Tuesday, April 6, 2004

HACU and Library of Congress become partners
to support Hispanic higher education community

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 6, 2004 – The leadership of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the Library of Congress Tuesday signed a new partnership agreement to strengthen support for Hispanic higher education.

The new Cooperative Agreement establishes a foundation for the Library to expand participation in HACU conferences, programs and pre-collegiate outreach, as well as provide new opportunities for Library personnel to contribute to research, development and other initiatives at HACU member colleges and universities.

In response to historically low Hispanic representation in the federal labor force, HACU and the Library of Congress will work together to promote employment, related education and training opportunities at the Library for students, faculty and graduates from HACU member higher education institutions.

The Library of Congress also will implement a new HACU Cooperative Education Program that will offer eligible Hispanic college students permanent employment upon successful completion of their paid internships at the Library of Congress.

“We believe this new program will become a model for other federal agencies in addressing the fact that Hispanics, the country’s largest ethnic population, remain the only under-represented population group in the federal workforce,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores.

“We applaud the Library of Congress for its leadership in introducing this new initiative, and for the Library’s continuing support of our Hispanic students,” said Flores, who heads an association that represents 360 colleges and universities serving the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students in the United States.

Flores joined Deputy Librarian of Congress Donald L. Scott at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to sign the formal Cooperative Agreement.

“The mission of the Library is to acquire, preserve, protect and share the history of America with the Congress and the public. We cannot carry out this mission effectively if our work force does not truly reflect the American public we serve,” Scott said.

With nearly 40 percent of the Library of Congress work force becoming eligible for retirement within the next three years, Scott said “it’s a no-brainer” to focus recruitment and training efforts on the youngest and fastest-growing population group.

“Hispanics represent the work force of the future in America,” Scott said, adding that he wants the Library of Congress to become “an employer of choice” for Hispanics.

The Library of Congress will capitalize on its existing partnership with the HACU National Internship Program to bring participating new HACU interns on board and, upon successful completion of their internship, provide them the opportunity to become permanent employees.

“This recruitment tool, approved by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, puts the Library on the cutting edge of developing and utilizing creative recruitment tools,” Scott said.

The HACU National Internship Program is the largest Hispanic college internship program in the country. Each year, the program offers hundreds of top Hispanic college students from throughout the country professional development opportunities and paid internships at top federal agencies and leading U.S. corporations. Fifty HACU National Internship Program students have participated in Library of Congress internships.

“We’re excited to participate in this new initiative that will directly lead to rewarding careers at the Library of Congress for our students,” said William Rafael Gil, who oversees the HACU National Internship Program as HACU Assistant Vice President for Collegiate Programs and Federal Relations.

Under proposed terms of the HACU Cooperative Education Program, participating students will become eligible for non-competitive career or career-conditioned appointments within 120 days of successfully completing their internships, college degree requirements and a minimum of 640 hours of career-related work.

“The Library of Congress is to be commended for its commitment to offering our students this outstanding opportunity and for paving the way for other government agencies to create a truly diverse federal work force,” Gil said.

Senior executives at the Library of Congress and HACU will meet annually to gauge the ongoing effectiveness of the new partnership.

Founded in 1800, The Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the nation and, with more than 500 miles of bookshelves, the largest library in the world.

For more information, contact William Rafael Gil, HACU Assistant Vice President for Collegiate Programs and Federal Relations, at (202) 467-0893 (wgil@hacu.net.). For more information about the HACU National Internship Program, visit www.hnip.net.