May 28, 2015 (Updated 6/4)

NJ Revilla-Garcia

HACU represented on U.S. Commission on Civil Rights briefing on the impact of higher education to socio-economic mobility of minorities

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Governing Board secretary William V. Flores, Ph.D., president of the University of Houston, Downtown, represented HACU at a briefing by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on May 28-29, 2015, in Washington D.C.

The briefing, designed to examine how access to and persistence through completion of higher education may have a disparate impact on the socioeconomic mobility of minorities, also examined barriers that minorities face in accessing higher education.

Flores participated in the panel session on “Socio-Economic Mobility and Family Structure I,” joined by panelists Fabian T. Pfeffer, University of Michigan; Roger Clegg, Center for Equal Opportunity; Diana Elliott, Pew Trusts; and Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education. Following the presentation, a second session on the topic included panelists from The Education Trust, Southeast Asian Resource Action Center, Harvard University, and National Council of La Raza. (Photo courtesy of University of Houston-Downtown.)

A panel session with University System Heads included Timothy P. White, Ph.D., chancellor of The California State University, a HACU member Hispanic-Serving System. Presenters from HACU- member institutions included Vijay Pendakur, Ed.D., associate vice president for student affairs at California State University, Fullerton and Stella Flores, Ed.D., associate professor of public policy and higher education at Vanderbilt University.

Other higher education presenters included representatives from the New School of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, University System of Maryland, and Louisiana State University.

Also serving in panels were representatives from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni,Brookings Institute, CATO Institute for Economic Freedom, Center for American Progress,Center for College Affordability and Productivity, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and The Campaign for College Opportunity.

Federal government officials from the Census Bureau, National Science Foundation, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and US Department of Education also participated.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (http://www.usccr.gov) is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights matters.

Related:

UHD President Bill Flores Testifies at U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing in Washington D.C. (Source: University of Houston, Downtown)