Christina Ochoa did not only become the first Latina dean of IU Maurer Law school, but also the first person of color and the second woman to ever become its dean.
Christina Ochoa did not only become the first Latina dean of IU Maurer Law school, but also the first person of color and the second woman to ever become its dean.
Dean Ochoa’s story began after she was born in Mexico City and moved to the United States when she was eight years old. Her father was from east L.A and her mother was from Mexico City. After her father served in World War II, he was able to go to college because of the G.I. Bill.
“He was the first person in his family to be able to go to college and that was because of having fought in the war,” Ochoa said. “Because he was bilingual , he was able to work for U.S companies that were working in Latin America, and they sent him there.”
Dean Ochoa’s father was living in Mexico City with her mother when she was born. She was able to have her Mexican heritage, but also her Mexican citizenship identity.
“For me it’s just always been a huge part of how I see myself and for somebody who spent part of my life in Mexico, part of my life in the U.S., and part of my life in Latin America it is a space that I always negotiate,” Ochoa said. “I am very aware that I am incredibly light skinned, I can pass in most places as not Latina, but being Latina is incredibly important to me to make an effort to make sure that despite people’s assumptions about my appearance, that I am very clear about my experience.”
Dean Ochoa talks about her life in an extended interview.
Dean Ochoa was and still is the only Latina faculty member at IU Maurer Law school.
“I was the first, and I am the only one, and I look forward to that changing,” Ochoa said. “In the meanwhile I will continue to serve that role with a lot of joy but also with a lot of humility and honor.”
President of the Latinx Law Student Association, Sarah Chavez, said dean Ochoa has gone out of her way to make them feel welcomed in a predominantly white institution.
“Before she was a dean, she was a professor here, so she would come to our Latine events for the law school. She always made sure to let us know that if we needed anything, we could reach out to her,” Chavez said.
When Dean Ochoa was announced as interim dean, the LLSA gifted her a plaque that said “Dean Christina Ochoa.”
“That was really touching to me,” Ochoa said. “They were really moved by that appointment and made a plaque for me to commemorate the appointment, which was incredibly moving.”
IU Maurer law student, Sarah Chavez, talks about how she feels to see the first Latina dean of IU Maurer Law.
Dean Ochoa said it feels meaningful for students to feel connected to her as people who share an experience in discrimination, bias, and having to articulate what it means to be a member of an underrepresented group of people.
“If I can be helpful to students on that plane, that is deeply meaningful to me,” Ochoa said. “I can’t quite imagine having that, because I didn’t, but I can see that it is meaningful to others and I can understand why it is.”
According to the Law Student Admission Council, Hispanic/Latinx law students made up 12.3% of 2021 incoming class, compared to 12.4% in 2020 and 11.8% in 2019. At IU, 5 to 10% of law students identified as Hispanic/ Latinx in 2022.
The incoming class this year of Latinx students is both the largest in numbers and percentage this year at the IU Maurer Law school.
“That’s a trend that we want to continue seeing to move in that direction,” Ochoa said. “I want to make sure that our student body, our faculty , and our staff represent the diversity of society.”
Dean Ochoa is paving the way for many students of color on campus. She has contributed significant things to the IU Maurer Law school and has many more to come.