The Latin American Studies Center, fondly known as "El Centro," was founded in 1995 by Dr. Mariano Diaz-Miranda and Dr. Terry Thomas at Austin Community College's Rio Grande Campus. In 1997, when Dr. Richard Fonte became ACC's President, he asked El Centro to take a central role for supporting Latinx students at ACC. At the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in 1997, El Centro was officially inaugurated into this role. It also moved to the Riverside Campus to better serve the Hispanic community of Austin and act as a liaison between the College and the community, a role it is continuing to fulfill today.