Ruben Macias: Preserving Deaf History in Southern California

by Kate Ridgewell, Reference Librarian, RIOS - October 27, 2026

Ruben Macias was a Deaf educator and instructor in American Sign Language who was born in 1942 and died in 2023. As a student, he attended the Mary E. Bennett School (Los Angeles), the California School for the Deaf Riverside, Gallaudet College (Washington, D.C.), and Cal State Northridge. Macias was heavily involved in campus life at CSUN, exhibiting his art as well as founding Kappa Sigma Psi, a fraternity that provided a space for Deaf brothers to participate in Greek life and foster community between Deaf men on campus. The Ruben Macias Collection provides an in-depth view into Deaf culture in Southern California. 

Macias collected many materials from CSUN as both a student and alumnus that speak to the history of Deaf culture on CSUN’s campus. In addition to Kappa Sigma Phi’s records, Macias’ collection includes the history of the student government organization, the Deaf CSUNians, and the National Center on Deafness (NCOD) in the 1980s and 1990s. One such item is an Alumni Network article describing the permanent placement of the NCOD in Chisholm Hall after 28 years of residing in temporary spaces. I. King Jordan, a notable president of Gallaudet University, was the featured speaker for the event, which celebrated Deaf leaders alongside the new location. The article also features an interview with Victor Galloway, then president of the NCOD. Galloway describes his goals for NCOD, as well as his appreciation for the options available to Deaf students through institutions like Gallaudet and mainstream universities such as CSUN.

Decades of alumni materials for Gallaudet and the California School for the Deaf Riverside provide context on the history of Deaf education in the United States as well as the history of these Deaf institutions and the achievements of their students. 

Macias’ devotion to preserving materials related to Deafness, collecting photographs, publications, clippings, and ephemera, has ensured that much of the day-to-day life of Deaf students in Southern California has been preserved. In addition to academic history, Macias kept materials relating to Deaf life and culture, from newspaper articles detailing current events to advertisements for movies starring Marlee Matlin. One article highlights a grant for a pilot program that would fund the training of CSUN students to become court sign language interpreters. The program was the first of its kind, training interpreters in ASL legalese to serve as courtroom interpreters for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

While the collection largely centers the history of Southern California, it does include events and organizations relating to the international Deaf community, such as materials for the World Federation of the Deaf World Congress and the International Deaf Cultural Arts and Humanities Center.  

Thanks to the detailed record-keeping of Ruben Macias, decades of Deaf history have been preserved. If you are interested in learning more about Macias’ life or Deaf culture at CSUN and in California, check out the Ruben Macias collection in Special Collections and Archives.  

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