Rest in Power – Honoring the Life of Dr. Frank Talamantes

Dr. Frank Talamantes, the sixth president of the SACNAS Board of Directors from 1986 – 1990, died on October 8 in El Paso, Texas. He was 75.

Dr. Talamantes led SACNAS during a pivotal time in the history of the organization. Up until that point, the entire work of SACNAS was done solely by the Board of Directors. Talamantes had a strong vision of SACNAS’ potential and wanted his presidency to be as productive as possible. He took the leap and professionalized the organization by securing its first office space on the UCSC campus and hired the organization’s first staff person, a part-time assistant.

From Talamantes’ initiative, the staff has grown to approximately 15 year-round full time positions serving over 115 national chapters, 6,000 members, and a larger national network of 26,000.

Dr. Talamantes was a force–a force of spirit and generosity. He was tireless. He was tremendously generous both with his time and his pocketbook. His influence as a mentor was profound. He reached across discipline and ethnicity and sexual orientation. He instilled within SACNAS our ethos of inclusivity.

In honor of his fierce commitment to mentorship and student advancement, we are establishing the Frank Talamantes Memorial Travel Scholarship. To donate directly toward this scholarship, please click here and enter “Frank Talamantes” in the tribute message box.

As individuals and as an organization, we must continue to act upon Frank’s legacy and emulate his example.

Learn more about the life, research, and career of Dr. Talamantes: https://news.ucsc.edu/2018/11/talamantes-in-memoriam.html