HACU announces new governing board members

The Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) recently inducted four new members to serve on its Governing Board and elected new Governing Board officers at HACU’s Annual Conference.

“We are very pleased to announce that our new Governing Board Chair will be President Milton Gordon of California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Gordon has been extremely instrumental to our board and very dedicated to our mission for many years,” said Antonio R. Flores, President and CEO of HACU.

New board officers also include: Antonio Pérez, vice-chair, President of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York; Rosa Pérez, treasurer, Chancellor of San José/Evergreen Community College District; and Modesto Maidique, secretary, President of Florida International University.

“We are grateful to José Jaime Rivera for leading HACU as chair for the past two years,” added Flores.  “And we are pleased that Dr. Rivera will continue to serve on the board as immediate past chair.”  Rivera is President of the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Flores also expressed excitement in welcoming four distinguished leaders to the HACU Governing Board “Each of these individuals has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to Hispanic higher education,” he said. “We look forward to working with our new board members, whose exemplary leadership will help shape HACU’s future and further advance HACU’s mission of being the Champions of Hispanic Success in Higher Education.”   

The new board members who will serve three-year terms, effective October 2008, are:

Ana “Cha” Guzman, Ph.D., the first woman named president of Palo Alto College, located in San Antonio, TX.  Guzman has been in educational administration for more than 30 years and has been a leading voice for Hispanic Americans in education. She previously served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary of Education Richard Riley and as chair of the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

Elsa Murano, Ph.D., the first woman and first Hispanic American named as President of Texas A&M University in College Station, TX -- the oldest public institution of higher learning in Texas and now one of the largest teaching and research universities in the nation. Murano served as the highest-ranking food safety official in the U.S. in her former position as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

David Schmidly, Ph.D., president of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Schmidly is an internationally respected researcher and scientific author, who was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics, and Technology for his significant scientific accomplishments.

Serving on the Governing Board as chair of HACU’s Corporate and Philanthropic Council is Raymond Arroyo, Chief Diversity Officer of Aetna (headquartered in Hartford, CT), one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies. Arroyo leads, influences, and implements diversity-related strategies in his current position.

Other HACU board members include: Tomás A. Arciniega, President Emeritus (CSU-Bakersfield), California State University, San Marcos; Msgr. Franklyn M. Casale, President, St. Thomas University; Roy Flores, Chancellor, Pima County Community College District; Arturo Lara López, Rector, Universidad de Guanajuato; Tomás Morales, President, College of Staten Island (CUNY); Sylvia Ramos, President, Richard J. Daley College, City Colleges of Chicago; Susie Saavedra, Chair, HACU Alumni Association; Sandra V. Serrano, Chancellor, Kern Community College District; Jorge I. Vélez-Arocho, Chancellor, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; and Antonio R. Flores ex-officio, President and CEO, HACU.