SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Salme Harju Steinberg, president of Northeastern Illinois University, has been elected Chair of the Governing Board of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

“We welcome the leadership of Dr. Steinberg, a nationally renowned advocate for diversity in higher education, as we address issues of critical importance to the college and career success of the nation’s youngest and largest ethnic population,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio Flores.

“We will rely on her expertise and guidance to enhance HACU’s reach and results as the nation’s voice for our more than 335 member and partner colleges and universities serving the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students in the United States,” Flores said.

An author, historian and award-winning veteran of higher education teaching and administrative ranks, Steinberg has served as president of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago since 1995. Northeastern Illinois University, which has been labeled the most diverse university in the Midwestern United States, is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and a national leader in education to Hispanics.

“I am deeply honored to serve as Chair of the HACU Governing Board. With the help of all of my colleagues at HACU, I am confident that together we will work to shape a future filled with promise and genuine opportunity for the students who enroll in HACU colleges and universities,” Steinberg said.

As the nation’s leading voice for Hispanic higher education, HACU has won record new federal, corporate and community support for Hispanic higher education in every year since the nonprofit organization was founded in 1986. The HACU National Internship Program today is the largest Hispanic college student internship program in the country. HACU also represents a fast-growing international membership of colleges and universities located throughout the Americas and in Spain.

A specialist in U.S. economic and social history, Steinberg has published and lectured widely on these topics, as well as on corporate philanthropy and nonprofit sectors. She is the author of the book, Reformer in the Marketplace: Edward W. Bok and the Ladies Home Journal, and has contributed to numerous scholarly journals.

A former professor at Northwestern University, Steinberg first joined Northeastern Illinois University as a history department faculty member in 1975. She later served as chair of the history department, associate provost and provost/vice-president for Academic Affairs.

Steinberg in 1997 was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Alumni Association of Hunter College, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. She earned her doctoral degree in history from Johns Hopkins University.

Steinberg also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Seabury-Western Northwestern Theological Seminary, and is a member of the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on International Education.

This year, she became the first educator and non-elected official to receive the Grand Asian Award from the Asian American Coalition of Chicago for her contributions to diversity in the nation’s third largest city. Steinberg is an earlier recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Professional Development Award from the Committee on Opportunity and Equity of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) International for promoting diversity. Since 1997, U.S. World & News Report has named Northeastern Illinois University “the most diverse university” in the Midwest.

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is the lead institution for a $1.5 million, 30-member ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education) partnership that is promoting programs to increase the number of Latino high school and college graduates in the greater Chicago area. NEIU is a partner in the Ronald McDonald House Charities/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources Program – the largest high school-to-college scholarship program for Hispanic students. NEIU offers 35 undergraduate and 38 graduate programs, serving about 11,500 students.

For more information, contact HACU at (210) 692-3805. Ext. 3214. Or visit www.hacu.net.