"San Antonio, TX — Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush is proposing today a $600 million increase in funding over the next five years for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The aid to 195 HSIs would be increased to $80 million per year from $42 million per year over five years. Bush would increase federal aid to the 104 HBCUs to $320 million per year over five years, from $180 million per year currently, the Bush campaign said.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the only nationally recognized voice of HSIs, advocates such increases from the Administration and Congress. Since it was founded in 1986, HACU has been instrumental in increasing appropriations for HSIs from $12 million in fiscal year 1995 to a record proposal of $68.5 million this year. HSIs include colleges and universities with a minimum of 25 percent Hispanic enrollment.
""HSIs, which collectively educate more than one-half of all Hispanics in higher education are traditionally under funded. Our HSIs have always deserved recognition as the national resource of great importance that they are. We applaud the governor's announcement to commit greater federal resources to strengthen HSIs, and we hope other presidential candidates include them among their top priorities,"" said Antonio R. Flores, HACU President and CEO.
Hispanics are the youngest and fastest-growing minority population in the country and soon will become the largest minority group in America. HACU projections reveal that in the next 15 years an additional 3.5 million students will be added to the current enrollments in higher education, and out of this number, almost 40 percent will be Hispanic.
""Every year new HSIs will be born across the nation. It is commendable that our national leaders are beginning to foresee how important these colleges and universities are to the economic prosperity of our nation. I hope this presidential election will produce an Administration that will work with HACU to close the federal funding gap that afflicts HSIs and Hispanic Americans,"" Flores said.
""The positive advocacy work spearheaded by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which focuses attention on the purpose and vital role Hispanic-Serving Institutions play in educating our youth, is extraordinary. All Americans must have the full opportunity to benefit from our public colleges and universities,"" Bush said."
The aid to 195 HSIs would be increased to $80 million per year from $42 million per year over five years. Bush would increase federal aid to the 104 HBCUs to $320 million per year over five years, from $180 million per year currently, the Bush campaign said.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the only nationally recognized voice of HSIs, advocates such increases from the Administration and Congress. Since it was founded in 1986, HACU has been instrumental in increasing appropriations for HSIs from $12 million in fiscal year 1995 to a record proposal of $68.5 million this year. HSIs include colleges and universities with a minimum of 25 percent Hispanic enrollment.
""HSIs, which collectively educate more than one-half of all Hispanics in higher education are traditionally under funded. Our HSIs have always deserved recognition as the national resource of great importance that they are. We applaud the governor's announcement to commit greater federal resources to strengthen HSIs, and we hope other presidential candidates include them among their top priorities,"" said Antonio R. Flores, HACU President and CEO.
Hispanics are the youngest and fastest-growing minority population in the country and soon will become the largest minority group in America. HACU projections reveal that in the next 15 years an additional 3.5 million students will be added to the current enrollments in higher education, and out of this number, almost 40 percent will be Hispanic.
""Every year new HSIs will be born across the nation. It is commendable that our national leaders are beginning to foresee how important these colleges and universities are to the economic prosperity of our nation. I hope this presidential election will produce an Administration that will work with HACU to close the federal funding gap that afflicts HSIs and Hispanic Americans,"" Flores said.
""The positive advocacy work spearheaded by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which focuses attention on the purpose and vital role Hispanic-Serving Institutions play in educating our youth, is extraordinary. All Americans must have the full opportunity to benefit from our public colleges and universities,"" Bush said."