Upon starting at Illinois State this fall, I had the chance to meet one of the most kind-hearted, knowledgeable professors: Maura Toro-Morn. Her work within the sociology department, specifically her role in developing and expanding the Latin American and Latina/o Studies program, helped ISU increase their educational outlets to properly suit the diverse community that is present on campus. Her work is not over when she leaves campus grounds; in this article, she shares her goals for the future, how she balances her career with her commitments to her family and community, and so much more!
Her Campus Illinois State: Let’s start with the basics, what college(s) did you attend?
Maura-Toro Morn: I got my college education in Puerto Rico at a small liberal arts college called Interamerican University in San German, Puerto Rico. It is a lovely little town nestled in the island’s west coast. Then, I came to ISU in the early 1980’s, to do my MA in sociology. I started my PH.D. at Loyola University in Chicago in the late 1980s. So, from beginning to end I have always been attracted to small liberal art institutions. One of the things I liked about ISU is that it is a larger public institution but we work hard to give our students the experience of a small liberal arts college.
HC ISU: What drew you to want to be a college professor?
MT: Learning, thinking and books. I have always been a voracious reader and the notion of reading, interpreting, and engaging ideas keeps me connected to the development of knowledge.
HC ISU: When did your career at Illinois State begin?
MT: This was my first job out of graduate school. I had not finished my dissertation, but decided to go in the job market as an ABD student. One position was open here and I decided to apply for it. The position was non-tenure. The following year I was further along my dissertation, when a tenure-line track position opened up and I went for it. During that time the university was interested in attracting minority faculty and Dr. David Strand, who was an important university administrator at the time, helped me get a tenure track position. Years later, I was awarded the David Strand Diversity Award for my commitment to diversity issue across campus and in our community. I felt so honored!
HC ISU: As of right now, what classes do you teach?
MT: I am spending a lot of my energy these days trying to develop the Latin American and Latina/o Studies program. So, I am teaching Soc. 109, Introduction to U.S. Latina/o Studies. I also teach for the Women and Gender Studies program. Some of the classes that I teach for WGS are cross-listed with Latino Studies so students deeply engage the connections between these two programs. For example, next fall, I am scheduled to teach a class that I absolutely love, WGS 391 Gender and Sexuality in the Americas. Before that I taught about racial, class, and gender inequality.
HC ISU: What are your favorite things to do when you are not teaching?
MT: As a working mom, I am busy trying to keep up with twelve-year-old son, Carlos. He loves baseball and we are busy attending games, practices, and going to games. I am also a runner; great way to relieve stress. I love to dance too. Although I have a busy research/writing agenda, I travel a lot to continue my research.
HC ISU: Over the years, what is one thing you have helped change at ISU or how have you seen ISU change while you have taught here?
MT: I have been at ISU for over 20 years and the institution has grown a lot. We are clear in terms of the role we play in relation to other higher learning institutions in the state. I am particularly proud of how the institution has sustained a commitment to diversity. I have been part of several institutional committees that were put in place by President Bowman to evaluate the state of the institution in terms of its climate, recruitment and retention of minority faculty and students. We are not quite there, but the commitment is here! I hope that by the time I leave ISU, we have full-fledged Latin American and Latina/o Studies program and a Latino Center. The university has deepened its commitment to internationalizing the campus and that is very important in this global age. Educating Illinois as the guiding principles of the institution helped us place ourselves in the map of higher education institutions and show people how we differ from the run of the mill college. We are different, unique, and best value for your money.
HC ISU: As a college professor, how do you go about balancing all the others aspects of your life outside of the classroom with your career?
MT: Balancing work, family, local community commitments and my transnational family life is very hard, but I have a lot of help and support from my family.”
HC ISU: What do you think makes your classroom unique?
MT: It’s funny that you asked me that because recently I have been thinking about something that my mother used to say to me about her work life. My mother worked full-time in a very exploitative, dangerous export-processing zone in the West Coast of Puerto Rico. But she loved what she did. She used to say: !Le di mi vida a la fabrica! Loosely translated as: “I gave my life to my work,” but it is more than that. This was an expression of her commitment to what she produced, to her identity as a worker, and to her connection to work. Today, I can say without hesitation, I love what I do; I teach with my heart, soul, and body. Your experience as a college student at ISU matters to me because you are OUR future. I run into students after they have finished – in fact, some of them contacted me asking for more information, readings, and/or to tell me how they are able to apply some of the things they learned in class….and they always tell me how much they enjoyed my class or how what I share in the classroom is so relevant to them today.
HC ISU: Other than the content of the course, what do you wish for your students to take from a class taught by you?
MT: I want my students to recognize that we are in the midst of one of the amazing experiments in the history of this country as Latinos and Asians are poised to become the largest minority groups in the country. Our communities are slowly transforming themselves; we must learn how to talk, engage, challenge, and forge community together. I want students to challenge stereotypes and embrace diversity; embrace wholeheartedly what it means to be a multilingual, multicultural society. Since its inception as a nation, we have always been multilingual and multicultural! It’s time to create new stories where we can all see each other reflected in the narrative of this country.”
HC ISU: What are some of your future goals inside and outside of the classroom?
MT: I have a lot of goals: I want to see more student involvement in our local community; I want to see more cultural events in our local community; I want to welcome more international students into our campus; I want to develop the Latin American and Latino Studies program so that it becomes a point of pride for the university and community. I want to see more interdisciplinary research been done at ISU.