FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 29, 2006

HACU Conference Features List of Prominent Keynote Speakers

San Antonio, TX - A number of international and national leaders will be making their way to San Antonio next month to speak at the 20th Annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Conference at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The conference, taking place October 28-31, will provide a powerful platform to promote the college and career needs of the country’s largest ethnic population, and will play a vital role in shaping the future of higher education policies and priorities.

At the country’s only Hispanic higher education conference participants will welcome the Honorable Michael O. Johanns, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, as one of HACU’s 2006 award recipients. He will be accepting the Outstanding HACU Public Sector Partner Award on behalf of the USDA on Monday, October 30, at the Partnership Luncheon at 11:30 am.  At the same event, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Congressman Rubén E. Hinojosa, both of Texas, will be recognized for their legislative efforts to improving higher educational opportunities for Hispanics.   San Antonio City Councilman Ricardo Perez will be the keynote speaker at the Opening Plenary on Saturday, October 28, at 4:00 pm.  Leading the Power Lunch will be best-selling author, Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez, on Sunday, October 29, at 12:00 pm.

Sessions on international education issues ranging from cross-border partnerships to the worldwide reach of new distance learning technologies for the global Hispanic market will be a daily focus throughout the conference. Dra. Imma Tubella, Rector, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain; Dr. Arturo Lara López, Rector, Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico; Dr. Salme Steinberg, President Northeastern Illinois University; and Ambassador George M. Staples, Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, U.S. Department of State, will be sharing their insights and perspectives at the International Plenary on Monday, October 30, at 8:30 am.

A lively Town Hall session will take place on Monday, October 30, at 4:00 pm with Dr. Charles B. Reed, Chancellor of the California State University System; Dr. Tessa Martinez Pollack, President of Our Lady of the Lake University; Dr. Ricardo Fernandez, President of Lehman College, City University of New York; and Governor Gaston Caperton, President of the College Board, serving as panelists.  Free to the public, this event will focus on how Hispanic-Serving Institutions can emphasize “serving” Hispanic students in ways that go beyond the federal definition based simply on enrollment.  In addition, how institutions can serve the needs of undocumented students in the spirit of the proposed Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act will also be discussed.

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