January 16, 2014

NJ Revilla-Garcia

HACU attends White House summit on expanding access to higher education

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was among those represented at the “White House Education and Skills Summit.” HACU Governing Board member Félix V. Matos Rodriguez, Ph.D., President of the Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY), attended on behalf of the association. Several other Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) presidents as well as a number of HACU-member presidents of emerging HSIs were also in attendance.

“HACU is committed to working with the President and his Administration to continue to strengthen the capacity of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to enroll and help our nation’s most vulnerable students succeed in higher education,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “HACU is especially committed to continuing our engagement of elected officials from both sides of the aisle at the national and local levels to ensure HSIs get the resources they need for more Hispanic students to pursue their higher education goals.”

HACU’s commitment includes a recently launched STEM Task Force to address the need for increasing Hispanic participation in STEM fields and HACU’s on-going efforts to link Hispanic Serving School Districts (HSSDs) and HSIs in order to strengthen the educational pipeline in all fields.

The White House coordinated this summit as part of its effort to promote ways that higher education as well as the private sector, city and state leaders, and philanthropy can connect more low-income students with college and ensure they succeed once they get there. According to press reports, the invitation-only event focused on urging more selective higher education institutions to commit to improving low income student access to higher education. 

Read Full Release here.

FACT SHEET: The President and First Lady’s Call to Action on College Opportunity

Related News Releases from HACU-member institutions:

FIU President at White House to discuss strategies to expand college opportunities (Florida International University)

Whittier College President Participates in White House College Summit (Whittier College)

UC Merced Presents New Student Initiatives to White House (University of California, Merced)

California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris Attends White House Summit on College Access for Low-Income and Disadvantaged Students. (California Community Colleges)

Dr. Serrata Invited to the White House. (El Paso Community College)