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A Phoenix-based, nonprofit institute named for former Gov. Raúl Castro will focus on education and health care issues facing Latinos in Arizona, among other top concerns.

The Raúl H. Castro Institute, which is expected to open in the fall, will be housed at Phoenix College.

Gov. Janet Napolitano announced the founding of the institute for public policy earlier this year during a ceremony at the state capitol.

Castro, 90, lives in Nogales, Ariz., with his wife, Patricia. He was elected the 14th state governor in 1974 and is the only Mexican-American to have held that office. He also served as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador in 1964, to Bolivia in 1968 and to Argentina in 1977.

"This is a great honor," said Castro in a telephone interview. The retired immigration attorney was born on June 12, 1916, in the copper mining town of Cananea, Sonora, where he lived until 1926 when his family fled a revolution and moved to Arizona. They settled in the community of Pirtleville, near Douglas.

"I wish I had my mother here with me," said Castro, reflecting on the honor bestowed upon him. "We went through hard times and tribulations," he said, explaining that his mother, Rosario Acosta Castro, became a widow in 1929. Castro's father, Francisco, was a miner who died during the Depression.

Rosario Acosta Castro had 12 sons and one daughter. The woman worked as a midwife to support her family. Her son, Raúl, was 12 years old when his father died. He worked panning for gold and later at the Douglas smelter to help his mother with the bills. "We survived because my mother would get paid with manteca (lard), flour, corn and beans. That's what kept us going," Castro said. She died in the 1980s at age 89.

Castro graduated with honors from Douglas High School in 1935.

He recalled attending a segregated school district with teachers he described as racist because they were not supportive of Mexican students. He said ingrained in his mind is the voice of one teacher saying, "These Mexican kids are so dumb. You can't teach them anything."

"That bugged me," he said, explaining his reason for excelling in his studies. He said he also had a couple of teachers who did care about him and always challenged him to do his best. It was those teachers who inspired him, and he attended Arizona State Teachers College, now Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

He received his bachelor's degree in 1939 and became a naturalized American citizen that same year. Castro went onto law school at the University of Arizona, graduating in 1949. He opened a law office and then joined the Pima County Attorney's Office in 1950.

In 1953, Castro ran for Pima County attorney and won, serving until 1958 when he was elected a Superior Court judge before he was appointed to his first U.S. ambassadorship.

Napolitano recognizes the growing Latino population and favors research on issues facing Latinos in areas of education, health, human services, leadership and civic participation, according to a fact sheet about the institute.

The institute's findings will be accessible to the public, media and policy-makers. The organization will be funded through grants, public and corporate donations, and eventually through an endowment deposited into a development fund.

The Governor's Office worked with all three state universities, Maricopa County educational institutions, Pima Community College, Raza Development Fund and Chicanos por la Causa to develop a vision, a mission and priorities for the Castro Institute. The UA College of Behavioral Sciences and the University of Sonora in Hermosillo will also be integral to the institute, Castro said.

He said he wants the institute to make a major impact on education for Latinos. "I'm a frustrated school teacher," he explained. "I enjoy going to elementary schools and motivating students. I want to wake them up and get them going."

In addition to providing resources for students, Castro said he wants the institute to provide parents with information about higher education.

"Many Latino parents don't know which way to turn. I want them to be able to come to the institute, talk to staff and gather the information they need. The institute needs to offer hope to people and let parents become participants and teach them how to become leaders within the system."