When Maura Toro-Morn came to Bloomington-Normal for graduate school, she never intended to say. Her goal was to return to Puerto Rico, but that never happened.
“Forces kept bringing me back,” she said, adding that her husband and son helped her grow “roots.”
Over three decades, what she’s most well-known for, is her teaching career at Illinois State University (ISU), where she’s catapulted the Latin American and Latino/a Studies program forward and made countless students feel at home.
Without Toro-Morn, James Pancrazio said the Latin American studies program wouldn’t be the same.
“She is the center,” he explained.
Pancrazio met Toro-Morn when they were both students at ISU decades ago. Now, they both teach at the school.
Toro-Morn directs the program, but Pancrazio said she’s also built it up. A now pivotal course at ISU — Introduction to Latino/a studies — was Toro-Morn’s brainchild, he added.
But Pancrazio said what really makes her the “center” is how she interacts with people. Toro-Morn encourages collaboration amongst colleagues, and she invests time into personal connections with students, particularly helping international students feel a sense of belonging.
“If it were not for that type of outreach, I think Bloomington-Normal, it'd be much less — and certainly ISU would be much less than it is.”
Toro-Morn’s efforts have not gone without recognition. At ISU, she became a distinguished lecturer in 2021 and a Provost’s Impact Award recipient in 2017. YWCA nominated her as a Woman of Distinction in 2018.
While Toro-Morn’s not technically a migrant, she said she experienced the feelings of otherness associated with immigration since her home has a different language and culture.
So she’s made herself un Puente: a bridge, between ISU and the students trying to find their place there.
“I see myself reflected in all of my students, I see myself reflected in their experiences in the classroom, in all of them,” she said.
Layla Miranda is one of those students.
“She makes a point out of learning each student's name, but also their major, what their interests are,” Miranda said. “And then she really remembers you.”
Mariana Muñoz said when she bumps into Toro-Morn in the halls, the professor always exclaims something like “¡Ay mi vida! Mi amor!” which translates to something like “My love, how are you?”
“Receiving that type of love in a PWI (Predominantly White Institution) is just so — it stands out to you,” Muñoz said. “It really does. It feels like I'm back at home with my family and receiving the love of my tía (aunt).” Outside of education, Toro-Morn has also organized robust LatinX Heritage Month events and is on the board of The Immigration Project.
“She's a very active participant in so many different events at the university and the community that I think as a member of our community, she has just been really a pillar of making change happen and of bringing people together,” said Kendra Paitz, director and chief curator at University Galleries.
Pancrazio said he doesn't know how she juggles it all.
"She is the busiest woman on campus," he said while chuckling. “She is always moving forward, and I can't think of anybody that has all the teaching responsibilities, has all the service responsibilities, and has more meetings than anybody, and still is doing beyond her share in research and teaching and service," he said.
