May 15, 2019
HACU represented on higher education panel at the 27th Annual Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility Symposium
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities was represented at the 27th Annual HACR Symposium: The Power of Hispanic Inclusion™ held on May 6-7, 2019, in Miami, Fla. Sandy Holt chief development & marketing officer of HACU, moderated the session on “Higher Education Partnership Imperative,” which included two panelists from HACU-member Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Margaret McMenamin, president of Union County College, and Elizabeth M. Béjar, senior vice president of academic and student affairs, Florida International University joined Sarita Brown, co-founder and president, Excelencia in Education and Raquel Tamez, president & CEO, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers as panelists of the session.
Panel discussions focused on ways that higher education and Corporate America partnerships can serve to address the challenges and opportunities in advancing Hispanic inclusion in Corporate America. The importance of corporations integrating Hispanic diversity and inclusion strategies to strengthen the recruiting pipeline and ensuring that institutions are addressing student success and graduation rates in fields where Hispanic students are underrepresented, particularly in STEM, were some of the issues discussed.
An Analysis of the 2017-18 academic year released by HACU and Excelencia in Education shows an increase in the number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions and continued growth in Hispanic student enrollment at colleges and universities. HSIs enroll nearly two-thirds of all Latino undergraduates. Yet the student undergraduate population at HSIs are diverse and represent 66 percent Hispanic, 40 percent Asian American, 29 percent Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 22 percent African American and 20 percent Native American.
Panelist on higher education partnership imperative at HACR Symposium. (L-R) Raquel Tamez, president & CEO, SHPE; Margaret McMenamin, president, Union County College; Sarita Brown, co-founder and president of Excelencia in Education; Elizabeth Bejar, senior vice president of academic and student affairs, Florida International University; and Sandy Holt, HACU chief development & marketing officer.
The HACR Annual Symposium brings together some of the nation’s most influential Hispanic leaders, government officials, and corporate executives to discuss and identify effective strategies and models for achieving greater inclusion and participation in the areas of employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance. HACR represents 12 national Hispanic organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico. HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores is a member of the HACR Board of Directors.