Conclusion

The Tomas Rivera Center officially closed its doors on Trinity University’s campus in 1996. The reasons for the center shutting down can be attributed to change in leadership positions, and differences in how the center should be run. 

Nonetheless, the Center served during and was a pivotal moment in the history of Hispanic/Chicano research and political involvement. It became the first institute in the nation dedicated to researching the Latino population in the United States, and provided policymakers with high quality reports to make informed decisions for these populations. 

The reaches of the Center stemmed far into the different areas in Texas, and affected a multitude of ethnicities in the state. With the ban of affirmative action in public Texas universities, Hispanic legislatures searched for another method to keep Latinos in higher education. The end result was the "Top 10% Rule" otherwise known as the Texas House Bill 588, which guarantees the top 10% of any graduating Texas senior class admission to any Texas public university, no matter the student's ethnicity. This law not only helped keeping Latino numbers in university classes, but assisted with any ethnic population if they were in the top 10% of their graduating class. The Tomas Rivera Center assisted with the research utilized to make this bill, before they closed down. 

The city of San Antonio felt the results of the published studies in the form of attention being brought to the harsh economic realities faced by small businesses in the city. Texas college students felt the repercussions of the lawsuit against the governor of Texas, as more funding went into schools in the most densely populated area. The center paved the way for the implementation of Latino research to benefit the Latino community. 

Even though the Center closed, the legacy of the institution, and of Tomas Rivera himself, has made a lasting impact on Hispanic policy studies, economics, and has assisted with reversing stereotypes made from unreliable research methods of ideologies. The after effects of the Center will continue on in the future for all Latino students, policymakers, and educators.