Henry L. "Hank" Lacayo was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1953, after serving in the Army, he became an employee with North American Aviation (now known as Rockwell International). While working in the tooling department of Rockwell's Los Angeles Airframe Division, Lacayo became a member of UAW Local 887. In 1962, he was elected president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 887 and in 1974, after moving to Detroit, he was appointed the National Director of UAW's political and legislative department, the first Hispanic to serve as a political director of a national union. Lacayo served as an advisor to several Presidents and stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, as Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech. When he retired from the UAW, Lacayo continued to serve the public addressing advocacy, senior citizen concerns, labor unions, minorities' rights, politics and legislation at the local, state and federal levels. He served a fifth term as state president of the Congress of California Seniors and served as adviser to the National Association for the Hispanic Elderly. He was one of the founders of the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. He was on the Board of Directors for the Ventura County Community Foundation, El Concilio Family Services, La Hermandad Hank Lacayo Youth and Family Center, St. Barnabas Senior Services in Los Angeles, Health Access of California, the Jewish Labor Committee, and the California Foundation on Aging. Mr. Lacayo served on the CSU Channel Islands Foundation Board. He was instrumental in securing $560,000 for the Henry L. "Hank" Lacayo Institute for Workforce & Community Studies, established in November 2010 on the campus, providing opportunities for students to engage in entrepreneurial studies. The Board of Trustees of California State University and California State University Channel Islands conferred upon Henry L. "Hank" Lacayo, the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 2012. The collection was donated by the family of Hank Lacayo and consists of artifacts, correspondence, documents, ephemera, and photographs. Please use the One Search feature on the main library page to search for other materials regarding this collection.