The Call for Presentations is now closed.

Submission deadline: March 17

Notification of proposal acceptance: April 10

The Call for Presentations Guideline is available for download here.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is seeking workshop proposals for its in-person 37th Annual Conference to be held on October 28-30, 2023. Proposals are welcomed from individuals with an interest in sharing innovative programs, partnerships, and services for the advancement of Hispanic higher education as it relates to the theme "Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Diversifying our Workforce and Strengthening America." 

The sample topics included within each track are provided as suggestions, and additional relevant topics are welcomed and encouraged.

Track 1: Resource Capacity-Building for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
Topics may include:
• Titles III and V, HUD, HHS, Commerce, NSF, USAID, and other federal grant opportunities for HSIs
• Private and corporate foundation grant opportunities
• Researching and writing a winning proposal
• Innovative funding opportunities focused on STEM student and faculty development
• Leading a campus-wide team through a proposal submission
• Building consortiums and alliances that win proposals
• Best practices in educational institutions and corporate partnerships

Track 2: Academic Learning Environments
Topics may include:
• PreK-12 and postsecondary education collaboration among Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs) and HACU-member institutions
• Trends in culturally-relevant learning experiences
• High impact teaching practices such as learning communities, experiential learning, and supplemental instruction
• Curriculum, instruction, and assessment
• Social, emotional, and academic competencies
• Teaching community of practice
• Pedagogies, strategies, and course development 
• Effective partnerships between HSIs and emerging HSIs

Track 3: Student Engagement and Success
Topics may include: 
• Delivering innovative bridge programs for building the STEM pathway
• High impact practices in access, retention, graduation, and transition 
• Systems of support to ensure campus life experience, such as student advocacy centers and care centers
• Enabling student social and economic mobility through programs and services
• Serving LGBTQIA+ Latinx students and other students of intersectional identities
• Growing our own: effective graduate student recruitment and graduation 
• Transitioning an institution from Hispanic-enrolling to Hispanic-engaging

Track 4: Excellence in Leadership
Topics may include:
• Utilizing demographic and workforce changes to drive institutional transformation
• Leading successfully amidst the new post-covid campus climate
• Transparency and accountability across all aspects of the institution
• Developing your own cohort of institutional leaders
• Cultivating leadership at all levels of the organization
• Best practices in leading high-performance teams

Track 5: Advocacy, Policy and Research
Topics may include:
• Key legislation: federal and state resources for HSIs, the Dream Act/Immigration Reform, policy proposals for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), institutional accountability proposals, HSIs and reauthorization of the Farm Bill, implementation of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and STEM Competitiveness
• Research and analysis on Hispanic student success in HSIs and HSSDs
• Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs) in the education pipeline and in federal legislation
• Federal agency/HSI partnership grants and research opportunities
• State legislation that impacts HSIs and Hispanic students
• Best practices for achieving an HSI designation

Track 6: Global Engagement
Topics may include:
• The role of international education at HSIs
• Cultivation of renewed faculty engagement in internationalization efforts and curriculum development
• New models for comprehensive and inclusive internationalization
• Research in international education as a catalyst for expanding HSIs’ global engagement

Track 7: Preparing the Future Workforce
Topics may include:
• Trends in the workforce: new industries for the next decade
• Responding to Industry trends through certifications, online programs and stackable courses
• The role of career services on an HSI campus
• Partnerships that respond to the evolving workforce needs
• Successfully coaching and preparing students entering the workforce
• Virtual recruitment – preparing students for a changing dynamic

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HACU Conference Format

HACU’s Annual Conference features general sessions with speakers, and conference track sessions featuring individual presenters, panel discussions, informative workshops, and facilitated discussions.

Sessions are 75 minutes in length, including time for questions and discussion. We accept the following: 

Session formats: 
• Presentation workshop: A session focused on sharing topics of interest, lessons learned, or evidence of impact related to the proposed topic. This type of interactive session is composed of one to three presentations in a specific area. 
• Panel session: An opportunity to provide insights and guidance from several subject matter experts. A panel session composed of two or three presentations on different aspects of a specific topic. 
• Facilitated discussion: Session on a proposed topic where attendees are invited to share challenges and solutions through conversational engagement and exchange.    

No more than four individuals may serve on a panel or workshop session. 
In some instances, the HACU review committee may suggest combining presentations similar in content into one workshop or panel.

All conference rooms will be set up to accommodate the maximum number of conference participants possible. LCD projectors, laptops and screens are available to presenters at no cost. Additional equipment, such as speakers and internet can be available at an additional cost to presenters.
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Submission Guidelines

Proposals submitted under the seven tracks should be built upon:
• Evidence-based best practices that can be replicated at institutions and organizations across the country.
• Partnerships among institutions, school districts, industry and government that leverage and capitalize on growth and opportunities.
• Research and analysis that will form the foundation for transformational change.

Submissions must include the following:
• Presentation Title (10-word limit)

• Presentation Abstract (50-75 word limit) – A brief description to be included in the conference program
• Presentation Plan (50 word limit) – A brief description that provides an overview of expected audience involvement. Interactive presentations are highly encouraged.
• Presentation Summary (250-300 word limit) – Extended description of proposal for committee review. Proposals will be reviewed for relevance to 2023 conference theme, thoroughness, clarity and expected learning outcomes. HACU reserves the right to edit summaries of accepted presentations for inclusion in the conference program.
• More than one proposal may be submitted, but only one will be accepted per presenter. 
• The first presenter listed on the submission form is the lead contact and will provide all contact information for co-presenters to HACU. This individual is responsible for disseminating all correspondence from HACU to co-presenters as well as organizing and facilitating the presentation. All presenters are required to register for the conference and will be able to register at a discounted conference registration rate at $235 by May 31, 2023. After May 31, 2023 the discounted conference registration rate is $340.
• Presentation proposals must be submitted online and will be accepted until March 17, 2023.
• Notifications of HACU workshop committee decisions will be made by April 10, 2023.
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The Call for Presentations is now closed.

About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), founded in 1986, is a nonprofit 501(c)3 association representing more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and school districts throughout the U.S.

For questions or additional information regarding the Call for Presentations process, please contact:
Darlene Martin
Conference Manager
(210) 576-3208 
darlene.martin@hacu.net