FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2008
HACU media contact:
Norma Jean Revilla-García
210.576.3206 
njgarcia@hacu.net

HACU to testify at House hearing on underrepresentation of Hispanics in federal workforce

San Antonio, TX-The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Associate Vice President of Collegiate Programs and Federal Relations William Gil will testify at a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business focusing on “Minority and Hispanic Participation in the Federal Workforce and the Impact on the Small Business Community.” The hearing will take place on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at noon, in room 1539 of the Longworth House Office Building in the nation’s capital.

Gil will discuss The HACU National Internship Program (HNIP) that can serve as a pipeline for federal employment opportunities for Hispanics. In the fourth annual Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director reported to the President of the United States that she was again encouraging agencies to look at all the tools available to them to recruit well qualified Hispanics into the federal government and specifically mentioned OPM’s nine-point Hispanic employment plan as a foundation. The HACU National Internship Program is point four of that plan.  

OPM has also recognized HNIP and the HACU Cooperative Education Program (HCEP) as “best practice” tools for the recruitment of Hispanics into the federal workforce.  Both programs directly respond to Executive Order 13171, which requests agencies to increase their outreach to the Hispanic community and support programs that help address the under-representation of Hispanics in the federal workforce ranks. 

The complete transcript of the testimony will be available under "Government Relations News" at hacu.net on Thursday, April 24. William Gil will be available for media interviews following the hearing.

About HACU

HACU was established in 1986 with a founding membership of 18 institutions. Today, HACU represents approximately 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. HACU’s 22nd Annual Conference, “Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Strengthening the Nation's Prosperity and Opportunity” will be held on October 11-13, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Denver and Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado

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