The forefather father of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) was a Mexican American politician by the name of Reginaldo del Valle, according to recent research. Although his contributions to the institution’s founding have been largely forgotten, UCLA Professor David Hayes-Bautista is seeking to resurrect del Valle’s memory.

Reginaldo Francisco del Valle, who served in both chambers of the California Legislature, was the force behind the creation of the Los Angeles Normal School, a predecessor institution of UCLA, according to Hayes-Bautista author of “Reginaldo Francisco del Valle: UCLA’s Forgotten Forefather,” and director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health.

Del Valle spent years in the state legislature securing the establishment, funding and winning of independent governance for the Los Angeles State Normal School, Hayes-Bautista says. “It is commendable for a legislator to be so dedicated to such an important cause and succeed.”

Hayes-Bautista stumbled upon del Valle’s name while casually perusing through a book at a Long Beach, Calif., bookstore

“There was a very brief mention of del Valle in the book,” says Hayes-Bautista, “but I’ve been at this long enough to know that if you see one mention of a minority doing something, there is more to the story. I started digging.”

Hayes-Bautista discovered that the creation of the Los Angeles Normal School with autonomous governance was a struggle for del Valle, involving several bills over a number of years.

Del Valle first introduced a bill during the 1880 legislative session, but was unable to win approval as five other cities introduced competing legislation to establish their own normal schools. In the 1881 session, del Valle successfully introduced and negotiated the passage of the bill that then-Gov. George C. Perkins signed into law to establish the branch state normal school.

Later, del Valle’s initiative ensured sufficient funding for the construction and operation of the school. Del Valle developed a legislative scheme in 1885 to allow those in Los Angeles to make their own decisions, rather than have decisions made by people at the normal school in San Jose. His first attempt at passage was not successful. He retired after the 1886 session, and in the following year, his proposal finally was enacted, carried by Assemblyman John Brierly.