University of Arizona

Everyone is welcome to visit Special Collections without an appointment from 9 am - 5 pm, Mon - Fri. Note that beginning April 1st, our hours will be 9 am - 4 pm

Rudolph Troike Bilingual Education Collection

Un Nuevo Dia Masthead, Spring 1976

Rudolph C. Troike, a linguistics specialist, was born in 1933 in Brownsville, Texas. He attended the University of Texas, Austin where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Anthropology and Ph.Ds in German Linguistics and Anthropology. For his graduate studies, he participated in a two year anthropological study and aided in archeological excavations through the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico. Afterwards, he worked with the Georgetown University English Language Program in Turkey for three years. Troike then returned to the University of Texas, where he became a full professor in 1971 in English and Linguistics, an appointment he held for ten years after. He was appointed as the director of the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. from 1972-1977. During this time he hosted the first visit by linguists and language teachers from China, and was U.S. delegate to two UNESCO conferences. In 1980 he moved to the University of Illinois, where he was director of the graduate program in bilingual education. In 1989 he relocated to the University of Arizona where he served as Head of the Department of English from 1990 to 1995. Currently he is the director of the English Language/Linguistics Program at the University of Arizona. His principal research interests are in American Indian languages and the ethnohistory of south Texas and northeastern Mexico, and in universals in syntax.

The inclusive dates for this collection are 1953-1988, with the bulk of the material dating from 1974-1988. The materials in the collection were collected by Rudolph C. Troike and represent the evolution and history of bilingual education in the twentieth century. This collection contains materials that pertain to the United States and other countries concerning bilingual education and bilingualism. Professional papers and journal articles, reports, case studies, newspaper clippings, periodicals, and other print materials contained in the collection reflect the political and social changes taking place in the twentieth century. These materials were used as research files and resources for Troike and other researchers, teachers, and decision makers involved in bilingual education. The collection focuses on the planning, evaluation, policy making, and program development of bilingual education. Some of the materials in the collection are in other languages such as Spanish, French, and various indigenous languages and are scattered throughout the collection, but are mostly found in series three. Materials in other languages include newspaper and journal articles and school workbooks that were meant to be used in the classroom.