MIAMI –- General Motors Corp. was honored for its support of Hispanic students and diversity in higher education at the 18th annual conference of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), being held here Oct.16-19, 2004.
Rod
Gillum, GM Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Diversity, accepted
HACU’s Outstanding HACU-Private Sector Partner award on behalf of GM at
an Oct. 18 awards luncheon.
“GM endorses and shares the vision of HACU, which involves encouraging
and guiding the Hispanic community to high academic achievement, career advancement,
and economic growth,” Gillum said. “HACU empowers Hispanic students
through exceptional programs, at this annual conference and at its member institutions,”
said Gillum.
HACU, founded in 1986, represents 395 colleges and universities committed to
Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America and
Spain. HACU member institutions in the U. S. account for fewer than 7 percent
of all higher education institutions nationwide, but represent more than two-thirds
of all Hispanic college students in the U.S. In 1992, HACU led the effort to
convince Congress to formally recognize campuses with high Hispanic enrollment
as federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions, and to begin directing
federal appropriations to those campuses. In 2004, $94 million will be awarded
to Hispanic Serving Institutions under Title V of the Higher Education Act.
“We applaud General Motors for its steadfast support of HACU and the aspirations
of Hispanic students throughout this nation,” said HACU President and
CEO Antonio R. Flores. “GM’s financial investment in our students
and our member institutions is a tremendous factor in their success.”
General Motors sponsors an annual program with HACU that provides scholarships
to Hispanic students in engineering and business, and gives the students opportunities
for internships and full-time employment at GM.
HACU member institutions are involved in General Motors’ Key Institutions
program. For more than 25 years, GM has provided its Key Institutions with developmental
and research support in engineering and business.
In his remarks at the Oct. 18 luncheon, Gillum said GM applauds the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision in 2003 to uphold the legitimacy of a university’s
consideration of race and ethnic origin as a factor in its admissions policies.
“General Motors has maintained its conviction that workforce diversity,
and the affirmative action policies which produce it, are absolutely vital to
the health of American businesses and the U.S. economy,” said Gillum.
“GM believes that only a well-educated and highly diverse workforce can
maintain America’s competitiveness in the increasingly interconnected
world economy.”