FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2008
HACU media contact:
Norma Jean Revilla-García
210.576.3206
njgarcia@hacu.net
HACU urges member colleges and universities to support OLLU in wake of fire
San Antonio, TX- Antonio Flores, President of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) issued the following statement about Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) and its historical role in higher education:
“Twenty two years ago, Sr. Elizabeth Ann Sueltenfuss, then president of OLLU, and Dr. Antonio Rigual, then vice president for OLLU Institutional Advancement, had a vision for the future of higher education for Hispanic youth in our nation,” said Antonio Flores, President of HACU.
As a result, HACU was established in 1986 at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) with a founding membership of eighteen institutions. Rigual, now professor of Spanish at OLLU, served as the first Executive Director and President of HACU from 1986-1990.
Since then, HACU has grown to an organization that represents nearly 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. OLLU President Tessa Martinez Pollack serves on the Governing Board of HACU, which is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
“I was deeply saddened by the fire at the OLLU main campus in San Antonio and at the same time grateful that no one was injured,” said Flores, who spoke of the damage caused to the Main building of this historic institution on the West Side of San Antonio. “However, the resilience of the OLLU Community is amazing, and we at HACU are encouraging our member institutions to support this historic Hispanic-Serving Institution in any way they can and help preserve this institution that was the birthplace of HACU.”
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