Dr. Alberto Guardiola Mata Jr., 69, passed away on December 22, 2018. He received his B.A. in Political Science in 1970 and M.A. in Human Relations in 1971 from The University of Oklahoma. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame in 1978. During his career Dr. Mata was a National Institute of Health Post-Doctoral Fellow. He was also a professor of Sociology for over 30 years and taught at a number of institutions including the University of Wisconsin, The University of Texas, and ASU until finally retiring as professor emeritus from the University of Oklahoma in the summer of 2013. Dr. Mata dedicated his career to improving people's lives through his research on gangs, drugs and HIV and their effects on various communities which resulted in over four dozen publications, essays and reports. Dr. Mata served in numerous advisory positions and boards including Oklahoma Department of Health, National Community AIDS Partnership, National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse all with the goal of improving everyone's mental and general health. In 1987 he was selected to serve on the Presidential Commission on HIV Epidemic as a Senior Adviser and Research Staff Member. In later years he taught continuing education classes for the Department of Defense traveling to bases all over the world including Italy, Spain, South Korea, Japan and Germany to teach service members and families. He was an ardent supporter of the military having grown up in a military family. Alberto is survived by three brothers, two sisters, several nieces, nephews and great nieces and a great nephew. A memorial service for Dr. Alberto G. Mata Jr. was held on December 29, 2018 at the Comanche Nation Funeral Home in Lawton, OK. (Source: ASU Foundation)