did not begin formal schooling until he was ten years old. At one point, he attended eleven schools in a four years before eventually dropping out of Northside Junior High in Corpus Christi, TX at the age of 17 to join the United States Marine Corps in 1944. He participated in the Japanese campaign before he was honorably discharged in 1946.
Upon his return to the United States, Gonzalo Garza had a new dedication to his education, earned his General Equivalency Diploma, and enrolled in Del Mar Junior College in Corpus Christi. He was two years into a Bachelor of Arts program in Education at St. Mary's University in San Antonio when he was recalled to service in the Marines in 1951 during the Korean War. He earned many honors for his military service, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. After another honorable discharge, Garza completed his bachelor's degree and received a Master of Science in Education from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in 1954. At this time, he married Dolores Scott.
Garza then embarked on his career in public education, beginning as an elementary school teacher at Coronado Elementary School and Austin Elementary School before entering into education administration as the Assistant Principal at Ella Barnes Jr. High School in the Corpus Christi Independent School District from 1956-1962. He was the first Mexican American administrator in the CCISD, and went on to serve as Principal of Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School from 1962-1969. He also became the highest-ranking Hispanic administrator in the Houston Independent School District, where he served as Area V Superintendent from 1975-1977 and Deputy Superintendent for Instructional Programs from 1975-1977. During this time, he also pursued doctoral study at the University of Texas at Austin, and received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1976. Garza served as Superintendent of Eagle Pass Independent School District (1977-1979) and San Marcos Consolidated School District (1979-1982) before finishing his career in the Austin Independent School District as an Associate Superintendent (1982-1990) and Interim Superintendent (1990-1991). After controversy over the 1991 AISD school board decision not to hire him as a permanent Superintendent, Garza chose to retire from public education in 1992.
Gonzalo Garza has received multiple awards for his service in public education, particularly his commitment to furthering education for Mexican American youth. In 1999, Gonzalo Garza Independent High School, an innovative high school program meant to tailor to individual students' needs, was named in his honor. He is active in the Georgetown Rotary Club, where he served as District Governor in 1995 and 1996, and has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Houston and Texas A & M. Reflecting on his journey in education, Garza penned his autobiography, Gonzalo Garza, a Texas Legend: Pasó por aquí in 2005. He and his wife, Dolores, an elementary school teacher, have five children.
From the guide to the Gonzalo Garza Papers 2008-22. 463044951., 1944-, (Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin)
