HACU’s 19^th Annual Conference will focus on the future of Hispanic leaders 

San Antonio, TX – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) 19^th Annual Conference will prove a powerful platform to promote the college and career needs of the country’s largest ethnic population, and plays a vital role in shaping the future of higher education policies and priorities, as the country’s only Hispanic higher education conference. 

“Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders” is the apt title for this year’s conference October 15-18, 2005 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

The Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, Phil Gordon will be the keynote speaker at the Opening Plenary on Saturday, October 15, 2005, at 4:00 pm.  A lively Town Hall session will take place on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, at 10:00 am with Dr. Mark Yudof, Chancellor of the University of Texas System Office and Dr. Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of City University of New York, serving as keynote speakers.  Mario Bosquez, author of The Chalupa Rules: A Latino Guide to Gringolandia, will speak at the Power Lunch on Monday, October 17, 2005 at noon.

HACU’s 19^th Annual Conference will focus on efforts to maximize existing resources to prepare future leaders, as well as to build new support for substantial increases in private- and public-sector investments in Hispanic students.

The leadership of HACU’s more than 400 member and partner colleges and universities will join public policy makers, corporate executives, community advocates, educators and students at conference sessions showcasing changing demographics, latest trends and model Hispanic higher education programs.

Lead sponsors of this year’s conference include Arizona State University, A T &T, Gateway, Home Depot, Maricopa Community College District, Nelnet, the United States Coast Guard, the University of Arizona and Wal-Mart.

HACU is delighted to welcome a stellar roster of exhibitors to this year’s Conference Exhibit Hall and Career Fair, which will showcase outstanding products, services and programs, as well as scholarship, internship and employment opportunities.

A Dress for Success live fashion show will also take place in the Exhibit Hall featuring apparel from major national retailers. Examples of Professional Dress, Business Casual and Casual Friday looks will be featured. A local radio station will provide music for the event.

HACU’s Legislative Agenda is working to stop the continuing decline of local, state and federal support for our institutions of higher learning. In many areas, recent funding cuts have had the most impact on already under-funded Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs, which serve the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students.  Conference workshops on HEA reauthorization, which is not expected to be voted on by Congress until next year, will provide the latest information on reauthorization developments.  Our country’s investments in higher education will fuel our innovations, economic growth, social progress and leadership role in a world increasingly driven by advanced technologies demanding the highest levels of knowledge and skills.

Opening new doors to college for our Hispanic communities is crucial to providing an advanced education to a population that will have a profound impact on our future workforce and leadership ranks.  Therefore, workshops covering resources available and needed to prepare young Latinos and Latinas to become the future leaders of this country will be held at the conference.

The country’s approximately 242 Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs, on average continue to receive only about half of the federal funding per student provided to all other degree-granting institutions.

The sheer growth in the numbers of higher education institutions becoming eligible as HSIs each year, fueled by rapid increases in the Hispanic school-age population, exacerbates Hispanic higher education funding challenges by multiplying the number of HSIs competing for a fixed pool of available federal resources.

At HACU's 19th Annual Conference, our participants will address these tremendous challenges through unique networking and partnership-building opportunities within the United States and abroad.

HACU’s membership collectively serves more than two-thirds of all Hispanic higher education students in the United States and Puerto Rico. HACU’s international membership includes leading higher education institutions throughout Latin America and in Spain. Our member colleges and universities are at the forefront of every major effort to better serve a population that continues to suffer the lowest college graduation rates of any major population group.

Sessions on international education issues ranging from cross-border partnerships to the worldwide reach of new distance learning technologies for the global Hispanic community will be a daily focus at HACU’s 19^th Annual Conference.

HACU will welcome hundreds of future Hispanic college students at our pre-conference Youth Leadership Fair and hundreds of top Hispanic college students who will learn and contribute their youthful perspectives.

HACU, which has its national headquarters in San Antonio, represents more than 400 colleges and universities, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), which collectively serve more than two-thirds of all Hispanic higher education students in the United States.  HACU’s international membership includes leading higher education institutions in Latin America and in Spain.