The I-Know Department of the Mary and Jeff Bell Library celebrates Dr. Clotilde Pérez García, for Women’s History Month 2025.
A trailblazer in medicine, education, and social advocacy, Dr. Clotilde Pérez García was a champion for early childhood education, public school desegregation, and healthcare access for Mexican American communities. As one of the few women in her medical class, she broke barriers and later co-founded organizations dedicated to early childhood education, civil rights, and genealogical research. Her achievements were recognized with prestigious awards throughout her lifetime, including the Outstanding Citizen’s Award from the American G.I. Forum in 1972.
Top left is a sepia-toned portrait of Clotilde Pérez García, encircled by text that reads “Clotilde Pérez García: Physician, Educator, Activist, & Author.” The bottom left contains a black-and-white photograph of García, wearing glasses and writing in a notepad.
After receiving her master’s in education, Clotilde Pérez García attended the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and she was 1 out of 7 women to graduate in 1954. Clotilde was also the only Mexican American woman to graduate that year!
Clotilde Co-founded the Spanish American Genealogical Association (SAGA) and was the organization’s first president. She also founded the Carmelite Day Nursery Parents and Friends Club, which was a local education and fund-raising program for children of the working poor.
Clotilde Pérez García was a committed advocate for public school desegregation, bilingual education, and federally-funded school breakfast programs. Clotilde was a strong community advocate for Mexican Americans, educating them on preventative medicine, hygiene, infant care, and nutrition.
Images provided by the Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS!
Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic in 1990
She was awarded this by King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Also later appointed to the Texas Historical Commission by Governor Ann Richards
Community Leader of America Award from the Education Board Commission of Latin America in 1969
Outstanding Citizen’s Award from the American G.I. Forum in 1972
Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Fun Fact! She studied pre-med, zoology, AND chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin!
Special Collections and Archives, Mary and Jeff Bell Library, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Our Sources
Clotilde Pérez García did SO much more!
Association, Texas State Historical. “García, Clotilde Pérez.” Texas State Historical Association, 2 Feb. 2016, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/garcia-clotilde-perez
“Dr. Clotilde P. Garcia Papers.” Tdl.org, 2022, tamucc-ir.tdl.org/collections/adbbe997-cb4a-4265-8d3f-2f60f908b148?cp.page=2. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Check out Clotilde’s personal papers, including a substantial collection of research materials, in Special Collections and Archives in the Mary and Jeff Bell Library!
