Nancy Barceló

Nancy “Rusty” Barceló (born June 5, 1946) is the former president of Northern New Mexico College, she is a leading figure with National Initiative for Women in Higher Education (NIWHE). She has chaired Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS) as well as the Washington State Native American Advisory Board (NAAB). In 2004, Barceló was awarded the Ohtli award, which is a special recognition presented by the Mexican government to Mexicans or Latinos whose work has benefited Mexicans living abroad. In addition, Barcelo was a University of Iowa alum who also held positions at the University of Iowa and later at the University of Minnesota, as well as the University of Washington. She retired from the college in June 2016 following several years of controversy and criticism.

Barceló was born in Merced, California on June 5, 1946. In an interview with Barceló for the University of Washington, Barceló recounts a story of how she came to have her nickname, Rusty. "When the UW’s new vice president for minority affairs started kindergarten, she told the teacher her name was Rusty Barcelo. “Oh,” the teacher replied, “You must be Nancy.” Barcelo didn’t argue but she went home and told her mother she wasn’t going back to school. “That teacher says my name is Nancy,” she complained. Her mother, who knew Barcelo had been christened Nancy Virginia but was called Rusty because of her red hair, replied that she would have to go to school, and tried to explain the mix-up. So Barcelo returned, but insisted that she be called Rusty. “I knew that’s who I was,” she explains. “And that’s the name I’ve used almost ever since."

Barceló first began her collegiate career at Chico State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare and Corrections in 1969. After this Barceló went to the University of Iowa as for graduate school in 1970. Barceló earned her Master of Arts in Recreational Education in 1972. After a time spent working in Oregon, Barceló returned to the University of Iowa in 1980 where she became the first Mexican-American to receive a doctoral degree from the University of Iowa.

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