"SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) joined the national Partnership for Public Service to promote public service careers in a new initiative targeting college students throughout the country.
HACU joined other national education associations, more than 300 colleges and universities, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and 38 other federal agencies in the Partnership’s “A Call to Serve: Leaders in Education Allied for Public Service.” The initiative will inform students about federal employment opportunities, and promote the importance of a strong, diverse public service sector.
“Hispanics remain the only under-represented ethnic group in the federal labor force. Joining the Partnership for Public Service will encourage greater and wider Hispanic participation in public service, particularly in leadership positions within the federal work force,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio Flores.
HACU’s 318 member and partner colleges and universities serve the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students, currently enrolling more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. The nation’s youngest and largest ethnic population also is expected to make up nearly half (48.8 percent) of the U.S. college age population between 2000 and 2015, Flores said. “HACU member institutions are and will continue to be an invaluable reservoir of Hispanic talent and human resources for the nation,” he said.
“Hispanics already make up one of every three new workers joining the U.S. labor force overall at a time when projections are that 50 percent of the federal work force will be eligible for retirement within the next few years. HACU member colleges and universities can play a critical role in addressing this public service sector challenge,” Flores said.
“Indeed, introducing future generations of our nation’s leaders to public service career opportunities will benefit all of us in promoting creation of a federal work force and public service leadership more reflective of our diverse citizenry,” Flores said.
HACU this summer will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the HACU National Internship Program, which has introduced more than 3,800 Hispanic college students to public service sector careers through paid internships with participating federal agencies.
Now the nation’s largest Hispanic college internship program, the HACU National Internship Program has earned accolades from the White House as a proven means to attract interest in public service careers. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lists the HACU National Internship Program as Point Four in the OPM Nine-Point Hispanic Employment Initiative. Hispanics currently represent 6.5 percent of the federal work force – or 4.6 percent below the current civilian labor employment level.
The competitive HACU National Internship Program annually attracts hundreds of top students from colleges and universities throughout the country to spring, summer and fall internships at federal agencies and offices in Washington, D.C., and at locations throughout the country.
A recent poll by the Partnership for Public Service showed that only one in six college-educated Americans expresses significant interest in federal employment, and that the single greatest barrier to recruitment is a lack of information.
Recent surveys by the HACU National Internship Program showed that most former interns are considering federal service careers as a direct result of information they obtained through their federal internship experiences.
“In fact, many of our former interns now are full-time federal employees. The HACU National Internship Program already is making a difference,” said HACU National Internship Program Executive Director William Rafael Gil.
“Many of the federal agencies and higher education institutions that have joined the “A Call to Serve” initiative are familiar to us as long-standing partners of the HACU National Internship Program. The participation of HACU and the HACU National Internship Program in this new initiative of the Partnership for Public Service will bolster our efforts to promote a more diverse federal labor force,” Gil said.
For more information, contact HACU National Headquarters at (210) 692-3805 (Ext. 3214), or the HACU National Internship Program at (202) 467-0893. Or visit www.hacu.net."
HACU joined other national education associations, more than 300 colleges and universities, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and 38 other federal agencies in the Partnership’s “A Call to Serve: Leaders in Education Allied for Public Service.” The initiative will inform students about federal employment opportunities, and promote the importance of a strong, diverse public service sector.
“Hispanics remain the only under-represented ethnic group in the federal labor force. Joining the Partnership for Public Service will encourage greater and wider Hispanic participation in public service, particularly in leadership positions within the federal work force,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio Flores.
HACU’s 318 member and partner colleges and universities serve the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students, currently enrolling more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. The nation’s youngest and largest ethnic population also is expected to make up nearly half (48.8 percent) of the U.S. college age population between 2000 and 2015, Flores said. “HACU member institutions are and will continue to be an invaluable reservoir of Hispanic talent and human resources for the nation,” he said.
“Hispanics already make up one of every three new workers joining the U.S. labor force overall at a time when projections are that 50 percent of the federal work force will be eligible for retirement within the next few years. HACU member colleges and universities can play a critical role in addressing this public service sector challenge,” Flores said.
“Indeed, introducing future generations of our nation’s leaders to public service career opportunities will benefit all of us in promoting creation of a federal work force and public service leadership more reflective of our diverse citizenry,” Flores said.
HACU this summer will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the HACU National Internship Program, which has introduced more than 3,800 Hispanic college students to public service sector careers through paid internships with participating federal agencies.
Now the nation’s largest Hispanic college internship program, the HACU National Internship Program has earned accolades from the White House as a proven means to attract interest in public service careers. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lists the HACU National Internship Program as Point Four in the OPM Nine-Point Hispanic Employment Initiative. Hispanics currently represent 6.5 percent of the federal work force – or 4.6 percent below the current civilian labor employment level.
The competitive HACU National Internship Program annually attracts hundreds of top students from colleges and universities throughout the country to spring, summer and fall internships at federal agencies and offices in Washington, D.C., and at locations throughout the country.
A recent poll by the Partnership for Public Service showed that only one in six college-educated Americans expresses significant interest in federal employment, and that the single greatest barrier to recruitment is a lack of information.
Recent surveys by the HACU National Internship Program showed that most former interns are considering federal service careers as a direct result of information they obtained through their federal internship experiences.
“In fact, many of our former interns now are full-time federal employees. The HACU National Internship Program already is making a difference,” said HACU National Internship Program Executive Director William Rafael Gil.
“Many of the federal agencies and higher education institutions that have joined the “A Call to Serve” initiative are familiar to us as long-standing partners of the HACU National Internship Program. The participation of HACU and the HACU National Internship Program in this new initiative of the Partnership for Public Service will bolster our efforts to promote a more diverse federal labor force,” Gil said.
For more information, contact HACU National Headquarters at (210) 692-3805 (Ext. 3214), or the HACU National Internship Program at (202) 467-0893. Or visit www.hacu.net."