Gloria Macias Harrison Presented with Key to the Rialto Unified School District, Praises District and Shares Experiences as an Educator

At the November 15, 2023 board meeting of the Rialto Unified School District (RUSD) Board of Education, Gloria Macias Harrison, Inland Empire Community News Publisher Emeritus and San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees Trustee, was presented with a Key to the District in front of the community.
During the meeting, Harrison shared her experiences as an educator and expressed her gratitude to the RUSD for the support and encouragement she received from her mentors. She also acknowledged the negative experience she had teaching summer classes at Eisenhower, but joked that it taught her a lot and ensured her desire to teach college students moving forward; and she was proud to be part of the district’s planning process.
Harrison said, “It’s the learning that you garner and can use for good somewhere else. And it was very helpful to me because the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees was also going through a planning process at the time. And so the experience that I had with RUSD was excellent. I knew what to look for when doing our own planning process.”

Joseph W. Martinez, Rialto Unified School District Board of Education Clerk, also spoke highly of Harrison, stating, “Gloria Macias Harrison – she is a magnanimous Latina. Since the early 1960s, Harrison has successfully balanced two careers for family life and community activism. Tonight, I am thankful to her for her accomplishments and her support for Rialto students and our community.”
Harrison is known for her extensive contributions to the community, including being one of the founders of El Chicano in 1969, an alternative press that addresses the need for a Chicano voice in the Inland Empire.
She served as President of Crafton Hills College for 12 years and as Vice President of Instruction for six. Harrison taught for 20 years at San Bernardino Valley College and was Dean of Humanities for three. She retired in 2011 and was elected to the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees in 2012.

Harrison has also served on various state committees on education, including as a Governor’s appointee on the California Commission on the Status of Women. She is a member of Kiwanis and is on the Board of the Valley Concert Association, the Brown Legacy, Crafton Hills Foundation, San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, and is currently a member of the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, and the Rialto Business and Professional Women.
Trustee Macias Harrison is the recipient of numerous awards and is admired for her dedication to education and activism. Her contributions have made a huge impact on the lives of students in the Inland Empire, and she continues to inspire and support the community through her work.