Actor, comedian and collector of Chicano art, Richard "Cheech" Marin has been selected as Metro State's 2005 Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professor. He will appear on campus Thursday, speaking on Chicano and Latino aesthetics.

"Cheech Marin crosses generations in terms of his influence and appeal, particularly for Chicanos and Latinos," says Yolanda Ortega-Ericksen, interim associate vice president for Student Services and chair of the Castro professorship selection committee since its inception. "He was an icon of the '70s through his comedy and then became an accomplished film and TV actor. Now he is being celebrated for his vast art collection."

Popularly known as one half of the comedy team Cheech and Chong, Marin in recent years has performed in films such as "The Lion King," "Christmas with the Kranks" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," and TV series that include "Nash Bridges" and "Judging Amy." He also authored, directed and starred in the 1987 film, "Born in East L.A."

For the past 20 years, Marin has been amassing a collection of contemporary Chicano art, which is currently touring the United States, including a stop at the Smithsonian's Art and Industries Building. He is the author of "Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge," which showcases 30 artists represented in Marin's private collection.

At Metro, he will deliver a free lecture titled "Chicano Visions: A Cheech Marin Perspective" at 10 a.m. at the St. Cajetan's Center and will attend a reception in his honor at 4 p.m. at the St. Francis Center. At 6 p.m. he will speak at the college's Center for Visual Art as part of an artists' reception for the exhibit, "Leaving Atzlan: Rethinking Contemporary Latino and Chicano Art."

Originally conceived as the Latino Literary Symposium, the Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship was launched in 1997 with the intention of exposing students, faculty and staff to the work of Chicano and Latino artists and leaders. Past visiting professors have included author Cherrie Moraga, artist Carmen Lomas-Garza, Ambassador Carlos Fuentes and essayist Ana Castillo.

A Metro State alumnus, Richard T. Castro was an educational and civil rights activist, Colorado State Representative and served as executive director of Denver's Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations.