April 13, 2010
NJ Revilla-Garcia
U.S. Secretary of the Interior to speak
at Capitol Forum on Hispanic higher education
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and University (HACU) announces that U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will deliver a keynote address on April 19 at a luncheon that begins at noon, as part of HACU’s 15th Annual National Capitol Forum at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Other speakers at the luncheon panel on “The Role of Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Preparing the Nation’s Workforce” include: The Honorable Arden Bement, Director, National Science Foundation; The Honorable Garth Graham, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (DHHS); and The Honorable Barbara J. DesMarteau, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
“We are honored to have Secretary Salazar, a champion of Hispanic higher education, speak at our 15th Capitol Forum,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “It’s important that we discuss how to be better prepare our nation’s workforce, especially when more than half those entering the workforce in the near future will be Hispanic.”
The Capitol Forum takes place April 18-20. Topics will include: Preparing Our Students for a 21st Century Economy; The Budget Process and an Appropriations Outlook for FY 2011; Key Legislative Proposal in the 111th Congress: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); Current & Future Legislation Impacting HSIs; and Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act.
The HACU Capitol Forum will also include a session to provide information about advocating on Capitol Hill. Delegations led by leaders and presidents of HACU-member institutions will make visits to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to increase funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions, which currently receive about half the federal funding per student compared to all institutions of higher education.
Capitol Forum agenda is available at http://www.hacu.net/.