HACU Media Contact
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia
(210) 576.3206

Statement by HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores on the signing of White House Executive Order on Hispanic education

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House before signing an executive order that renews the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) applauds President Barack Obama for signing an executive order today renewing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. We see this signing as a further step to ensure the educational success of all Hispanic students.

President Obama’s goal of the U.S. once again becoming the world’s leader in degree attainment by 2020 is only achievable if Hispanic higher education success is increased dramatically in the years ahead. This in turn can only happen if Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are equitably supported to increase their capacity to educate the fast-growing numbers of Hispanics enrolling in colleges and universities. It is our hope that a result of today’s executive order will be the allocation of additional funding and resources to HSIs to better prepare and educate Hispanic students.

We also thank the President for reiterating his support for the DREAM Act. HACU continues to lead efforts with the Act on the DREAM Coalition to advocate for these students whose potential contributions to the United States are now severely restricted by their undocumented status.

As an education association, HACU fully supports the work of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Initiative to fulfill the promise set forth in today’s executive order to educate Hispanic students to become successful leaders of tomorrow.

About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represent approximately 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. HACU is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas where it will celebrate its Silver Anniversary during its annual conference “25 Years of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success,” October 29-31, 2011. More information is available at www.hacu.net.

Related Information
Improving Educational Opportunities and Outcomes for Latino Students (Source: Fact sheet issued by The White House)