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First Person: Overview of the Hispanic American Colleges and Universities Annual Conference in San Antonio, TexasBy Carolina Escalera This past Fall semester, I had the pleasure of attending the 20th Annual Conference the Hispanic Association of Colleges and University (HACU) with the help of the Vice Provost of International Programs. Themed Twenty Years of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success, the conference brought together more than 1,600 attendees from various universities, private corporations, government agencies, and communities. As president and founder of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and secretary of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, I knew that attending the HACU conference was help us learn, among other things, how the University of Missouri-Columbia could increase the number of Hispanic students on campus. The disproportionately low number of Hispanic students enrolled at MU is a real issue for the university, as explained in a recent cover story by Adelante!, the free bilingual magazine published by the Columbia Missourian. The conference offered numerous workshops and events focusing on increasing the success of Latino students in institutions of higher education, featuring workshops with titles like: Latino Scorecard of Higher Education Institutions: Closing the Gaps; Learning from Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students: Increasing Student Success; Broadening Participation of Latino/a Student in Graduate Education; Fostering Hispanic Higher Education with Fellowships; How to Use Federal Funds to Help Hispanic Students; Policy and Perspectives on Hispanic Graduate Education: Next generation HSIs; and many more. The workshops focused in particular on how to help Latino students manage the obstacles they might face in higher education. One such issue, discussed in a “town hall” meeting at the close of the conference, was how to serve the educational needs of undocumented students who fit the proposed definition of “eligible student” under the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act being proposed in Congress with the support of both HACU and College Board president Gaston Caperton. The conference made a difference for me. Unfortunately, I was the only representative of MU, and an undergraduate student at that. In contrast, the University of Missouri-Kansas City was represented by faculty, students, and the UMKC Chancellor, and they had their own booth in the exhibition hall. Rosa Nuñez, Enrollment Services Coordinator for Admissions at UMKC said that their new Chancellor, Guy Bailey, encouraged everyone to attend the HACU conference. “Our university doesn’t have has many Hispanic students as it should,” Nuñez explained, “So we are here to increase the diversity on campus. We have been giving out information to students as well as advertising positions we have available for staff.” Overall, students, faculty, and administration, regardless of ethnicity, have much to gain from attending the HACU conference and its other sponsored programs. At the more than 400 conference booths and exhibits representing various universities and colleges, corporations, and government agencies (for example, the National Science Foundation), attendees can learn about jobs, scholarships, internships, graduate school, and other opportunities. Many universities in fact see the HACU conference as an opportunity to recruit promising Hispanic students. There are also unique opportunities for Hispanic students who attend partner universities like MU, such as scholarships are funded by corporate sponsors, like Time Warner, from whom I received $2,000 last year to pay for books. HACU and their corporate affiliates also offer benefits for faculty and administration, including grants for faculty research. HACU was established in 1986 with a founding membership of 18 institutions. Currently, it comprises more than 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. In the U.S., approximately approximately two-thirds of all Hispanic college students count themselves as members of HACU. The next conference, with the theme of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: A National Imperative for the 21 st Century, will be held in Chicago on October 20-22, 2007. If you would like more information on HACU and related topics, please Carolina Escalera at CEscalera@mizzou.edu.
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