July 8, 2011

HACU meets with USDA fellows from HSIs

Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) representatives recently met with members of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2011 Kika De La Garza Fellows Program, a week-long seminar sponsored by the USDA to learn more about the legislative and administrative process for generating research, teaching and outreach resources for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

HACU staff spoke to the Fellows about its government relations efforts and the HACU National Internship Program for youths attending co

HACU Vice President of Government Relations, Gumecindo Salas speaks about goverment relations to members of the USDA 2011 Kika De La Garza Fellows Program.

lleges and universities. Government relations staff discussed various topics, including: HACU’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and with federal agencies on behalf of HSIs; the impact of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind legislation on HSIs and Hispanic-serving school districts; updates on FY 2012 agriculture appropriations; and the 2008 Farm Bill reauthorization, which resulted in the creation of the new cohort of Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities.

HACU-member institutions represented include: Adams State College (Colorado); California State University, Monterey Bay; California State University, San Bernardino; CUNY-City College (New York); Miami Dade College, North Campus (Florida); Morton College (Illinois); Northeastern Illinois University; Phoenix College (Arizona); Reedley College (California); South Mountain Community College (Arizona); Texas A&M University, San Antonio; University of California, Riverside; and University of Houston, Downtown. Click here for a list of fellows.

For more information on the E. Kika de la Garza Fellowship program, visit: http://www.hsi.usda.gov/HSIs/fellowship.htm.