CHICAGO—College administrators, faculty and students convened at the 33rd annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) conference to share best practices and strategize on how best to serve Hispanic students.
This year’s conference theme, “Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success: Meeting the Challenge of Prosperity and Equality,” included the HACU Adelante Leadership Institute which drew more than 500 college students from a wide range of academic disciplines to participate in career and leadership development activities.
The workshops held over three-days were varied, including one that focused on Latinx student research initiatives and the growing absence of Latinas in higher education leadership.
Wayne Jackson, director of Multicultural Academic and Support Services at University of Central Florida led a spirited discussion with Tony Davis, a counselor at Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania on how colleges and universities can do a better job at retaining their Hispanic males.
“I know why you’re here,” Jackson told a packed hotel room at the opening of the session. “You’re having all kinds of problems.”
Indeed, he was right.
The educators in the room shared that the Hispanic males at their institutions are facing a myriad of challenges, ranging from a lack of role models, to an absence of support from their families. And then, some admitted, the classroom faculty and support staff often do a lackluster job when it comes to reaching out to men of color.
