The history of El Centro Chicano at USC began with a progressive campus activism and civil rights movement during the 1960s and 1970s. During this period students and campus groups from across the nation protested and organized to demand the expansion of access, curriculum, and programs that focused on the experience of people of color at institutions of higher learning.  The Chicana/o Movement, as part of the larger civil rights movement of the 1960s/70’s, was an important era that expanded institutional spaces for Chicanos and Latinos in higher education.  Student activism from groups like the United Mexican American Students (UMAS), (which after 1969 became known as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán- M.E.Ch.A.), the Mesa Directiva, the Black Student Union (BSU), the Asian American Student Alliance, American Indian Students and many other groups, challenged universities and colleges to adopt institutional changes to their curriculum offerings, admissions policies, student services, and relations to communities beyond the campus. These early student movement efforts by USC students of color led to the creation of an Ethnic Studies major, increased student of color admissions, the creation of the Topping Student Fund, the Mexican American Alumni Association (MAAA), the Latino Floor and the founding of USC El Centro Chicano.

The idea of establishing Chicano student campus centers with a focus on Chicano student recruitment, orientation, and retention is outlined in El Plan de Santa Barbara: A Chicano Plan for Higher Education written in 1969. On October 9, 1969, members of UMAS met with USC President Norman Topping and requested funding for the creation of a Centro Chicano that would act as an urban recruitment center for Mexican American high school and junior high students. This initial request to fund a Centro Chicano was denied.  The student movement at USC surged with increased campus activism and continued meetings between Chicano students and the administration advocating for university resources for students of color to include scholarships, admission policies, an office of EOPS, and the passage of the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund.  By 1971, USC M.E.C.H.A and its supporters on campus were in discussions with the university to have a Centro Chicano established.  The focus of this Centro Chicano combined with Chicano student recruitment and retention efforts, along with institutional resources would enable the expansion of USC’s ability to meet the needs of the Chicano community.  After continued negotiations between the student community and the university, USC El Centro Chicano was established in the fall of 1972, under the leadership of Interim Director Raul Vargas.  USC El Centro Chicano opened its doors February, spring semester of 1973.  In March, Silas H. Agrego was hired as the first full-time Director. Under his leadership, USC El Centro Chicano implement a broad array of student and community centered services that uniquely impacted the way that USC supported Chicano students and served the broader mission of the university.