Despite a record number of Hispanic students enrolling in college, only 3.9 percent of university presidents are Hispanic, according to data from 2016.
But the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) plans to curb that trend with its first fellowship cohort for the Inaugural Presidential Leadership Academy, La Academia de Liderazgo. It just announced its first 24 fellows, Latinx higher education professionals who will receive tailored leadership training throughout the year.
“We really believe that it’s a very special program in the sense that it’s targeting the population that has been historically underserved in terms of leadership roles in higher education,” said Dr. Antonio R. Flores, CEO and president of HACUs.
Fellows share a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, Flores said
The fellows span a variety of roles, disciplines and regions. They represent public and private institutions, four-year universities and community colleges. They hail from schools in California, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida and Michigan.
The cohort also includes international participants: biologist Dr. Alex Slater and vice president for development and management Dr. Mario Herane from Universidad Mayor in Chile.
The goal of the Presidential Leadership Academy is to prepare participants for leadership roles at all kinds of schools, especially Hispanic serving institutions, emerging and established. Flores hopes fellows will step into higher roles at their universities and inspire their students to be leaders, as well.
