Member Advisory--November 17, 2004

HACU welcomes new governing board leadership

 The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) welcomed new leadership to its Governing Board to preside over the nation’s leading voice for the higher education needs of the country’s largest ethnic population.

At the HACU 18^th Annual Conference last month, Alexander Gonzalez, President of California State University, Sacramento, was unanimously elected chair of the HACU Governing Board, joined by a new roster of Governing Board officers and three new board members representing the leadership of the Hispanic higher education community.

“HACU welcomes the proven leadership and outstanding record of achievement of Dr. Gonzalez, a renowned champion of academic access and excellence for our nation’s diverse communities of learning,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores.

“HACU is excited to welcome the expertise, visionary leadership and extraordinary credentials that every new officer and board member brings to an association that will surely benefit with record new reach and results in the critical year ahead,” Flores said.

The following were also elected to serve with Gonzalez as Governing Board officers for 2004-2005: Valencia Community College-Osceola Campus (Florida) Provost Silvia Zapico as vice chair and chair-elect, University of the Sacred Heart (Puerto Rico) President Jose Jaime Rivera as secretary, and University of Texas at San Antonio President Ricardo Romo as treasurer. As past board chair, Northeastern Illinois University President Salme Harju Steinberg remains a member of the board’s Executive Committee.

Also elected unanimously during HACU’s 18^th Annual Conference in Miami, Florida, in October were three new Governing Board members for 2004-2005: University of New Mexico President Louis Caldera, Pima County (Arizona) Community College District Chancellor Roy Flores and Florida International University President Modesto Maidique.

As HACU Governing Board Chair, Gonzalez will guide the board of an association that represents more than 390 colleges and universities that collectively serve more than two-thirds of all U.S. Hispanic higher education students. HACU’s international membership includes leading universities located throughout Latin America and Spain.

“I am honored to assume this new role for a respected national association with an international reach,” said Gonzalez. “Our membership represents those colleges and universities at the forefront of every major effort to address the education needs of our country’s fastest-growing college-age population. As a nation, we must embrace every opportunity to support these institutions. They will educate the next generation of innovators and leaders.”

As president of Sacramento State, the veteran educator presides over one of the largest campuses in the massive 23-campus California State University system – the largest university system with the largest Hispanic enrollment in the country.

Other returning HACU Governing Board members are: California State University at Bakersfield President Emeritus Tomas A. Arciniega; Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico) Rector Victor A. Arredondo Alvarez; St. Mary’s University (Texas) President Charles L. Cotrell; Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College (City University of New York) President Dolores M. Fernandez; California State University at Fullerton President Milton A. Gordon; Borough of Manhattan Community College (City University of New York) President Antonio Perez; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) President Tessa Martinez Pollack; and College of the Desert (California) Superintendent/President Maria C. Sheehan.

HACU Member Advisories are a service of the
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.