Hugo Morales graduated from Harvard in 1972 and completed Harvard Law in 1975. In May, he returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for an honorary doctorate. Photo contributed by Radio Bilingue

A Central Valley broadcasting pioneer was honored with an honorary doctorate from Harvard University on Thursday.

Radio Bilingüe Latino Public Radio Network co-Founder and Executive Director Hugo Morales is the first U.S. Latino and Indigenous Mexican to receive a Harvard honorary doctorate in recognition and celebration of his lifelong achievements, according to a news release.

Morales attended the commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday. Tom Hanks delivered the commencement address.

Morales, an Indigenous Mixteco, migrated from his village in Oaxaca, Mexico, to Northern California at 9-years-old. While attending public schools he worked as a child farm laborer.

His academic performance earned him a spot at Harvard College, where he graduated in 1972. He completed Harvard Law School in 1975.

 

He returned to Fresno in 1976 to found Radio Bilingüe, which is now the nation’s leading Latino public radio network and content producer with more than a dozen stations in California and the Southwest.

“It is humbling to receive such an honor from Harvard University. I would not have gotten here without the brilliant professional work of the Radio Bilingüe team— our gifted staff, community volunteers, dedicated listeners, board of directors, affiliate radio stations in the U.S. and Mexico, and the foundations and other supporters who have believed in our work of providing intelligent programming to essential workers in their languages,” Morales said.

More recently, Radio Bilingüe has been a critical messenger on Covid-19 response, shifting immigration policy and U.S. Census participation for its hard-to-reach audience of primarily rural and low-wage workers, according to the release.

Morales prioritized giving voice to the Latino community, including Indigenous Mexican farmworkers and Latinx youth, leading conversations revolving around Latino music, culture and languages, according to the release.

One of Radio Bilingüe’s legacy programs, national Spanish news talk show Linea Abierta (Open Line), which airs each weekday, is now part of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting at the Library of Congress.