ATLANTA — As Latino students enter higher education at increasing rates, ensuring their success through student support and an inclusive campus culture is a growing priority, according to higher education leaders at this year’s Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) 32nd Annual Conference.
Centering around the theme “Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Building America’s Future,” college and university leaders, administrators and others committed to Hispanic student success shared strategies for evaluating and improving campus climate, using data to implement structural reforms for student success and getting Hispanic students engaged in research opportunities, among other discussions.
“We are everywhere,” Dr. Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of HACU, said in opening remarks about the growth of the Latino population. “We are everywhere contributing to the advancement of our country.”
In addition to speaking about new initiatives for increasing Hispanic representation in higher education leadership and medical fields, Flores discussed the need for institutional leaders to continue their advocacy for more federal support of Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs).
“To succeed, you need money,” he said. “We need to keep pushing Congress to invest much more into our institutions.”
At the campus level, leaders can invest in their institutions’ success by conducting campus audits to improve the climate for Hispanic and other minority students and faculty, said Worcester State University (WSU) presenters in the panel session titled, “Walking through Fire: Using a Campus Climate Audit to Challenge Convention and Elevate Standards.”
“You don’t have to wait for an incident to occur,” said Isaac Tesfay, director of diversity, inclusion, affirmative action and equal opportunity at WSU.
