Eleven historically Black colleges and universities affiliated with the United Methodist Church are boosting their efforts to recruit students from the burgeoning Hispanic population.
The consortium of HBCU leaders, known as The Council on Presidents, discussed their strategy late last month at a two-day workshop called “Forging Bold New Paths: Offering Welcome and Ministry to Hispanic-Latino Students at Black Fund Schools.” Discussing everything from Hispanic cultural values to immigration issues, the presidents came together in Nashville, Tenn. to discuss how best to reach Hispanic students and how to meet their needs once they come to campus.
“It was a recognition of the changing population and our need to respond to that,” says Dr. Larry Earvin, council president and president of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.
The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino of the UMC’s Board of Higher Education and Ministry called the meeting, saying the presidents must pay attention to “shifting demographic needs.”
Dr. Cynthia Bond Hopson, assistant general secretary of Black College Fund and Ethnic Concerns, says it was necessary to come up with a strategic plan to redefine the mission of the schools.
“We welcome a population that continues to be underserved,” Bond Hopson says. “We are not competing with HSIs… we are addressing a market that isn’t going to college at all.”
In order to do that, UMC brought in marketing experts and Hispanic community leaders to bring more awareness about the population. For example, the presidents were told one-third of Hispanics livings in the United States are under 18 years old, and Mexicans are the youngest demographic of that age group.
