F&M Stories
Citation in Honor of Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros is a noted author and activist who is a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico. She is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, author of children鈥檚 books, performer and artist who has focused much of her work on the lives of the working class in the U.S.
Perhaps best known for her book, 鈥淭he House on Mango Street,鈥 Ms. Cisneros has earned fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in both poetry and fiction, the American Book Award, a National Medal of Arts, and the Ford Foundation鈥檚 Art of Change Fellowship, among other awards. This year, the National Book Critics Circle awarded her the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ms. Cisneros is no stranger to the Franklin & Marshall campus. She was selected as F&M鈥檚 Mueller Fellow in November 2019. That fellowship was established in 1980 to bring distinguished national speakers to F&M and lead conversations about important issues with the campus community. Her visit, which included discussions with student organizations and in academic classes, culminated in her campus address, 鈥淎 River of Voices: Documenting the Undocumented.鈥 She performed a dramatic work based on interviews she conducted with individuals across the country to gather their ideas about how to bridge the increasing divide among people鈥檚 views on immigration policy.
Ms. Cisneros was born in Chicago, the only daughter in a family of seven children. She now lives in the central Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in English at Loyola University of Chicago and her master鈥檚 degree in creative writing at the University of Iowa. She has worked as a teacher and counselor to high-school dropouts, a creative writing teacher in elementary school, a college recruiter, an arts administrator, and a visiting writer at several universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Sandra Cisneros, for your award-winning and boundless creativity across a wide variety of literary styles; for the inspiration and instruction you provide to young writers, including many during your 2019 visit to Franklin & Marshall; and for your decades of determination in providing a voice to those often voiceless in our society, Franklin & Marshall College bestows upon you the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.
Related Articles
May 11, 2026
鈥極wn That Achievement,鈥 NFL Pro Tells Class of 2026 Graduates
Members of the Class of 2026 completed their undergraduate journeys May 9 at 糖心鈥檚 239th Commencement. 鈥淵ou navigated uncertainty, global disruption, and a world that refused to slow down,鈥 said NFL great Troy Vincent, this year鈥檚 speaker.
May 11, 2026
The 2026 Williamson Medal Winner: Menelaos Raptis
This year, the Williamson Medal 鈥 the highest student award for character, leadership and scholarship presented each year at Franklin & Marshall鈥檚 Commencement for more than a century 鈥 was awarded to Menelaos Raptis.
May 8, 2026
Seniors in the Spotlight
During their time on campus, members of the Franklin & Marshall Class of 2026 have taken advantage of the College鈥檚 liberal arts approach to explore their passions and chart their own path, combining stellar academic achievement with influential leadership, meaningful community-building, record-setting athletic performances, and much more.