The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) kicked off its 34th annual conference Monday, titled “Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Fostering Excellence and Social Justice.”
Over four days, the virtual gathering will feature over 50 workshops, divided into six programming tracks that explore themes such as fundraising opportunities, domestic and international partnerships, higher education policy and research and best practices for Hispanic students’ academic success. Meanwhile, students will participate via their own track, the ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute, which offers over 500 students with three days of leadership and professional development training.
In the conference’s opening plenary, HACU President and CEO Dr. Antonio R. Flores acknowledged the unique time in which higher education finds itself, holding a moment of silence for the victims of COVID-19. He emphasized the disproportionate effects of the coronavirus on underrepresented communities.
“The pandemic has impacted terribly the lives of countless people,” Flores said. “It has revealed our horrific social and economic inequalities. It has heightened our rage about systemic racial discrimination, and it has also increased our awareness concerning climate change, which should be called ‘climate disaster.’”
At the same time, he highlighted the pandemic as an opportunity for higher education to tackle these societal ills with new resolve.
“Just as it’s been the case in the past, our country and the world will reinvent themselves in better and more humane ways,” he said. “And higher education will be at the forefront of that renewal, leading the way. 2020 is a year when the worst of times could lead to the best of times in our lifetime and in history.”
Flores asserted that Hispanic Serving Institutions have a critical role to play in that story, describing them as the “backbone of Hispanic success” and as a tool for economic mobility for first-generation and low-income students.
