ILACHE Announcements

Are Your Students and Families Looking for a Free Tax Preparation Site?

2012-01-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Are Your Students and Families Looking for a Free Tax Preparation Site?

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Site Locator Friday, January 27, 2012 www.IRS.gov

It’s here!

The new Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Site Locator is scheduled to launch late evening on Friday, January 27, 2012.

How can the VITA site locator be found?

Go to http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html

The locator will be accessible from the "Free Tax Return Preparation for You by Volunteers" page on IRS.gov. Taxpayers can find this page by searching IRS.gov using keyword "VITA" or “Free Tax Preparation.” All sites that are active and open to the public will appear in the VITA site locator, except AARP and FSA sites.

How does it work?

Here’s how it works: A taxpayer will enter their zip code and choose a search radius of 5 to 100 miles. The available sites within the selected radius will appear, providing the following information:

•    Site Name
•    Address
•    Phone Number (if available)
•    Dates and Hours of Operation
•    Languages Supported
•    Appointment Requirements (Required or Not Required)

Taxpayers can then select a specific location and enter their full address to get a map providing directions from the address to the selected VITA site.

A note about updates:

Please note that in this initial launch of the VITA Site Locator, only site information from early December 2011 is available. The first update of this listing is planned for the week of January 30. You will receive a notification once the first update is posted. We will update the locator on a weekly basis thereafter. I ask that you please be patient as we continue to refine and update the locator's data to include all of our active sites.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Spanish Information Session

2012-01-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Spanish Information Session
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides reimbursement (money) for daycare centers to plan, purchase, prepare, and serve nutritious meals (including breakfast, lunch and/or snacks) to eligible children.
The Illinois State Board of Education Division of Nutrition Programs will hold an information session regarding participation in the CACFP. In order to assist centers in the Latino communities, Spanish-speaking staff from the program will share information on eligibility and the application process.
The information session will be held:

March 5, 2012
1:00 p.m.

Arturo Velazquez Institute
2800 S. Western, Chicago, IL 60608
Participation is free but space is limited. Please call to make reservations.
217-782-7250 or 815-545-7892
Ask for Naomi Velázquez Greene, between the hours of 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

Informacion - Programa de Cuidados de Alimentación Para Niños y Adultos

El Programa de Cuidados de Alimentación Para Niños y Adultos (CACFP por sus siglas en Ingles) ofrece rembolsos a guarderías para planificar, comprar, preparar y para servir comidas nutritivas (incluyendo desayunos, almuerzos y/o entremeses) a niños que se identifiquen elegibles.
El departamento de alimentación bajo la Junta de Educación del estado de Illinois (Illinois State Board of Education) llevara acabo un programa de información sobre los requisitos para que participen guarderías en el CACFP. Para poder ayudar a centros en la comunidad hispana, empleados bilingües compartirán información sobre el proceso de aplicación.

El programa de información tomara lugar:

5 de marzo de 2012
A la 1.00 de la tarde
Instituto Arturo Velázquez
2800 S. Western, Chicago, IL

Es un evento gratuito, aunque el número de asistentes está limitado. Por favor llame para hacer su reservación al 217-782-7250 o 815-545-7892. Por favor llame entre las horas de 8.00 a.m. hasta las 4.30 p.m. y pida por la Sra. Naomi Velázquez Greene.

Community Colleges Are Urged to Take Innovative Steps to Serve Immigrant Students

2012-01-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

By Joanna Chau
Community colleges must develop innovative and customized approaches to serve a growing number of immigrant students, says a report released on Monday by the Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education.

Immigrants and their children are expected to account for all work-force growth over the next 20 years, the report says, and by 2030 nearly one in five workers in the United States will be an immigrant. "Ensuring educational access and success for the immigrant population is critical to increasing U.S. college completion, improving work-force readiness, and sustaining the nation's productivity in a highly competitive global economy, the report says. Educating immigrants is also key to accomplishing President Obama's goal of increasing the proportion of Americans with college credentials.

http://chronicle.com/article/Community-Colleges-Are-Urged/130364/

CLEO Selects 2012 Summer Institute Host Law Schools

2011-11-30T14:05:00.001-08:00

Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) announced the 2012 host sites for its Six-Week Pre-Law

Summer Institutes. The law schools are the University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford, Miss., and William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minn. The summer institutes are scheduled to begin in early June and end in mid-July.

http://www.cleoscholars.org/

Students Push Their Facebook Use Further Into Course Work

2011-11-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Students Push Their Facebook Use Further Into Course Work

College students are taking social media to a new level, using Web sites like Facebook to communicate with other students about their coursework, according to results of a new survey on student technology use.

Nine out of 10 college students say they use Facebook for social purposes, like writing status updates and posting pictures. And the majority, 58 percent, say they feel comfortable using it to connect with other students to discuss homework assignments and exams. One out of four students even went so far as to say they think Facebook is “valuable” or “extremely valuable” to their academic success.

Scholarships A-Z

2011-11-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

A Consolidated Listing of Scholarships and Resources Available to Undocumented Students and Their Counselors

www.scholarshipsaz.org

Including listings from Scholarships A-Z, the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)

INTRODUCTION
Approximately 1.6 million undocumented students under the age of 18 are currently living in the United States, 65,000 of whom will graduate each year from high school (Passal, 2003). Access to higher education is an issue that continues to plague students, parents, high school counselors and college admission officers. Unfortunately, confusion exists not only with regard to whether colleges may admit undocumented students but also what type of financial aid, if any, can be offered. As a result, high school counselors are often unsure how to best guide undocumented students because many are unaware of the options available. It is uncertain how many undocumented students attend college after high school. Of those who have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years the figure is estimated to be 5 to 10 percent (National Immigration Law Center, 2009).

No federal or state law prohibits colleges and universities from offering admission to undocumented students. However, undocumented students are not eligible to receive federal or state aid. Undocumented students may be eligible to receive privately funded merit scholarships or grant aid. Illinois is one of 10 states with an in-state tuition bill Public Act 93-0007 also referred to as House Bill 60, which was signed into law in 2003. This bill permits undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at all public colleges and universities provided they meet the following requirements:

(1) The individual resided with his or her parent or guardian while attending a public or private high school in Illinois.
(2) The individual graduated from a public or private high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in Illinois.
(3) The individual attended school in Illinois for at least 3 years as of the date the individual graduated from high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma.
(4) In the case of an individual who is not a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, the individual provides the University with an affidavit stating that the individual will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States at earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0007). (From a College Advising Guide for Undocumented Students by the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling)

TO THE USERS OF THIS REFERENCE:
Please consider this a work in progress. It’ll be most useful to you and others if, after perusing and/or using it, you’ll take a moment to make editorial suggestions: information that needs updating; additional information you think would be useful to include; and, my nemesis, formatting: if anyone would care to do a more professional-looking job in this area, be my guest – I’m just thankful to have gotten this far! Please note that the due dates ARE NOT current.

2011 Illinois School Report Card

2011-10-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Test scores, class sizes, district finances and more.

Each year, the Illinois State Board of Education releases "report cards," detailed analyses of the performance of public schools and school districts in Illinois, in accordance with state and federal law. The reports are available on a state-funded web site and also as raw data. Except where otherwise noted, data on this site is derived from the raw 2011 report card data.

News application developers Alex Bordens, Brian Boyer, and Joe Germuska built this application with members of the Chicago Tribune education team: Susan Keaton, Tara Malone and Diane Rado.

Rangel International Affairs Program 2012 graduate fellowships

2011-10-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Please share this announcement with individuals who may be interested in the Rangel Graduate Fellowship. More information is available at www.rangelprogram.org.

The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program is now accepting applications for its 2012 graduate fellowships. The Rangel Program seeks applicants who are interested in promoting positive change in the world as Foreign Service Officers for the U.S. Department of State. The fellowship is open to undergraduate seniors and graduates who want to begin two-year master’s programs in the fall of 2012.

In March 2012, the program will select twenty Rangel Fellows who will receive up to $90,000 in benefits over two years to fund tuition, mandatory fees, and living expenses for completion of two-year master’s degrees. These benefits include two summer internships, one on Capitol Hill and one overseas at a U.S. embassy, in additional to professional development activities and mentoring. Awardees may use the fellowship to fund graduate studies of international affairs or a related subject such as public administration, business administration or public policy at U.S. universities. Those who successfully complete the program will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers upon graduation, embarking on one of the most exciting and rewarding careers.

Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship, plans to enter graduate school in fall 2012, and a minimum 3.2 GPA. The program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service and those with financial need. The application deadline is January 20, 2012. Additional information about the Rangel Program and specific application requirements are available at www.rangelprogram.org.

The Rangel Program is managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University and funded by the U.S. Department of State. It seeks to promote excellence and diversity in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Contacts:

Patricia Scroggs Erica Lee
Director Program Assistant
pscroggs@howard.edu rangelprogram@howard.edu, erlee@howard.edu

202-806-4367 or 877-633-0002

Record Lost in Detention Documentary PBS)

2011-10-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Frontline correspondent and The Futuro Media Group’s President, Maria Hinojosa takes a penetrating look at President Obama’s vastly expanded immigration net, explores the controversial Secure Communities enforcement program and goes inside the hidden world of immigration detention in Lost in Detention, airing Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

More than one million immigrants have been deported since Obama took office. Under his administration, deportations and detentions have reached record levels. The administration has promised to make the detention system more humane, and more selectively target the most serious criminals. But it faces Republican critics who urge stricter measures — and a growing backlash among Latino voters, a key 2012 electoral force.

In a co-production with the Investigative Reporting Workshop, correspondent Hinojosa tracks the enforcement sweep from the neighborhoods of Illinois to the expansive Willacy Detention Center in south Texas. During a yearlong investigation, Frontline and Hinojosa uncovered a troubling picture of abuse inside immigration detention facilities, as well as alleged cases of beatings, racism and management cover-ups.

This is a “must watch” report that goes to the heart of the immigration debate and to the heart of why The Futuro Media Group and the public media vision and leadership of Hinojosa is needed today more than ever before.

Don’t miss this seminal report on immigration detention on Tuesday, October 18, and please pass this email on to others who may be interested in this important issue.

• • •

"College Diversity Nears Its Last Stand"

2011-10-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

By ADAM LIPTAK

Adam Liptak is the Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.

Washington

ABIGAIL FISHER, a white student, says she was denied admission to the University of Texas because of her race. She sued in Federal District Court in Austin, causing Judge Sam Sparks to spend time trying to make sense of a 2003 Supreme Court decision allowing racial preferences in higher education. “I’ve read it till I’m blue in the face,” Judge Sparks said in an early hearing in Ms. Fisher’s lawsuit. But the meaning of the central concept in the decision — “this esoteric critical mass of diversity of students,” he called it — kept eluding him.

The 2003 Supreme Court decision he was trying to understand, Grutter v. Bollinger, had elevated the concept of “diversity” from human-resource department jargon to constitutional stature. The pursuit of diversity, a five-justice majority said, allows admissions personnel at public universities to do what the Constitution ordinarily forbids government officials to do — to sort people by race.

La Mujer Despierta: Honoring Our Past, Investing in our Future

2011-10-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

The conference will engage young, mid-career, and grassroots Latinas in leadership training to build a powerful, intergenerational network.

Friday, October 28, 2011
8am-5pm
Blackstone Chicago Hotel
636 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL

Featuring financial expert Julie Stav sponsored by State Farm Insights on the Latina Consumer sponsored by Nielsen & Executive Coach Marlene Gonzalez

The Maria Mangual Leadership Award will be presented to U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky

Ticket Price: $50*

For more information visit
www.mujereslatinasenaccion.org or contact Catherine Salgado at
(773) 890-7664/ Catherine@mujereslat.org

Co-chaired by
Luisa Echevarría, Univision & Telefutura Chicago
Diana Maldonado, Telemundo Chicago

Maria Mangual Program Committee:
Diana Alfaro
Yolanda J. Gaspar
Neusa Gaytan
Juanita Irizarry
Felicia Medellin
Estela Melgoza
Carmenza Millan
Maria S. Pesqueira
Norma L. Seledon
Ana Maria Soto

Mujeres Latinas en Acción wishes all women to have full access to the conference experience. Students unable to pay the full conference fee, please contact Catherine Salgado at 773.890.7664 or Catherine@mujereslat.org for information about a reduced registration fee.

For detailed conference information:
http://mujereslatinasenaccion.org/documents/Agenda-Revised1forweb2.pdf

20th Annual ILACHE Professional and Student Development Conference

2011-10-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

20 Years: History, Transitions, Empowerment

DePaul University

March 23, 2012

We are planning an exciting 20th Annual Conference. The conference agenda includes professional development workshops and forums that promote discussion and networking opportunities for educators and students. Students will also have an opportunity to present their research at our Student Research Forum.

Follow us on Twitter
@ILACHE_Com

Like us on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ilache/171446956201057

Escuchame Compiles List of Over 350 Scholarships for Latino Students

2011-10-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

Escuchame Inc., a virtual, global, bilingual Community of Smart Latinas, has answered the call for Hispanic and Latino students around the country with their compiled listing of over 350 scholarships. The list includes each scholarship’s name, award amount, description, requirements, application deadline and contact information. The list is available in both English and Spanish, for free, at http://escuchame.org/resources. (Access to the scholarship page requires registration to the Community, which is also free.)

Hispanic students vanish from Alabama schools

2011-10-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Hispanic students have started vanishing from Alabama public schools in the wake of a court ruling that upheld the state's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration.

2011 College Completion Data

2011-09-28T08:18:00.001-07:00

Time is the enemy of college completion.

Choose your state to see a snapshot of how well your state is educating all of today’s college students. Then click “Complete State Profile” to see the most comprehensive state and campus college completion data ever collected.

For the first time ever, the profiles from the 33 states in blue allow you to learn about students who are part time, pursuing certificates, taking remedial courses, transfer, or are older. We now have a much more complete picture of where we stand … and what needs to be done to ensure that all students have a fair shot at success.

Where Hispanics Go to College

2011-09-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

As the Hispanic population increases, now at 50.5 million and counting, Hispanics are enrolling in higher education in record numbers. According to Pew Hispanic Center tabulations, the number of Hispanics in college is approximately 2.7 million. That figure will continue to grow because Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the country’s K-12 public schools. In addition, experts say Hispanics will be the most significant component in the growth of the work force for the next few decades.

Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes - 24% Growth from 2009 to 2010

2011-08-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

24% Growth from 2009 to 2010
Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes,
Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups

Driven by a single-year surge of 24% in Hispanic enrollment, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds attending college in the United States hit an all-time high of 12.2 million in October 2010, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of newly available Census Bureau data. From 2009 to 2010, the number of Hispanic young adults enrolled in college grew by 349,000, compared with an increase of 88,000 young blacks and 43,000 young Asian Americans and a decrease of 320,000 young non-Hispanic whites.

As a result of these shifts, young Hispanics for the first time outnumbered young blacks on campus, even though young black college enrollment has also grown steadily for decades and it, too, has surged in recent years. In 2010, 38% of all 18- to 24-year-old blacks were enrolled in college, up from 13% in 1967 and 32% in 2008.

The Hispanic enrollment increase has been even more dramatic than the black enrollment increase because it has been spurred by a mixture of population growth and educational strides. High levels of immigration and high birth rates have made Hispanics the nation's biggest minority group, comprising 16% of the U.S. population as of 2010. In 1972, just 5% of the nation's 18- to 24-year-olds were Hispanic. By 2010, that share rose to 19%.

However, population growth accounts for only a share of the 24% young Hispanic college enrollment spike from 2009 to 2010. During that same period, the total population of 18- to 24-year-old Hispanics grew by 7%.

Rising educational attainment is an important driver of these enrollment trends, over the long term as well as in recent years. The rate of young Hispanics enrolled in college rose from 13% in 1972 to 27% in 2009 to 32% in 2010.

Young Hispanics are disproportionately enrolled in two-year colleges. They comprised 22% of two-year students but only 12% of four-year students.

Young Hispanics continue to lag other groups in completion of four-year college degrees. In 2010 32% of 25- to 29-year-olds had attained a bachelor's degree, in comparison to 13% of Hispanics of the same age.

These findings are based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's School Enrollment Supplement of the October 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), supplemented by historical time series based on the CPS. The CPS is the standard source for national rates of college enrollment and has collected college enrollment information in a consistent manner since 1947.

The report, "Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups," authored by Senior Research Associate Richard Fry, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program

2011-08-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding African American, American Indian/Alaska Native*, Asian Pacific Islander American**, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. Continuing Gates Millennium Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

https://nominations.gmsp.org/gmsp_app/default.aspx

Electoral Changes: Hispanic Realities

2011-08-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

From Hispanic Outlook

by Gustavo A. Mellander

For all our shortcomings as a nation, one of our enduring touchstones is that we believe in democracy. We believe we can address our problems through the electoral process. We have confidence in our elections (even with our outdated electoral college). We believe every vote counts.

Of course, in our quiet moments, we know flaws exist, for we have studied rural politics, big-city machine politics and the overwhelming power of money in virtually every election.

New U.S. census numbers herald a greater Latino presence in the Chicago area

2011-08-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

By Antonio Olivo, William Mullen and Lolly Bowean, Tribune reporters
August 8, 2011

New U.S. census figures herald a future where Spanish is more likely to be heard inside classrooms and everything from politics to fashion and food will be executed with a Latin flair.

After a steady increase of Latinos in the area due to births and immigration, one out of every three children under 5 in Cook County now come from a Latino ethnic background, according to the recently released data.

In Chicago, more than 40 percent of children younger than 5 are Latino. In more than 30 suburbs including Carpentersville and Franklin Park, more than half of preschool-age children are Latino. In a few communities such as Cicero and Melrose Park, more than 80 percent are Latino.

What that means for the area depends on how well local schools and other community institutions can absorb one of the country's fastest-growing Latino populations, experts said.

Interns Needed for 2012 edition of the Almanac of Latino Politics

2011-08-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

I am currently working with the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute. We are preparing to publish the 2012 edition of the Almanac of Latino Politics, a comprehensive study of Latino political involvement and demographic trends, we are in need of interns who can help us research, write, and edit. This would be an exciting project for students looking for a research project and who would like to get involved in the production of a major publication.

We also need assistance with the planning and implementation of our National Leadership Conference. The conference attracts 6,000 participants from 40 different states, and has become the largest Latino leadership conference in the country. Interns would assist with reaching out to elected officials, community based organizations, government agencies, universities, and high schools. Interns would also be very involved in planning conference events and handling conference logistics.

If these projects are of interest to any of your students, please have them e-mail me their resume as soon as possible. My e-mail address is mpopovich@ushli.org. Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

Marcos

---
Marcos Popovich, Esq.
U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute
mpopovich@ushli.org
312.427.8683
http://www.ushli.org/

An Undocumented Student's Guide to College in Illinois

2011-08-04T13:44:00.001-07:00

An Undocumented Student's Guide to College in Illinois

The Undocumented Student's Guide to College in Illinois is a working manual presented by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Immigrant Youth Justice League, and Educators for Fair Consideration.

http://icirr.org/en/studentguide

Illinois Youth College Prep Day - Saturday, August 13, 2011

2011-08-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Illinois Youth College Prep Day: College Access for ALL!

Saturday, August 13, 2011
8:30am-12:00pm

Join us on, Saturday, August 13th from 8:30am-12:00pm. Whether you are a citizen, an undocumented student, or anything in between, join us to find out how to navigate the pathways to higher ed. Workshops are open to 7th-12th graders. Both students and parents are encouraged to attend. IIT Campus: Wishnick Hall 3255 South Dearborn (in front of fountain on 33rd & State Street).

Sponsored by: The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) : Wishnick Hall 3255 South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60616 (in front of fountain on 33rd & State). FREE Parking in Lot(s) D1 & D2 (directly east of 33rd & State Street). We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, August 13th !
Register on-line (Illinois Youth College Prep Day):

www.visit.iit.edu

Please contact Tanya Cabrera (Assistant Director UGA) tcabrera@iit.edu for additional information.

HACE CAREER Conference On August 4, 2011

2011-08-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
HACE CAREER Conference
8/4-Navy Pier
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. please advertise to students and organizations

FREE ADMISSION

Must Pre-Register and upload Resume to attend!

Aug 4 • Navy Pier
9 am – 4 pm
600 East Illinois

http://www.haceonline.org/event/chicago-career-conference

REGISTER TODAY

Graduate and First-Professional Students: Who They Are and How They Pay for Their Education

2011-07-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Graduate and First-Professional Students: Who They Are and How They Pay for Their Education: 2007-08

Description: This Statistics in Brief focuses on graduate and first-professional students, exploring the types of programs in which they are enrolled, costs associated with those programs, and how those costs are financed via aid and work.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011174

Save the Date - 20th Annual ILACHE Professional and Student Development Conference

2011-07-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 23, 2012

Event Info.
20th Annual Professional and Student Development Conference
DePaul University - Lincoln Park Campus
Student Center
2250 N. Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL

Please mark your calendars and help us inform others about the conference. This fall, more information will be posted on our website, www.ilache.com.

Recession Study Finds Hispanics Hit the Hardest

2011-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Hispanic families accounted for the largest single decline in wealth of any ethnic and racial group in the country during the recession, according to a study published Tuesday by the Pew Foundation.

The study, which used data collected by the Census Bureau, found that the median wealth of Hispanic households fell by 66 percent from 2005 to 2009. By contrast, the median wealth of whites fell by just 16 percent over the same period. African Americans saw their wealth drop by 53 percent. Asians also saw a big decline, with household wealth dropping 54 percent.

The declines have led to the largest wealth disparities in the 25 years that the bureau has been collecting the data, according to the report.

Median wealth of whites is now 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, double the already marked disparities that had prevailed in the decades before the recent recession, the study found.

"It's a very stark reminder of the high share of minorities who live at the economic margins of this country," said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center and an author of the report. "These data really show their economic vulnerability."

Household wealth, also referred to in the report as net worth, is made up of assets, like a house, a car, savings and stocks, minus debts, like mortgages, car loans and credit cards. It is tracked by the Census Bureau in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, a broad sampling of household wealth by race and ethnicity.

Nearly two-thirds of Hispanics' median net worth in 2005 came from home equity, according to the report, and when the housing market collapsed, so did their wealth. Median home equity for Hispanics fell by 51 percent in the period of the survey. The drop was compounded by the fact that Hispanics tended to live in the places that were hit hardest in the recession, like Florida and California, the report said.

Armando Moya, a Mexican immigrant from Woodbridge, outside Washington, experienced these swings of fortune first-hand. For a few happy years, he believed he had avoided his father's fate of scraping by. He bought a house with a backyard and opened a taco restaurant with his brothers. His bank account was growing, and he took his family on vacations several times a year.

Mr. Moya lives in Prince William County, where the Hispanic population more than tripled from 2000 to 2010, according to the Migration Policy Institute, with many newcomers working in construction trades that were flourishing in the rapidly growing suburbs of Washington.

To capitalize on the influx, Mr. Moya, who is now 38 and had been working in restaurants since he came to the United States in the early 1990s, decided to start his own, and together with his brother opened Ricos Tacos Moya in 2005.

In the same year, he bought a house valued at $350,000. His monthly payments were more than $2,300, and with hungry workers filling his restaurant, he managed.

But when the collapse of the housing market swept like a wave through this Northern Virginia county, taking his house, and his bank account, and many of his customers along with it, he lost his middle-class lifestyle.

"Everything was going down," he said.

Now he is back where he started, living with his family in a rented apartment, and working seven days a week in the taco restaurant. His house sold for $135,000 to a couple from Morocco, he said.

"My money changed," he said. "I lost my house."

The share of Americans with no wealth at all rose sharply during the recession. A third of Hispanics had zero or negative net worth in 2009, up from 23 percent in 2005. For blacks, the portion rose to 35 percent from 29 percent, and for whites, it rose to 15 percent from 11 percent.

About a quarter of all black and Hispanic households owned nothing but a car in 2009. Just 6 percent of whites and 8 percent of Asians were in that situation.

Whites were less affected by the crisis, largely because their wealth flowed from assets other than housing, like stocks. A third of whites owned stocks and mutual funds in 2005, compared with 8 percent of Hispanics and 9 percent of blacks.

The median value of stocks and mutual funds owned by whites dropped by 9 percent from 2005 to 2009. In comparison, the median value of holdings for those blacks who held stocks dropped by 71 percent, most likely because they had to sell when prices were low, Mr. Taylor said.

The median wealth of Hispanic and black households is at its lowest point since 1984, when the Census Bureau first conducted the study, the report said.

Mr. Moya counts himself lucky to still have his restaurant. He has to work weekends at a nightclub in Washington to keep up with his rent. His life is increasingly resembling his father's - subsisting, without saving - but he has pinned his hopes for a better life on his sons, and he has discarded the idea of returning to Mexico.
"I want my house back," he said. "I'm working for my house right now."

California moves toward reversal of Prop. 209

2011-07-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

Beige Luciano-Adams, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/10/2011 07:02:58 AM PDT

PASADENA - While it may have changed face since the affirmative action debates of the 1990s, the battle for diversity in California's higher education system has intensified in recent years, taking on new urgency as the state struggles to get ahead of its deep fiscal maladies.

Since voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from considering race, sex or ethnicity fifteen years ago, critics say minority enrollment at the California's best public universities has plummeted - even as the number of minority high school graduates rises.

On Friday, Governor Jerry Brown heartened affirmative action supporters when he filed a brief arguing that ban - Proposition 209 - is unconstitutional when prohibits race-conscious admissions programs.

Read more: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_18450827#ixzz1RvX7G0KI

The Ph.D. Project

2011-07-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Currently over 1,000 minority business school professors and 400 minority doctoral students!

Since 1994, The PhD Project has more than tripled the number of minority business school professors...from 294 to over 1,000. These professors are inspiring a new generation of business professionals. We invite you to hear their insights on the doctoral journey and how The PhD Project’s expansive network of support helped them prepare for success in academia.

Are you ready to be the next role model? The PhD Project has 400 minority doctoral student members pursuing their dream. Like you, they were professionals or recent grads satisfying their quest for a high level of achievement. Participation is available to anyone of African-American, Hispanic American and Native American descent who is interested in business doctoral studies.

Whether you become involved as a doctoral student, participating university, or supporting organization...just become involved. Learn more by visiting the website.

HACU National Internship Program announces deadlines

2011-07-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

HACU National Internship Program announces deadlines

San Antonio, TX – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) announces its upcoming deadlines for the HACU National Internship Program. Fall 2011 internship applications are due by June 17. Additional program dates and deadlines for 2011-12 are now available.

“A few years after the founding of HACU 25 years ago, the Association knew it was vital for students to graduate with the experience of having served an internship within a career field,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores about the program, which places undergraduate and graduate students in paid internships at corporate and federal offices located in Washington, D.C., and across the nation.

“HACU was fortunate back then, as we are today, to partner with government and corporate entities that have joined with the HACU National Internship Program to play a central role in preparing the future workforce of our nation,” Flores said.

The HACU National Internship Program has placed more than 9,000 students in internships since its inception in 1992. The internships provide talented Hispanic and other minority students with the opportunity to develop their career and professional skills and receive financial support to help motivate them through graduation.

The 2011-12 program dates and application deadlines are as follows:

Fall 2011
Aug. 25 - Dec. 10
Application is now open.
Deadline: June 17, 2011

Spring 2012
Jan. 12 - Apr. 28
Application opens Aug. 1, 2011
Deadline: Nov. 18, 2011

Summer 2012
June 1 - Aug. 11 (Regular dates)
June 18 – Aug. 25 (For students that attend institutions on a quarter calendar)
Application opens Aug. 1, 2011
Early deadline: Sept. 28, 2011*
Regular deadline: March 30, 2012

Fall 2012: Aug. 23 - Dec. 8
Application opens March 1, 2012
Deadline: June 15, 2012

* Early application deadlines for internships that require a security clearance, an extensive interview process or drug testing in order to participate. These internships include corporate positions and positions with U.S. Intelligence Community organizations. Applications not selected for these types of internships are automatically considered for other summer internships available.

For more information about the HACU National Internship Program, contact (202) 467-0893 or email hnip@hacu.net

SIXTH CIRCUIT HOLDS PROPOSAL 2 UNCONSTITUTIONAL

2011-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

SIXTH CIRCUIT HOLDS PROPOSAL 2 UNCONSTITUTIONAL

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LEGAL AGAIN
IN MICHIGAN’S UNIVERSITIES

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today declared that Proposal 2 -- Ward Connerly’s ban on affirmative action—is unconstitutional. Affirmative action is again legal in admissions to Michigan’s public universities.

The two to one ruling came in a suit filed by the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and by 59 black, Latino/a and Native American students and prospective students.

Shanta Driver, the National Chairperson and one of the attorneys for BAMN, said “This decision means that thousands of talented black, Latino/a, and Native American students will now have the chance to receive an education at the state’s best universities. It is a great victory for students and for the New Civil Rights Movement.”

Proposal 2 was adopted in a racially divided vote in a statewide referendum in November 2006. Nine out of ten black voters voted against the Proposal, but it carried by a 58 percent margin because white voters voted for it by two to one.

George Washington, who represented BAMN in the Sixth Circuit said, “The Sixth Circuit held that Michigan could not manipulate the political process by making it impossible for racial minorities to seek admission programs that benefited them while allowing every other group to seek any admission program that they wanted.”

BAMN has a challenge pending in the Ninth Circuit against the California version of the same law (Proposition 209). Washington said, “The Sixth Circuit’s decision today applies to Proposition 209 and means that the Ninth Circuit has to reexamine its 1996 decision upholding that Proposition. Affirmative action is back on the agenda for the whole country.”

BAMN has asked Governor Jerry Brown, who is a defendant in the California lawsuit to support BAMN’s challenge to Proposition 209.

Contact: Shanta Driver 313-407-4865
George Washington 313-715-4886

Parents at Whittier School pressuring for a new library

2011-06-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2011 ACTION ALERT

Parents at Whittier School pressuring for a new library for their children are blocking the entrance to the school. The police have surrounded the building. About 100 parents and supporters are at the school entrances waiting for additional allies. They are asking the community for support.

More Hispanic Students Finishing High School

2011-06-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

More Hispanic Students Finishing High School

by Christine Armario/Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) –A higher percentage of young Hispanic adults is finishing high school, and the number attending a two-year college has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to Census data releasedWednesday. The percentage of Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in high school and don’t have an equivalent degree was 22 percent in 2008, down from 34 percent in 1998. Meanwhile, the number attending a two-year college increased 85 percent, from 540,000 in 2000 to one million in 2008.

THE ROLE OF MENTORING IN COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS

2011-06-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

THE ROLE OF MENTORING IN COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS

Given the urgent need to increase access to and success in college for all students, this Research to Practice brief distills and synthesizes scholarly research specifically as it pertains to the role of mentoring to promote college access and success, featuring an interview with the leadership of Philadelphia-Futures’ Sponsor-A-Scholar program.

Increasing the number of college students who graduate prepared for participation in the workforce and civil society will require a redoubling of efforts to improve college–going and completion rates for students traditionally underrepresented by higher education— individuals from low-income backgrounds and young people of color, who currently earn degrees at much lower rates than other groups (NCES 2010; Mortenson 2009). Given the urgent need to increase the success of underrepresented
students in college, individuals from college access programs, youth development organizations, and advocacy groups, along with K–12 and higher education leaders, have an important role to play. Practitioners from college access programs and youth development.

STATE ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT - Goal 2 Affordability

2011-06-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Illinois Public Agenda for College and Career Success, adopted by the Illinois Board of Higher Education in 2008, presents the challenges and opportunities facing Illinois and charts a course to One Illinois, a place where all residents have access to high-quality educational opportunities that prepare them for the jobs of the present and the future.

Today, two years later, it is time to take measure of where we were, where we are, and where we want to be in 2018. This Accountability Report, the second of several performance updates to come, focuses on Goal 2, ensuring college affordability for students, families, and taxpayers. This update shows:

• Illinois ranks at the bottom of the states when measuring the ability of low income families to afford the net cost of an education at public 4-year institutions in Illinois. The net cost, as a percent of income, for a low income family in Illinois is 77.4 percent, the national average is 60.7 percent, and the midpoint of the five best-performing states is 34.1 percent. Illinois ranks 46th in the net cost as a percent of income for middle income families.

HACU National Internship Program New Deadline

2011-06-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

HACU National Internship Program
announces new deadlines 2011-12

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) announces its upcoming deadlines for the HACU National Internship Program (HNIP). Fall 2011 internship applications are due by June 17. Additional program dates and deadlines for 2011-12 are now available, www.hacu.net/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=990

________________________________________

Debunking Myths About Applying to Medical School

2011-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

More recruiting of underrepresented minorities, especially Hispanics, is needed by U.S. medical schools in order to train physicians to treat the nation’s increasingly
diverse population. Demystifying the process of applying to medical school might be one of the keys to expanding the diversity of applicants.

“We are deeply committed to increasing the number of minorities in medical schools,” said Dr. Darrell Kirch, president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). “You don’t improve the health of communities without having a work force that reflects the diversity of those communities.”

Kirch’s comments are reinforced by research from the American Medical Association (AMA) showing that minority patients prefer minority physicians, thus making it especially critical to attract and retain more minority applicants to medical school. For example, Hispanics make up 38 percent of California’s population, but only 5 percent of the state’s physicians are Hispanic. An AMA report titled Minorities in Medicine states that by 2050 racial and ethnic minorities will comprise half of the U.S. population.

Less Than 6 Million "Latino/a" Adults Have A College Degree

2011-06-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

By Joseph Villescas, Ph.D.

Recently I was perusing Census data to determine, exactly, how many Latinos in this country have college degrees. Given that Latinos are a fast growing portion of the U.S. population, educated leaders are a must, even more so are educated Latino leaders.

Out of 31.8 million adult Latinos in the United States,

• 10.6 million did not complete high school and are ineligible for postsecondary degree programs;
• 2.4 million (7.5%) are currently enrolled in an institution of higher education;
• 5.8 million (18.3%) have completed a postsecondary degree program;
• One out of every three Hispanic degree holders only has an associate’s degree;
• Half of all Latino degree holders ended their postsecondary studies upon the completion of their bachelor’s degrees;
• 884,000 (2.7%) Latinos in the United States have completed graduate degree programs;
• 147,000 (.5%) Latinos have obtained a doctoral degree.

Unfortunately, as we can see from the following data, the U.S. Latino community has a long way to go towards creating a sizable and educated leadership class. Later this week I will expand on these trends, touching on how Latinas in particular are likely to step into these leadership roles as Hispanic baby boomers begin retirement.

Scholarships available for best Hispanic heritage student video

2011-06-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Scholarships available for best Hispanic heritage student video

http://www.hacu.net/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=976

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the producers of The Hispanic College Quiz have announced the launch of a video contest for undergraduate students to submit their personal Hispanic heritage video for a chance to receive a scholarship award ranging from $1,000 – $5,000.

Submissions must meet the following eligibility criteria:

* The student must be an undergraduate student
* The student must be enrolled at a HACU-member college or university in the United States at the time video is submitted and scholarship awarded
* Video entry must be uploaded at www.hispaniccollegequiz.comLink Icon, May 12 - Oct. 16
* Video entry must be a personal video, in English, that captures the importance of student’s Latino/Hispanic heritage
* Video length must be 1-2 minutes

Three entries whose videos capture the most compelling message and receive the most public votes will receive one of the following one-time scholarship awards: first place - $5,000, second place - $2,500, and third place - $1,000. Finalists will receive one round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations and a conference registration to attend the Student Track component of HACU’s 25th Annual Conference taking place Oct. 29-31, 2011 in San Antonio, TX, where the scholarship awards will be announced. Some additional video entries may also be televised during a nationwide broadcast of the Hispanic College Quiz, airing during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Information on contest rules and voting is available at www.hispaniccollegequiz.comLink Icon. Public voting will open immediately and continue through Oct. 16. Voting is limited to one vote per person per day.

Focus Spring 2011

2011-06-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Recently released figures from U.S. Census Bureau make one point with stunning clarity: The face of America is changing. And rapidly. Consider the numbers: The U.S. population grew by about 9 percent between 2000 and 2010, rising from 281 million to nearly 309 million. During that decade, the number of Latino residents increased by 43 percent — nearly ten times the growth rate of the nation’s non-Latino population. Today, Latinos make up almost one-sixth of the U.S. population. By 2050, experts say, one in four Americans will be Latino.

This growing subpopulation is marked by its youth. According to the most recent figures, the median age of Latinos is 27; that’s 10 years younger than the median age for the population as a whole and 14 years younger than that of white Americans.

ILACHE News

2011-05-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a reformatted edition of ILACHE News and look forward to your feedback.

http://ilachenews.blogspot.com/

The submission deadline for the September-October edition of ILACHE News is August 15, 2011. Please send them to ilache.chicago1@gmail.com and remember to put ILACHE News in the subject line.

Educational Leadership Summit II

2011-05-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

“Professional practice: Reflective, Collaborative, Transformative

• A free and open forum to reflect ongoing educational leadership and management issues of today’s education

• For school leaders, teachers, alumni, educational leadership students, parents and community leaders

When: Monday June 27, 201
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Where: NEIU Student Union

Free registration, Food and Parking provided

RSVP to 773.442.5525 or email to Dr. Ana Gil-Garcia A-Serafin@neiu.edu write Summit Invitation as the subject

Illinois should honor current pensions

2011-05-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Illinois should honor current pensions
Cutting the retirement benefits earned by state workers is unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair.

By Michael T. Carrigan
May 6, 2011
Chicago Tribune Op Ed

"I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully exercise the duties of the office …" — Oath of office taken by every member of the Illinois Legislature

Call me old-fashioned, but those words still have meaning. When Senate President John Cullerton asked his chief counsel, Eric Madiar, to research the issue of the constitutionality of changing pension plans midstream for current teachers and other public employees, Madiar was not given a specific policy goal. His charge was to let the research direct the outcome.

The result of months of research on the constitution's pension clause is a 76-page report that concludes "the General Assembly cannot unilaterally cut the pension benefits of current employees as a means to reduce the state's existing pension liabilities based on the clause's plain language, the drafters' original intent, voters' understanding of the provision, and court decisions construing the clause."
It is the most exhaustive work to date on the issue.

You can find the full report at illinoissenatedemocrats.com. It lays out Madiar's compelling case against cutting benefits, including increasing contributions for current members of the systems. It includes excerpts from the 1970 Constitutional Convention, at which time the provision was adopted.

Unfortunately, instead of trying to find real solutions, many observers suggest the constitutionality issue should be decided in the courts. Here's why that is a bad idea.

First, it will trigger a multiyear, multimillion-dollar lawsuit that will delay the state from addressing the pension funding problem. There are real solutions that don't take away what is in many cases the life savings of participants of these systems, like restructuring the current debt to a lower interest rate. This change alone could save several hundred million dollars for Illinois taxpayers.

Second and more important, there is no reason to trash them. Illinois public employee pensions are modest — just $32,000 on average. Public employees pay significantly toward their own retirement — in most cases, 8 percent or 9 percent of every paycheck. And nearly 80 percent of Illinois public employees aren't part of the Social Security system — including Chicago and Cook County employees, as well as firefighters, teachers, police officers and university employees statewide. That saves state taxpayers money — nearly $1 billion per year it doesn't pay in federal taxes. And it means those workers are entirely dependent on their pension earnings for security in retirement.

So what's the problem? For years, lawmakers didn't make required payments to the pension funds, running up a sizable debt, even as public employees paid their share. It's unacceptable to suggest that working people suffer for politicians' misdeeds.

Everyone deserves a decent retirement and some kind of retirement safety net. For most private-sector workers, that safety net is Social Security and a 401(k) plan — a package more costly to the employer than what public employee pensions cost the state.

Cutting the modest pensions earned by those who paid for them — most of whom will never qualify for Social Security — is unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair. Teachers or nurses, firefighters or police officers, they are public servants who pay for and depend on the pensions they earn. In return Illinois has an obligation to honor their service, and keep its promises.

Michael T. Carrigan is president of the Illinois AFL-CIO.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0506-pensions-20110506,0,7486051.story

Unions for Ill. public employees team up to protect benefits amid cost-cutting

2011-05-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Unions for Ill. public employees team up to protect benefits amid cost-cutting
By Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Unions representing Illinois public employees are joining forces to fight efforts to cut their pensions.

The new "We Are One Illinois" coalition includes unions for teachers, firefighters, police and state employees.

Pat Devaney (de-VANN'-ee) of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois calls the coalition "unprecedented." He said Tuesday it has raised more than $1 million to make its case.

He says they'll argue it's unfair to cut benefits after employees were promised good pensions, often instead of any social security benefits, for their hard work.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Are-One-Illinois/220676357958281

Illinois DREAM Act is scheduled to be voted on in the Illinois Senate tomorrow

2011-05-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

After months of hard work the Illinois DREAM Act is scheduled to be voted on in the Illinois Senate tomorrow!

This bill has the power to make a real difference in the lives undocumented young people throughout Illinois and moves the immigration debate toward

Urgent: Ask your Senator to vote Yes on the Illinois DREAM Act!

The Illinois DREAM Act provides:
• Good information. DREAM youths too often get incorrect information from high school counselors and college admissions officers regarding their college options. This bill would encourage these counselors and officers receive regular training regarding educational opportunities for immigrant youths. Having accurate information would give DREAM youths the hope they need to continue their educations and help reduce the rates of high school dropouts.

• Education Access. Many qualified DREAM students do not have the financial resources to pursue college—and as a result their talents are wasted. An estimated 65% of DREAM youths come from households that earn below 200% of the poverty line. The Illinois DREAM Act would establish a privately-funded Illinois DREAM Fund, administered by a volunteer state commission, to make scholarships available to undocumented students at no cost to taxpayers. The bill would also open up college savings programs and prepaid tuition programs to all Illinois residents, so that the families of DREAM students will be better able to pay for tuition. Note one penny comes from tax dollars.

• Illinois DREAM Commission. In addition to administering and fundraising for the Illinois DREAM Fund, this commission would monitor implementation of other parts of this law and research the needs of DREAM youths as they make their way through college.

Tell Your Senator to Support the Illinois DREAM Act and other pro-immigrant legislation!

On Saturday at our New Americans Rally, Illinois Senate President Cullerton committed to passing this bill but we need to do our part. Contact your Senator and ask them to support the Illinois DREAM Act and then ask your friends to do the same!

The General Assembly Foundation Scholarship Deadline April 30

2011-04-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Reminder

1) The General Assembly Foundation Scholarship for seniors who have been admitted to one of the following universities: Chicago State University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale or Edwardsville), University of Illinois (Chicago, Springfield, or Urbana-Champaign), Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University. Due Saturday, April 30. Click here for application.

2) The Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship which is open to any Illinois resident. Due Sunday, May 1. Click here for application.

New Census Milestone: Hispanics Reach 50 Million

2011-04-28T14:32:00.001-07:00

New Census Milestone: Hispanics Reach 50 Million
by Hope Yen, Associated Press

Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade, exceeding estimates in most states as they crossed a new census milestone: 50 million, or 1 in 6 Americans.

Meanwhile, more than 9 million Americans checked two or more race categories on their 2010 census forms, up 32 percent from 2000, a sign of burgeoning multiracial growth in an increasingly minority nation.

The Census Bureau late last week released its first set of national-level findings from the 2010 count on race and migration, detailing a decade in which rapid minority growth, aging Whites and the housing boom and bust were the predominant story lines.

Full story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14945/

Avoid Scams

2011-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Avoid scams

Every year students and their families lose money to scam artists posing as legitimate scholarship funding agencies. To avoid being defrauded, be cautious about suspicious scholarship offers.

Consult the Federal Trade Commissionexternal link for tips, facts and reporting information. Also keep a few guidelines in mind while researching scholarships.

It might be a scam if:

* You have to spend money to get money. Legitimate scholarship providers don't charge application fees, "redemption" fees or up-front taxes; nor do they ask students to make investments.
* They want bank account or credit card information. Trustworthy donors won't ask for a credit card number to "hold" your award.
* It's guaranteed. No one can guarantee that you'll receive a scholarship, and any promise of a money-back guarantee is a red flag.
* You can't find the information anywhere else. Scholarship agencies don't keep information secret; they want to award scholarships. If a service promises to provide funds no one else knows about, be suspicious.
* You win a contest you don't remember entering. If you receive a message saying you've been selected for an award or you're a finalist in a competition you've never heard of, it might be a scam.
* It sounds too good to be true. Trust your instincts. If you're suspicious about an offer, you probably have a good reason.

Source: http://financialaid.missouri.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/avoid-scams.php

National Hispana Leadership Institute to Hold Latina Empowerment Conference

2011-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

National Hispana Leadership Institute to Hold Latina Empowerment Conference
in Chicago Featuring Influential Women from the Area and Nationwide

WASHINGTON - The National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI), one of the premier executive leadership organizations preparing Latinas for positions of national and international influence, public policy impact and contribution to the advancement of the Hispanic community, is bringing its Latina Empowerment Conference series to Chicago, Ill., on Friday, May 6, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601.

Online registration is available at www.nhli.org/empower.html. The Latina Empowerment Conference convenes hundreds of exemplary regional leaders and professionals for a day of: leadership training peer-to-peer learning, and networking.

Panelists and speakers for the Chicago Latina Empowerment Conference are to include: Cristina Benítez, president, Lazos Latinos; María Capetillo, agent, State Farm Insurance; Marlene González, founder and president, Life Coaching Group; Flavia Hernández (’01 NHLI alumna), chief officer, Office of P-12 Management, Chicago Public Schools; Nanci Luna Jiménez (’06 NHLI alumna), president, Luna Jiménez Seminars; Patricia Mota, director of member outreach, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement; Ana María Soto (’04 NHLI alumna), executive director of Latino initiatives, National-Louis University; Barbara J. DesMarteau (’04 NHLI alumna), interim president, NHLI; and more.

Participants can be certain of engaging in discussions important to the Latino community, gaining new skills and valuable networking during the one-day conference. Founded in 1987, NHLI has trained and empowered more than 10,000 Latina leaders from
the public and private sectors who have been appointed to leadership positions in government, corporate America, nonprofits, foundations or started their own businesses.

NHLI also offers an annual Executive Leadership Training Conference and Mujer Awards, held this year in Los Angeles, Calif. (Nov. 2-4); the Executive Leadership Program for mid-career professionals; Latinas Learning to Lead Program for college-age Latinas; Advancing Latina Leaders in Nonprofits (ALL IN) for emerging professionals in the nonprofit sector; and online training seminars.

The Nation's Report Card

2011-04-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

America's High School Graduates

Results of the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study

Executive Summary

This report presents information about the types of courses that high school graduates in the class of 2009 took during high school, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Information on the relationships between high school coursetaking records and performance in mathematics and science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is also included. Transcripts were collected from about 610 public schools and 130 private schools for the 2009 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). These transcripts constituted a nationally representative sample of 37,700 high school graduates, representing approximately 3 million 2009 high school graduates. The 2009 results are compared to the results of earlier transcript studies dating back to 1990, and differences among graduates by race/ethnicity, gender, and parent education are examined. Because the study is restricted to high school graduates, it contains no information about dropouts, who may differ from graduates. Graduates who receive a special education diploma or certificate of completion are also excluded from analyses in this report unless noted otherwise.

Graduates earn more credits and complete higher curriculum levels

· In 2009, graduates earned over three credits more than their 1990 counterparts, or about 420 additional hours of instruction during their high school careers.

· A greater percentage of 2009 graduates completed more challenging curriculum levels than 1990 or 2005 graduates.

· Nearly two-thirds of graduates who attained a rigorous curriculum took algebra I before high school.

Growth Trajectory Continues

2011-03-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Growth Trajectory Continues - Hispanic Population in Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Wisconsin Grew by Double-Digits in Last Decade Hispanic population nearly 39 million in the 33 states released, accounting for 58 percent of U.S. population growth

Univision (March 11, 2011)

New York, NY -- The latest 2010 U.S. Census data reveals a steady growth momentum in the Hispanic population across the United States, according to statistics just released for Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Wisconsin. According to the figures:

Hispanics contributed 48 percent of the population growth in Arizona. 1 out of every 2 individuals added to Arizona's population in the last decade is of Hispanic origin.

The Hispanic population in Connecticut grew nearly 50 percent in the last 10 years with Latinos accounting for 61 percent of the minority growth in the state.

In Ohio, Hispanics are growing faster than any other demographic in the state. In fact, the Hispanic population grew 63 percent since Census 2000.

The Hispanic population in Pennsylvania grew more than 82 percent in the last 10 years.

In Idaho, the Hispanic population grew 73 percent since Census 2000.

Hispanics contributed 44 percent of the overall growth in Wisconsin. The Hispanic population in the state grew 74 percent in the last decade.

"The latest state-by-state U.S. Census figures continue to show the incredible double-digit growth the Hispanic population is fueling in states across our country," said Elizabeth Ellers, executive vice president, Corporate Research, Univision Communications Inc.

Based on the 33 states released thus far by Census:

Hispanic population growth is exceeding the most recent Census estimates by four percent.

Nearly 39 million Hispanics in the 33 states released as of 3-10-11.

Hispanics contributed 58 percent of the overall population growth in those states.

From Census 2000-2010 the Hispanic population in these states grew by nearly 43 percent.

Hispanics are growing four times faster than the total population.

The Hispanic population is less concentrated than a decade ago. In 2000, 65 percent of the Hispanic population residing in the 33 states released by Census resided either in California or Texas. By 2010, 61 percent of Hispanics reside either in Texas or California.

The U.S. Census is expected to release state by state information through March 2011. Univision will continue to provide insights focused on the Hispanic data.

For additional information on the 2010 Census data or to schedule an interview with Elizabeth Ellers, executive vice president, Corporate Research for Univision Communications Inc., please contact: Rosemary Mercedes at 212-455-5335 or rmercedes@univision.net.

MASTER OF ARTS IN LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES

2011-03-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

MASTER OF ARTS IN LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES
APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL MAY 16, 2011

The Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies offers an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of both Latin American societies and Latinos living in the United States. This program emphasizes the histories and experiences of Latin American people as they enter into a transnational dialogue that defines the United States and Latin America in the 21st century.

The M.A. in Latin American and Latino Studies will train students to reflect and engage social issues of historical and contemporary importance in the study of Latin American and Latino populations such as globalization, immigration, belonging and equality, as well as questions related to identity including race, culture, nationality, and gender. The knowledge and skills students will acquire in the M.A. program will be unique in that they will help them to achieve competence in more than one discipline. In addition, the program will train students to become competent in research and policy writing relevant to Latin American and Latino populations and will offer a unique community based research experience. Thus the main goal of the M.A. is that the students learn a series of specialized skills that place them on a solid career path, both in academic and non-academic settings.

LALS offers Teaching Assistantships and tuition waivers to qualified candidates. For information about current UIC tuition and fees visit: http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/grad/tuition_grad.html

Admission Requirements
Applicants are considered on an individual basis. The program will accept and review pplications for the Fall semester only. Admission decisions are made in compliance with the University of Illinois nondiscrimination policy. Applicants should send their credentials to the Office of Graduate Admissions and to the LALS program according to the following guidelines:

1) The following credentials should be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:
• Application form, if not using the online application. You can also apply online by following this link: http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/grad/apply_grad.html
• Application fee payment of $50 ($60 for international students), if not paying online with the online application (check or money order). This fee is waived for applicants seeking readmission who have been previously enrolled at UIC as a graduate student, and employees of UIC.
• Official transcripts for all undergraduate and any graduate work must be submitted directly from the issuing school to UIC's Office of Admissions and Record, proof of degree earned.
• GRE score, which must be sent directly from the testing service to UIC. UIC's GRE Institutional Code is 1851. International students should also send:
• TOEFL or IELTS score, which must be sent directly from the testing
service to UIC. UIC's TOEFL Institutional Code is 1851 (IELTS does not use a code). The minimum competence scores required are: 550 (paper-based); 213 (computer-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (new Internet-based TOEFL); or IELTS: 6.5,with subscores of 6.0 in each subsection.
• Declaration and Certification of Finances Form signed by both the
student and the sponsor
(http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/forms/declaration_finances_grad.pdf).
• Official English translations for all academic
credentials and transcripts not originally issued in English.
• Original bank statement signed by bank official showing sufficient funding in a savings account, money market account or certificate of deposit account. Checking accounts are not acceptable.

The address is:
Office of Graduate Admissions (MC 018)
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Box 7994
Chicago, IL 60680-7994

2) The following is required by LALS and the credentials could be sent directly to the LALS office:

• Baccalaureate (undergraduate major) field: No restrictions.
• Three letters of recommendation required, preferably from faculty
members in social sciences and humanities.
• A statement of purpose addressing the candidate's background as well as professional and academic goals, and the candidate's reasons for applying to a Latin American and Latino graduate program. The statement should have a maximum extension of three double-spaced pages.
• Undergraduate records: The minimum Grade Point Average required is 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of study.

Mailing Address:
Latin American and Latino Studies (MC 219)
601 South Morgan Street
Chicago, IL 60607-7115
Campus Location: 1525 UH
Telephone: (312) 996-2445
Web Site: http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/index.shtml

Head of the Department: María de los Ángeles Torres
Director of Graduate Studies: Alejandro L. Madrid (almadrid@uic.edu)
Deadline for receipt of materials is May 16, 2011.
For more information about our program and faculty visit:
http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/index.shtml

2nd Annual DREAM Gala

2011-03-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

2nd Annual DREAM Gala
“Celebrating the Past, Living the Present, Fighting for our Future”

The DREAM Gala Committee would be honored by your presence at the 2nd Annual DREAM Gala in support of college students who struggle financially in order to obtain a higher education
because of their ineligibility for federal and state financial aid.

With the theme “Celebrating the Past, Living the Present, Fighting for our Future” our program will include the announcement of the first DREAM scholarship recipients, dinner, guest speakers, silent auction, live music, dance performances and much more.

All proceeds will support the Dream scholarship fund.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Apollo’s 2000 Banquet Hall
2875 w. Cermak Road Chicago, Illinois
6:00pm to 12:00am

For questions email: galaforadream@gmail.com or call (773) 609-GALA

https://sites.google.com/site/dreamgala2011/

RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=126189277446257

A 'Roadmap' for Increasing Latino Students' Success in College

2011-03-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

A 'Roadmap' for Increasing Latino Students' Success in College

Excelencia in Education is releasing later today a report designed to lay out a path to increase Latino degree attainment. The “Roadmap for Ensuring America's Future” recommends ways in which colleges and communities can help 5.5 million more Latino Americans earn degrees to close race and ethnic equity gaps and meet President Obama’s degree attainment goals for 2020.

http://www.edexcelencia.org/initiatives/EAF/Roadmap

Roadmap for Ensuring America's Future

The evidence is clear. America cannot become the world leader in college degrees by 2020 or have the globally competitive workforce of the future without a tactical plan for increasing Latino college completion.

The product of collaboration among 60 national partners, the Roadmap for Ensuring America's Future (March 2011) is a tool for stimulating and facilitating dialogue in communities across the nation about action needed to increase degree attainment generally, and Latino degree attainment specifically.

Latino students are more likely to be non-traditional students, so state and institutional initiatives that focus on those students can make a big difference Colleges and universities should focus on policies that increase retention for working students in good standing, increase early
college high schools and dual enrollment programs, and guarantee need-based aid for qualified students.

Community leaders can do more to inform parents and family members about the pathway to college and to engage their community in supporting college access and degree attainment.

Historically, the federal government has focused on college access and opportunity through financial aid (Pell grants and Stafford Loans) and support programs (e.g., GEAR Up and TRIO). However, for America to lead the world in college degrees, the federal government must also
focus on college retention and degree attainment.

Illinois Hispanic Employment Plan for Public Universities FY 2010

2011-03-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Effective on January 1, 2011, Senate Bill 387/Public Act 96-1286 requires public universities and community colleges to annually report to the General Assembly the progress on efforts to hire and promote Hispanic faculty, administrative staff, and bilingual persons at public colleges and universities. This report is required as part of the larger State Hispanic Employment Plan and the Bilingual Employment Plan.
The fall of 2010 was the first year for data collection for the Hispanic Employment Plan for Higher Education. Plans are underway to form a committee made up of representatives from each state university and each community college to advise the Illinois Board of Higher Education on the specific language and questions for all future reports.

Data collection was undertaken in consultation with appropriate institutional representatives. The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) will be submitting a separate report for all community colleges.

The report is availale at this site, http://www.ibhe.org/Reports%20&%20Studies/PDF/2010HEP.pdf

NSHMBA's 2011 Scholarship Program

2011-03-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

NSHMBA's 2011 Scholarship Program

The National Society of Hispanic MBAs, which exists "to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development," has established a scholarship program to assist qualified Hispanics to pursue MBAs. Scholarships are offered each year for full- and part-time study at an accredited (AACSB) institution of the student's choice.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants to the NSHMBA Scholarship Program must:

* be a United States Citizen or legal permanent resident
* be of Hispanic heritage
* have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent) OR have a minimum 2.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent) in combination with two years of full-time work experience.
* have a NSHMBA membership - Member ID required. (Applicants who are not currently NSHMBA members may join now. Click on this NSHMBA Membership link.)
* be enrolled or planning to enroll in a Master's Degree program in Management/Business no later than fall 2011 at a college in the United States or Puerto Rico accredited by AACSB. Click here to view the complete list of AACSB Accredited Schools.

AWARDS

Awards will range from $2,500 - $10,000. The top five (5) full-time applicants who demonstrate financial need will receive an award for $10,000. The awards include up to a $250 travel and accommodations reimbursements for attending the NSHMBA Annual Conference & Career Expo during the award year.

Awards are renewable for up to one year or until a Master’s Degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon the recipient meeting the following requirements:

* Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent) in current degree program.
* Maintain active NSHMBA membership status and are expected to be NSHMBA ambassadors. Recipients must show involvement with the organization through the NSHMBA local Chapter by utilizing the following opportunities:
o Drive the mission of NSHMBA and develop the pipeline on their campus
o Serve as an officer or committee in their local NSHMBA chapter
o Drive NSHMBA sponsorship and membership efforts
o Drive participation to NSHMBA Annual Conference & Career Expo
o Attendance to NSHMBA Annual Conference & Career Expo
o Other Hispanic orientated community/business school events may be substituted if a NSHMBA chapter is not located within 50 miles

First Term Participation Verification:
Information will be sent to recipients and chapters in early November. Recipients must complete/participate in two (2) events/activities by November 15, 2011. Failure to complete the required participation will result in forfeiture of award for the second term and the student will not be eligible for annual renewal of the scholarship.

Annual Renewal:
Information will be sent to eligible recipients in December with the second installment check. Recipients must complete/participate in one (1) additional event/activity by May 15, 2012. All new materials must be sent to Scholarship management Services no later than April 30, 2012. Failure to return required materials by this date will result in forfeiture of award.

Pension changes debated for current employees

2011-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

UIC News

By Sonya Booth

02/23/11

As Illinois struggles with its continuing financial crisis despite a new income tax increase, legislation has been proposed in the Illinois General Assembly that would change pension benefits for current state employees.

Last spring, a new law changed pension benefits for employees hired after Jan. 1, but past proposals to alter benefits for current employees had been stalled by debate over whether such changes are prohibited in the Illinois Constitution.

“Public employee pensions have been untouchable, but when the budget situation gets so bad that everything is on the table, it provides an opportunity for people who’ve been waiting to make changes,” said Nicole Kazee, assistant professor of political science and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

“In many ways, this has become a political lightning rod because the state’s liabilities going forward are so massive,” she said. House Speaker Michael Madigan recently said questions of constitutionality in changing pension benefits for current state employees should be determined by the Illinois Supreme Court, not the legislature.

“What we’re saying is that there’s a benefit plan up in place up until today, but starting tomorrow, there’s going to be a new benefit plan that’s not going to be as rich as the old,” Madigan said in a Feb. 16 television appearance. “Whether the Illinois Supreme Court approves this idea, that’s a matter for the court.”

Two House bills now in committee approach pension changes from different directions, said Kappy Laing, executive director of the university Office of Governmental Relations. House Bill 146 would put a $106,800 cap on the salary level for calculating an employee’s pension, with subsequent increases of 3 percent or one-half the annual percentage increase in the consumer price index. House Bill 149 offers current employees a choice between two pension plans that increase their contributions, Laing said.

The bills apply to employees in six pension plans, including the General Assembly, Illinois Municipal, State Employees, State Universities, Downstate Teachers and Judges funds.
Another bill in the Senate, SB 1318, would repeal tuition waivers for university employees.
The problem of pension underfunding has been building at least since the early 1980s, said David Merriman, professor of public administration and economics and associate director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

“The state wanted to continue spending, but politicians and the general public objected to a tax increase. Basically, it was a way of borrowing,” Merriman said. Downturns in the stock market compounded the deficit, he added. “Nonetheless, the pension funds are in no immediate danger — there’s enough money to pay benefits over at least the next decade. The problem is that beyond that, there will not be enough given the present level of funding.” The pension deficit “is by no means the state’s only problem,” Merriman said.

“The vast majority of the state’s fiscal problem is due to spending for health care, human services, K through 12 education and declines in revenue in recent years due to the economic downturn.” However, cutbacks in state employee pensions are a more politically attractive option than other areas, he said. “If you cut pensions, you could lose senior employees, you may get a lower quality of employee, you might have to pay higher wages to offset lower benefits — but those effects are not immediate and obvious, so in the political discussion, they can be dismissed as irrelevant,” he said.

The current controversy in Wisconsin, where up to 40,000 demonstrators have come to Madison in protest of the governor’s plan to cut salaries, benefits and bargaining rights for state employees, is a more drastic scenario than what might occur in Illinois, Kazee said.
“But when something happens in a nearby state, it does tend to shift the conversation,” she said. “The environment (in Illinois) will be more favorable for some kind of reform.”

A number of UIC employees have expressed concern about HB 146, said Merrill Gassman, president of UIC United, the campus chapter of the State Universities Annuitants Association, and professor emeritus of biological sciences.

“The temperament on campus is very much against the bill,” he said. “I’ve had a number of people write to me privately and indicate their intention to move ahead with earlier-than-expected retirement. Whether they’ll follow through, I don’t know.” However, these bills are still in the first-draft stage, Laing cautioned. “Remember, it’s very early in what will be a long conversation. These are just ideas on the table.”

sobooth@uic.edu

American Dream Scholarship Deadline is March 15, 2011

2011-02-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

If you are a foreign-born graduate who has been accepted and planning to attend an accredited Illinois Public College or University in the upcoming 2011/2012 school year, please visit

www.dhs.state.il.us/AmericanDreamScholarship

to apply for an American Dream Scholarship. Four $3,000 American Dream Scholarships
will be awarded to students planning to work in the Human Services field. To obtain a complete list of eligibility requirements, an application checklist and a downloadable application, please visit www.dhs.state.il.us/AmericanDreamScholarship

Apply Today!

This one-time scholarship opportunity is made possible through a partnership between the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
(ICIRR) and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Last year, ICIRR and IDHS were honored by the Migration Policy Institute with
an E Pluribus Unum award recognizing their outstanding collaboration in immigrant integr

2011-02-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

Celebrate The Future Hispanic Scholarship Fund

HAPPY HOUR

DRINKS AND LIGHT APPETIZERS PROVIDED
Come discover more about DIAGEO’S Celebrate the Future Hispanic Scholarship Fund in a relaxed social setting with Diageo, CTF brand ambassadors, applicants, community organizations, schools and networking groups.

Thursday, Feb 24th, 2011

From 5:00-7:00 p.m.

DIAGEO
333 W. Wacker Dr # 1050

Chicago, IL 60606

Please RSVP by 2/18/11 to:
ctfrsvp@cmnevents.com

All guests must be over 21 years of age

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

DIAGEO Celebrate The Future Hispanic Scholarship Fund
www.estudia.org
CÁRDENAS MARKETING NeTwork

ILACHE 19th Annual Professional Student Development Conference

2011-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Save the Date

Illinois LAtino Council on Higher Education
19th An n u a l
Professional & Student Development Conference

SECURING OUR FUTURE: STRENGTHENING THE LATINO PRESENCE IN THE ACADEMY
Friday, April 1, 2011
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis
Chicago, IL 60625

Registration information soon at www.ilache.com.

Get your hands on some Cash for College

2011-02-18T07:11:00.001-08:00

Get your hands on some Cash for College

Parents and Students are invited!

WHAT? FREE FAFSA Completion Workshop

WHEN? Sunday, February 20, 2011
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
WHERE? Illinois Institute of Technology
Siegel Hall
3301 S. Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60616

Free Parking Available

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (available at www.FAFSA.gov) is required
by colleges that award state and federal scholarships and grants. Experts from the
Illinois Student Assistance Commission, high school counselors, college
representatives, and other volunteers will be available to help you complete your
FAFSA.

This free service is brought to our community by:

College Awareness and Preparation, IIT, College Zone, and Illinois Student Assistance Commission

AARP FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

2011-02-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

AARP FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Low-Income Women 40+in Illinois Are Eligible for Scholarships for Training and Education

CHICAGO– This week, the AARP Foundation announced a call for entries to its annual nationwide Women’s Scholarship Program. The scholarships will provide funds to women 40+ who are seeking new job skills, training and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families. In 2010, more than $450,000 in educational scholarships was awarded to 200 women nationwide.

“The AARP Foundation is committed to advancing opportunities for women,” said Merri Dee, AARP Illinois State President. “In this economy, it is vital that women have access to the education and job training resources they need to advance their professional goals.

Research shows that women are disproportionately at risk of having insufficient funds in the second half of their lives due to lower earnings and different work patterns. The AARP Foundation created the Women’s Scholarship Program in August 2007 to help women 40+ overcome financial and employment barriers by allowing them to participate in education and training opportunities they could otherwise not afford. Since its beginning, the program has helped more than 350 deserving women.

Interested applicants can submit their application online beginning February 1, 2011 at www.aarp.org/womensscholarship. The application process closes on March 31, 2011. Scholarships will be awarded in early summer 2011.

Scholarships are available to women with moderate to lower incomes and limited financial resources. To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must:

• Be female age 40 or older (as of March 31, 2011);
• Be able to demonstrate financial need; and
• Be enrolled in an accredited school or technical training program within 6 months of the scholarship award date.

Priority is given to women in three categories: those raising the children of another family member; those in low-paying jobs with no career opportunities and who are missing either a retirement benefit and/or health insurance; and those who have been out of the workforce for more than five years. Scholarships may be used for any course of study at a public or private secondary school, including community colleges, technical schools, and four-year universities. Funds are payable to the institution and may be used to pay for tuition, fees, and books.

Scholarship winners are chosen by an independent selection committee established by AARP Foundation. Selections are on the basis of financial need, personal circumstances and achievements, educational goals, and the likely impact of the scholarship on the women's lives, their families and communities.

The scholarship program is made possible by AARP Foundation with generous support from the Wal-Mart Foundation and AARP.

Court Upholds UT-Austin Admissions Standards

2011-01-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Court Upholds UT-Austin Admissions Standards
by Terry Wallace, Associated Press , January 19, 2011

Categories:
Courts / Admissions / University /
DALLAS – A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the University of Texas at Austin can consider race and ethnicity in its admissions standards.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a 2008 ruling by a district court that found UT did not violate legal precedent in refusing admission to two White, female students to that year's freshman class.

Abigail Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz alleged the university violated their constitutional right to equal protection.

In the majority opinion, Appeals Court Judge Patrick Higginbotham concurred with university attorneys that UT had complied with the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 Grutter vs. Bollinger ruling that upheld racial considerations in university admissions at the University of Michigan law school.

"The university's policies and measured attention to the community it serves are consonant with the educational goals outlined in Grutter and do not support a finding that the university was engaged in improper racial balancing during our time frame of review," Higginbotham wrote.

In a concurring opinion, Appeals Court Judge Emilio Garza agreed UT had complied with the Grutter decision, but criticized the precedent.

"I concur in the majority opinion because, despite my belief that Grutter represents a digression in the course of constitutional law, today's opinion is a faithful, if unfortunate application of that misstep," Garza wrote. "The Supreme Court has chosen this erroneous path and only the (Supreme) Court can rectify the effort."

UT vice president for legal affairs Patricia Ohlendorf said the university is "very pleased."

"The university always has maintained that its undergraduate admissions policy is constitutional and follows the guidance given by the U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger. The 5th Circuit has agreed."

The women's attorney, Bert Rein of Washington, D.C., said he was still reviewing the opinion but "obviously we're disappointed in the result." No decision has been made on whether to appeal further, he said, but "there are courses of action open to us. We'll be studying it."

Strategic Displacement

2011-01-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2011

One of the most novel ideas of college admissions in recent decades has been the “10 percent plan” in Texas. And research released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that some students figured out how to game the system to get into a flagship -- and that the net result of this activity was to help white students at the expense of minority students.

In response to a federal appeals court’s order barring public colleges and universities from considering race in admissions, the state adopted a rule granting automatic admission to any university -- including the highly competitive flagships of the University of Texas and Texas A&M University -- to anyone who graduated in the top 10 percent of his or her high school class. The idea was that Texas has many high schools that are almost entirely black or Latino -- and so could be assured of enrolling a critical mass of black and Latino students at top universities without considering race.

While Texas in 2009 modified the plan, the basic concept remains in place -- and has been copied in several other states looking for race-neutral ways to diversify student bodies at competitive universities. From the start, one of the questions about these plans was whether they created the right incentives for schools, students and families. Students just below the top 10 percent at competitive high schools complained from the beginning that they were being displaced by students who were in the top 10 percent elsewhere but who may not have been as well-prepared for college.

The new NBER study shows that some of those students did something about it -- and moved to less competitive high schools where they could be in the top 10 percent. And generally, this movement displaced minority students from getting automatic admission under the 10 percent rule.

The study, conducted by Julie Berry Cullen of the University of California at San Diego, Mark C. Long of the University of Washington, and Randall Reback of Barnard College, analyzed cohorts of students who were approaching college admissions before and after the 10 percent plan took effect. It found significant shifts in patterns among students who stood to benefit from being in less competitive high schools. These patterns run counter to the usual tendency of families to try to get their children into the best high schools possible.

A variety of factors obviously influence the choices of students and families about which high schools to attend, and the authors acknowledge that it is possible that some of the school switches had other causes. But identifying those students with “motive and opportunity” -- those who were likely to fall below the 10 percent in competitive high schools but were strong enough students that they would be in the top 10 percent in weaker high schools in which they could enroll -- the scholars estimate that 25 percent or more of students moved to new high schools for "strategic" reasons.

Generally, the movement was from magnet schools to less competitive local schools, where the grade-point average to be in the top 10 percent was lower and/or the students moving could earn better grades.

The authors found that though both white and minority students engaged in “strategic” high school selection, white students benefited and minority students lost. The reason is that whether it is white or minority students transferred into the lesser high school, those at the high school who were pushed out of the top 10 percent were almost always minority students. Virtually no white students lost slots
as a result of these choices.

The study does not suggest that its findings negate the positive impacts of the 10 percent plan on promoting racial diversity. But the authors write that those who create such plans need to consider all of the incentives they create -- including incentives that may favor some groups over others.

Latino population growth saves Illinois' loss of second House seat

2010-12-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO - December 22, 2010 - Illinois will be down a seat in the House of Representatives following the 2012 elections, according to yesterday's US Census Bureau announcement. Analysis from the Latino Policy Forum indicates that two seats would have been stripped from Illinois, had the state's Latino population not grown as dramatically as it has over the past decade.

"Latinos have made significant, well-documented contributions to the workforce and economy," said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum. "But beyond economics, Census data show how Latinos' sheer numbers are benefiting Illinois."

Without a Latino population increase of nearly half a million people since 2000, Illinois would have fallen short of the population needed for an 18th House seat, having sufficient population for just 17 seats. This shortfall is estimated at 315,656 to 368,937 people, according to analysis from the Latino Policy Forum.

Based on total apportionment population, each House seat represents 716,767 people, meaning that Illinois' current 18-seat apportionment requires a population of 12,793,806. But without the Latino growth, Illinois population would have come in at an estimated 12,424,869, good for only 17 House seats.
While Latino-specific population numbers for 2010 are yet to be released, annual American Community Survey data shows that Illinois Latinos account for nearly 90 percent of the state's population growth since 2000 - not to mention 3 of every 4 new entrants to the local labor market and an estimated $41 billion in state purchasing power. What's more, Latino Policy Forum analysis indicates that the state's growing Latino population will bring a staggering $30 billion in Federal funding to the state over the next ten years - that's nearly $1,500 per person per year for each of the 2 million Latinos potentially counted in the 2010 Census.

"Given all that the growing Latino community has contributed - and will contribute - to the state of Illinois, it's time that Latinos achieve parity in electoral representation at both the state and federal levels," said Puente. "Latinos have saved a seat for Illinois - it follows that a Latino representative have an additional seat at the table in the Congressional reapportionment."

About the Latino Policy Forum
The Latino Policy Forum is the only organization in the Chicago area that facilitates the involvement of Latinos at all levels of public decision-making. The Forum conducts analysis to
inform, influence and lead. Its goals are to improve education outcomes, advocate for affordable housing, promote just immigration policies, and engage diverse sectors of the community, with an understanding that advancing Latinos advances a shared future. For more information, visit www.latinopolicyforum.org.

###

Holiday Greetings

2010-12-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the ILACHE Board, we wish you a happy holiday season and a healty and prosperous New Year. Thank you for supporting us in 2010. We look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Ortiz

60 Minutes segment entitled "State Budgets: Day of Reckoning"

2010-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

Colleagues:

Did you watch the 60 Minutes segment entitled "State Budgets: Day of Reckoning" (is there a message there?) last night on CBS? If not, it is available on cbs.com at the 60 Minutes website, and I urge you to view it. In it, CBS' Steve Kroft interviewed Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes and NJ Gov. Chris Christie on their states' fiscal crises. (It was nice to see that CBS referred to the "University of Illinois" (as one of the State's creditors) while showing video of UIC.) The focus of the interviews made it quite clear that public employee pensions are to blame for the states' fiscal crises. While Hynes was more circumspect, Christie bared no holds and was very blunt and direct in his position, throwing down the gauntlet to public employees and their unions.
--
Merrill L. Gassman, Ph.D.

HSF/ General College Scholarships

2010-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

HSF/ General College Scholarships

Calendar
Application Available September 1, 2010
Application Deadline December 15, 2010
Application Processing January through May 2011
Selections June 2011
Award Notifications July 2011
Verification of Enrollment Fall 2011
Award Distribution Fall 2011

Program Description
HSF/ General College Scholarships are designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage obtain a college degree. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis to:

•Graduating High School Seniors
•Community College Students
•Community College Transfer Students
•Undergraduate Students
•Graduate Students
Award amounts generally range from $1,000 to $5,000.

APPLY NOW

Eligibility Requirements
•Be of Hispanic heritage
•Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with a permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551 (not expired)
•Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
•Have plans to enroll FULL-TIME in a degree seeking program at a two or four year U.S. accredited institution in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands or Guam during the 2011-2012 academic year
•Must apply for federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
•Be pursuing first undergraduate or graduate degree

WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR HISPANICS

2010-12-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR HISPANICS

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics seeks talented students to intern in Washington, D.C. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Collecting research and data on Latino education and institutions for briefing materials;
• Transcribing session notes and/or participant feedback following WHI events;
• Performing data entry and managing the office database/Listserv;
• Greeting and escorting visitors;
• Participating in strategic planning and staff meetings and other Department meetings relevant to
the work of the WHI;
• Assisting the chief of staff in preparing reports and other materials for senior officials;
• Updating the speaking engagement calendar;
• Responding to constituent inquiries in English and/or Spanish;
• Creating and/or update presentations, fact sheets, one-pagers or talking points;
• Assisting with all planning needs for upcoming local and out-of-town events and meetings, which
can include collecting/researching background materials, cataloging attendees, and more;
• Maintaining office media archives, which includes searching for any media coverage related to WHI
events and speaking engagements;
• Liasing between the WHI and local and national Latino organizations and federal agencies; and
• Traveling (when necessary).

In addition, opportunities for developmental growth are encouraged, such as interviewing senior Department officials and officials from external organizations, and attending internal/external presentations and briefings related to Latino education.

Skills needed:

• Able to work well independently and as part of a team
• Strong organizational skills
• Carries fair share of the workload and completes projects on time
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access)
• Takes the initiative and proactively tackles responsibilities
• Arrives promptly to work and all meetings
• Knowledge of Spanish a plus, but not required

Although internships are available year-round, many students opt for a summer internship.

Summer Internships

The White House Initiative's 2011 Summer Internship Program provides current undergraduate and graduate students with an opportunity to learn about Latino-focused education policy, communications, and outreach at the U.S. Department of Education.

This unpaid internship generally takes place from May to August each year. Exact start and end dates are determined by the student applicant and may be shortened or extended as needed. Neither a degree in education nor fluency in Spanish is required. Students from all academic fields are encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit the following items to be considered for an internship:

• Resume;
• One-page cover letter stating the student's reasons for wanting to intern with the office, the term
to which he or she is applying (i.e., summer, fall, winter, spring) and dates of availability, and what
the student has accomplished or plan to accomplish to improve the academic achievement and/or
socioeconomic advancement of Hispanics;
• Letter from the registrar stating the student is enrolled at least part-time in an accredited
university and is in good-standing;
• Official transcripts;
• Intern Service Agreement;
• ED ID Card Application Form;
• Form 306; and
• Form 612.

Application packets can be submitted via e-mail to WhiteHouseforHispanicEducation@ed.gov or via U.S. Postal Service to:

White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
ATTN: Glorimar Nosal, Chief of Staff
400 Maryland Ave. S.W., Room 4W108 Washington, D.C. 20202
Application Packet Review Process

The White House Initiative's chief of staff evaluates the applications on the basis of academic achievement, quality of thought exemplified in the cover letter, and the strength of the candidate's interest in improving education outcomes for Hispanics.

Selected packets are then forwarded to designated personnel in the Office of the Secretary and Human Resources, who review the application packets for legal, regulatory and program requirements.

Once vetted by OS and HRS, students are contacted by the chief of staff to confirm start dates. An e-mail also is sent with reporting days and times, dress code and directions to the building.

Other Considerations

Students selected to be White House Initiative summer interns will be required to secure their own housing while in Washington, D.C. A list of potential accommodations will be made available on request.

In addition, the U.S. Department is able to provide a transportation subsidy to assist with the cost of travel to and from home/work. Students may register for this benefit once they are officially on board with the agency.

Additional Opportunities

Click here for more information on other internship and fellowship opportunities in Washington, D.C.

Give immigrant kids a chance to Dream

2010-12-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2010

BY ALEJANDRO ESCALONA alejandroescalona@comcast.net

The Dream Act makes sense for America. Beyond demagoguery and scare tactics, this bill will not only allow thousands of young people to call home the only country they know, but most importantly it will free them to use their talents to contribute to our nation.

Democrats vowed to submit the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act for a vote in the Senate after Thanksgiving.

The lame-duck session of Congress must pass the Dream Act, which would ultimately provide 800,000 young people a path to citizenship that follows a rigorous process.

We are familiar with their stories. They were very young when their undocumented parents brought them to this country. They learned English quickly and they think of themselves as Americans. In many cases, they discovered they were here illegally only when they applied to attend college. Some are students at prestigious universities, while others would like to join the armed forces.

They all share the same values of hard work, love of country and dreams of a better future for themselves and their families. These young people embody quintessential American values.

The Dream Act would permit immigrant students who entered the country at 15 or younger and have been living here for at least five years before the act was passed to apply for temporary legal status and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college or serve in the U.S. military.

This is not amnesty, as opponents of the Dream Act like to claim. These young people would have to go through hoops to become citizens, including showing proof of good moral standing. During a six-year conditional status, students would have to complete at least two years of higher education or two years of military service. Criminals would never pass this type of scrutiny.

The Dream Act would stimulate the economy. It is estimated that the average student affected by the act would make $1 million more over his or her lifetime by obtaining legal status, which would benefit local economies and provide much- needed tax dollars.

The latest support for the act came Monday from the presidents of the University of Illinois at Chicago, DePaul, Northwestern, Loyola, Dominican, Roosevelt, St. Augustine and Northeastern Illinois University. They urged Congress to allow these young people to fulfill their potential to benefit the country they call home.

“Our economy needs their talents more than ever. Our military is spread too thin,” the university presidents said in a joint statement. “But to these aspiring students, our country says ‘no thank you. Don’t start your business. Don’t cure the sick. Don’t make the ultimate sacrifice.’ ”

The Dream Act is about honoring the values of hard work and loyalty that most families hope their children cherish. That is why this bill has generated support from Democrats and Republicans, business leaders, clergy and veterans. Even mayoral candidates Gery Chico, Miguel del Valle and Rahm Emanuel found common ground this week in their support for the Dream Act.

Newly inaugurated U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk will have a unique opportunity to prove to the people of Illinois that he is in fact a moderate on social issues, as he claimed during the campaign. Kirk has yet to reveal his plan for immigration reform, beyond his mantra of “secure our borders.”

I urge Kirk to support the Dream Act. Or will he join the ranks of extremist Republicans whose only answer to fixing the broken immigration system is to deport 11 million people?

Our country needs highly educated young people to compete in the global economy.

To shut the door on the “dreamers,” as those who would benefit from the Dream Act call themselves, is short-sighted and counterproductive.

The Dream Act honors the American dream.

Restrictionist Group Continues Cynical Legacy of Counting Costs While Ignoring Benefits of Immigration

2010-12-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

As the U.S. House and Senate prepare to vote on the DREAM Act, opponents continue to disseminate misinformation. In the statement below, the Immigration Policy Center sets the record straight. Remember, it's okay for people to draw different conclusions, but those conclusions should be based on the same set of facts. Please contact your Congressman and Senators and encourage them to support the DREAM Act when it comes up for a vote this week and/or next.

Restrictionist Group Continues Cynical Legacy of Counting Costs
While Ignoring Benefits of Immigration

December 1, 2010

Washington D.C. - In a new report, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) paints a misleading financial portrait of the DREAM Act. The report, entitled Estimating the Impact of the DREAM Act, claims that the bill would be a burden on U.S. taxpayers and would "crowd out" native-born students in the classroom. However, the available evidence does not support either of these dire predictions. In fact:

• Institutions of higher education overwhelmingly support the DREAM Act, which would likelyincrease school revenues as students who would not normally attend college start to pay tuition.

• The 10 states which, since 2001, have passed laws allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition have not experienced a large influx of new immigrant students that displaces native-born students.

• Most DREAM Act students would likely enroll in community colleges, most of which have open enrollment, based on a philosophy that all qualified students should have the opportunity to learn. Historically, more than 80% of community college students hold full or part-time jobs, thus contributing to their own educations (and the tax base) even as they attend school. The American Association of Community Colleges estimates that state and local governments receive a 16% return on every dollar they invest in community colleges due to the increased earnings of college graduates.

• Legalizing DREAM Act students would increase beneficiaries' earnings potential, as well as the U.S. tax base. A 2010 study by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center estimates that the total earnings of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would be between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion.
CIS's cynical mischaracterization of the DREAM Act is not only inaccurate, but hypocritical as well. CIS frequently laments that so many immigrants to the United States have low levels of education, yet opposes a measure that would allow some of these immigrants to become more educated. What alternative to the DREAM Act does CIS propose? According to the Center for American Progress the cost to deport more than two million children and young adults who were raised in the United States would be $48.6 billion. How is that sound fiscal policy?

The U.S. economy doesn't need more deportations; it needs more college graduates. According to a recent report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, "not enough Americans are completing college... by 2018, we will need 22 million new college degrees-but will fall short of that number by at least 3 million postsecondary degrees, Associate's or better." The DREAM Act would help meet this need.

###

For more information contact
Wendy Sefsaf at wsefsaf@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524.

Mendez v. Westminster

2010-11-23T13:52:00.001-08:00

Sylvia Mendez is an American civil rights icon of Mexican-Puerto Rican ancestry.

President Obama announced on November 17, 2010, that he will award the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, to her in early 2011.

At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez v. Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1947. The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California, and paved the way for integration and the American civil rights movement integration and the American civil rights movement.

In Mendez v. Westminster, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco established an important legal precedent by ruling school districts could not segregate on the basis of national origin. Shortly thereafter, California Gov. Earl Warren pushed the state legislature into repealing laws that segregated Asians and Native American school children.

Thurgood Marshall, who wrote the NAACP's friend of the court brief for Mendez v. Westminster, used the decision as precedent when he argued Brown v. Board of Education in front of the U.S. Supreme Court – seven years later.

In 2007, to mark the Mendez trial's 60th anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service issued a special stamp.

Jorge E. Ponce
Co-Chair
Council of Federal EEO and Civil Rights Executives

Call for Applications for LALS Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies

2010-11-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago

The program of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is accepting student applications for the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American and Latino Studies. Applicants wishing to start in the program during the Fall 2011 semester are encouraged to apply before January
15, 2011 (for full funding consideration) but the admissions committee will still review applications after that deadline.

The degree offers an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of Latin American societies and Latinos in the United States. It encourages an approach that ranges across the social sciences, humanities, literature and the arts, cultural studies and history. The M.A. will train students to reflect on and engage with social issues of contemporary importance in the study of Latin American and Latino populations such as globalization, colonialism, post colonialism, transnational’s immigration, development, and equality as well as questions related to identity and membership, including race, culture, nationality, and gender. The program will offer a unique set of research courses to prepare students, including a semester placement with a community based organization in which students learn a series of specialized skills that place them on a solid career path, both in academic and non academic settings.

More information and application details available:

http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.pdf

http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.doc

MALDEF LAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING UPHOLDING AB 540, WAIVER OF OUT-OF-STATE FEES FOR ALL QUALIFIED STUDENTS

2010-11-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today, MALDEF applauded the California Supreme Court's ruling in Martinez v. Regents, upholding the California law known as AB 540. AB 540 provides a waiver of out-of-state tuition fees at California's public colleges and universities for students - regardless of immigration status - who have completed three years at a California high school and have attained a high school diploma, or the equivalent thereof.

In response to the ruling, MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz remarked, "This important and beneficial ruling vindicates the careful process followed in drafting AB 540 to ensure that it complies with federal law. The Court's decision means that California's institutions of higher education will continue to be strengthened by the inclusion of some of our state's brightest and most successful students, who simply lack legal status due to the nation's failure to enact the widely-supported DREAM Act."

In today's ruling, the California Supreme Court concluded that California's tuition waiver met the requirements established by federal law to allow the State to provide a post-secondary education tuition waiver to graduates of California high schools, including undocumented students, who have proven ties to the State. Such ties includes the payment of taxes to the State. In its decision, the Court explained that, even though the federal government has established some restrictions on state power, states retain the power to enable undocumented students to have meaningful access to college education.

In 2005, a national anti-immigrant group filed a lawsuit in California state court challenging the validity of AB 540. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of students with minimal to no ties to California, claiming that AB 540 was in violation of federal law. MALDEF represented students receiving the AB 540 tuition waiver at the trial court level, and continued to represent them as Amicus Curiae in the Supreme Court.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org

For all media inquiries, please contact Laura Rodriguez at (310) 956-2425.

National Latino Leader? The Job is Open

2010-11-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

Latinos and Leadership

By their own reckoning, Latinos living in the United States do not have a national leader. When asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider "the most important Latino leader in the country today," nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said "no one."

These findings emerge from a bilingual national survey of 1,375 Latino adults conducted by landline and cellular telephone from August 17 through September 19, 2010prior to this month's mid-term electionsby the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

Sonia Sotomayor, appointed last year to the U.S. Supreme Court, was the most frequently named individualsome 7% of respondents said she is the most important Latino leader in the country. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) of Chicago is next at 5%, followed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 3%, and Jorge Ramos, an anchor on Noticiero Univision, the national evening news program on the Spanish-language television network Univision, at 2%. No one else was named by more than 1% of respondents.

The survey also explored the subject of leadership in the Latino community in another way. Respondents were presented with the names of eight prominent Latinos and asked if they had heard of each. Those who said they had were then asked if they considered that person to be a leader.

Of the eight names presented, Sotomayor received the highest leadership score: 45% of respondents considered her a leader. Ramos is next at 38%, followed by Villaraigosa at 29% and Guitierrez at 23%. No one else on the list had a score above 20%.

The report, "National Latino Leader? The Job is Open," was authored by Paul Taylor, Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Texas students oppose tuition break for illegal immigrants

2010-11-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Texas students oppose tuition break for illegal immigrants
By Daniel de Vise

The Student Senate at Texas A&M University last week registered its opposition to a bill in the Texas legislature that would give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

The students voted 41 to 28 for a bill that opposes the state legislation. State lawmakers had asked for student input, according to an article in the campus newspaper.

Later in the week, the university's student body president vetoed the bill, saying the issue should be left to the state legislature.

Texas is one of 10 states that already allow in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants, according to a chart prepared last summer by the Chronicle for Higher Education.

Four other states explicitly forbid illegal immigrants to claim the tuition break, and two others, Georgia and Louisiana, bar them from public universities altogether.

Neither Maryland nor Virginia has a statewide policy on resident tuition for illegal immigrants, nor on the more basic question of whether those immigrants should be admitted to public universities. But the issue is simmering in both states.

Last month, a Maryland lawmaker challenged Montgomery College on its de-facto policy of allowing illegal immigrants to pay the lowest tuition rates, those charged to county residents. The actual rule grants the tuition breaks to recent graduates of the county's public school system, and does not consider their immigration status.

The states seem to be drifting in somewhat different directions on the question of tax-supported higher education for illegal immigrants. Maryland's Democrat-controlled legislature has repeatedly tried and failed to make in-state tuition a right for illegal immigrants. Virginia lawmakers have tried to bar illegal immigrants from public higher education.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas A&M Campus Newspaper, the Battalion,

By Haley Lawson

Updated: Sunday, November 7, 2010 23:11

This past week, the Student Senate passed a tuition bill that would determine the demographics of college students who receive in-state tuition. However, Student Body President Jacob Robinson vetoed the bill. "The Student Senate has clearly spoken through the passing of this bill. However, numerous students have also clearly spoken in opposition to the bill. SBP Robinson is taking this issue very seriously and will be addressing the veto of the in-state tuition bill next Wednesday at the senate meeting," said Konrad Johnson, SGA executive vice president. Robinson said the senate meeting room was not the appropriate place to vote on a state issue. The bill is a state issue and he said it should be settled appropriately through the state legislature. "Regardless of the logic behind the bill, the Texas A&M Student Senate meeting room is an inappropriate place for an attempt to settle a state issue," Robinson said. "There was no polling done and no data collected. We should be getting that on all bills." Robinson said the bill was not addressing the underlining issue of residency. "This bill does not state the residency question. The issue should not be tuition rates, the issue should be residency," Robinson said. "This bill is not helping in the end if we aren't fixing the residency problem."

The HACU National Internship Program

2010-11-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

NEWS RELEASE
HACU Media Contact
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia
Link Icon210.576.3206

HACU seeking students for its national internship program
Paid internships often lead to federal government and corporate employment

San Antonio, TX –The HACU National Internship Program , the nation’s largest Hispanic internship program, is accepting applications from college and university students for internships taking place January 13 - April 30, 2011. Deadline to apply is Nov. 4. Applications for summer internships are also being accepted until Feb. 25, 2011.

Students accepted into the program participate in paid internships with federal and corporate offices in Washington, DC and across the nation. Internships are offered in the spring, summer and fall.
HACU National Internship Program summer 2010 participants.

“Providing students with the opportunities to help them succeed beyond college and prepare them to enter the professional world after graduation is incredibly valuable,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “The HACU National Internship Program continues to fulfill its mission of opening doors of opportunity by providing students a chance to earn an income and also make professional connections for future corporate and federal employment.”

Throughout the years, the HACU National Internship Program has helped many students gain employment. So far this year, HACU has known of eight students who have received offers of employment in the federal government. Last year 15 students were placed in internships with Deloitte and 8 others with Sodexo, Lockheed Martin, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Successful corporate interns almost always receive a job offer upon graduation," said Flores.

The HACU National Internship Program places more than 600 students in paid internships annually. These internships provide talented Hispanic and other minority students with the opportunity to develop their career and professional skills and receive financial support to help motivate students through graduation. The HACU National Internship Program has placed more than 9,000 students in internships since its inception in 1992.

About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represent approximately 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. HACU is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas where it will celebrate its Silver Anniversary during its annual conference “25 Years of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success,” October 29-31, 2011. More information is available at www.hacu.net.

The Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections

2010-11-04T09:30:00.001-07:00

11.3.2010

by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center
Report Materials

Tuesday's midterm elections were historic for Hispanics. For the first time ever, three Latino candidates-all of them Republicans-won top statewide offices. In New Mexico, voters elected the nation's first Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez. In Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval won the governor's race and became Nevada's first Hispanic governor. And in Florida, Republican Marco Rubio won the U.S. Senate race.

Despite these big top-of-the-ticket wins for Republican Hispanic candidates, Latino voters continued their strong support for Democratic candidates nationwide. National exit poll results show that Democrats had a nearly two-to-one advantage-64% versus 34%-over Republicans in U.S. House races among Latino voters. In other statewide races, Democratic candidates won the Latino vote, usually by wide margins.

Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2009, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff, 2009-10

2010-11-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

This First Look presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2009-10 data collection. The HR component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and Fall Staff (S) for fall 2009 and Salaries (SA) for academic year 2009-10. All three sections of the HR component were required for the winter 2009-10 collection. The HR data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system.

The data on which this report is based are available to researchers and the public through the IPEDS Data Center, which can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This First Look report continues the series of First Look reports based on the collection of data from over 6,700 postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid programs.
The purpose of this report is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. As a result only selected findings are presented. These findings have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available when using the IPEDS data rather than to discuss all of the observed differences, and they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue.

We hope that the information provided in the report will be useful to a wide range of interested readers. Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to make full use of the IPEDS data for analysis, to perform comparisons of peer institutions, or to help answer questions about postsecondary education institutions.

Thomas Weko Associate Commissioner Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division

MARCHA: Chicago Latino y el Movimiento de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes

2010-10-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

El Programa de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos de la Universidad de Illinois y la Biblioteca Rudy Lozano los invita cordialmente a una presentacion de libro y un dialogo con la comunidad:

MARCHA! Chicago Latino y el Movimiento de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes

PRESENTACIÓN
DE LIBRO Y DIÁLOGO CON LA COMUNIDAD

JUEVES, 28 DE OCTUBRE
5:30 a 7:30 p.m.

Biblioteca Pública de la Ciudad de Chicago
Rudy Lozano
1805 S. Loomis
Chicago, IL 60608

EXHIBICIÓN
DE FOTOGRAFIAS

GANAREMOS!
Palabras e Imágenes de una
Revolución de la Mente y del Corazón

Una exhibición de fotografías del
Colectivo de Fotografía Ayer, Hoy y Mañana
con fotografías de Victor Espinosa y de él
fotográfo del Chicago Tribune, Antonio Pérez.

Panel:

Amalia Pallares y Nilda Flores González,*
Presentación del libro

Jhonathan Gómez, Presentación de la Exhibición

Stephen P. Davis y Juan R. Martínez,
“La Participacion de la Iglesia Católica”

Comentarios: Padre Brendan Curran y el Padre Carlos,
Iglesia San Pío

Xóchitl Bada, “El papel de los clubes de oriundos en las marchas del 2006”

Comentarios: Artemio Arreola, ICIRR y FEDECMI

*Profesoras del Programa de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos de la
Universidad de Illinois en Chicago y del Depto. de Sociologia y Ciencias Politicas.

La presentacion sera en Español - Habra refrigerios y Venta de Libros.

Este evento es gratis y para el publico en general. Para mas informacion o para dejarnos saber que va a venir favor de enviarnos un correo electronico a martae@uic.edu o llamenos al (312) 996-2445 y pregunte por Marta Ayala. Gracias.

College fair to be held Saturday, October 23 at Navy Pier

2010-10-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Parents and students looking for information on college financial aid, admission requirements and course offerings can find help at the free Chicago National College Fair on Saturday at Navy Pier.

Students and parents will be able to meet one-on-one with admission representatives from public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

The event, sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Festival Hall Complex, Hall A, at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.

For more information, including a list of colleges participating, visit www.nacacnet.org/fairs or call (800) 822-6285. Francine Knowles

Chico quits City Colleges, Daley appoints new chair

2010-10-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

October 20, 2010

BY FRAN SPIELMAN

City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

City Colleges Chairman Gery Chico has resigned to concentrate full-time on his campaign for mayor, prompting Mayor Daley to replace him with a prominent Hispanic businessman.

"I believe it is the right thing to do to resign my City Colleges position and concentrate on one thing: working hard to become the mayor of Chicago," Chico wrote in a letter delivered to Daley last week.

"Over the next few months, I intend to campaign vigorously and wish for nothing to disturb the reinvention effort that is under way at City Colleges."

If the City Colleges Board approves, Chico will be replaced by Martin Cabrera Jr., 39, founder and CEO of Cabrera Capital Markets, the nation's largest Hispanic financial services firm. Cabrera has been a frequent participant in city bond issues.

"The mission of Chicago City Colleges must be updated to meet the economic challenges of today and tomorrow. Martin has the financial background and expertise to do that," Daley said in a press release.

Cabrera said his parents "instilled in me a passion for education" and he looks forward to putting that energy to work for the City Colleges.

"I was fortunate to have mentors and role models who helped guide me throughout my life. And I believe in the importance of giving back and helping our young people achieve success in life," he said in the press release announcing his appointment.

Latino Voter Participation Summit

2010-10-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 23, 2010
9 am – 10:30 am
Instituto del Progreso Latino
2570 S. Blue Island Ave

The goal of this Summit is to ensure every Latino leader is engaged and
inspires as many Latinos as possible to vote on Tuesday, November 2nd.

Topics covered in this summit include:

Why Voting is Critical for Latinos in this Election

Voter Education on Key Issues Affecting the Latino Community

How Not for Profit Organizations can Get Involved

Get out the Vote Strategies for Individuals

For more information, please contact Isabel Anadon at 312-376-1766 ext. 230 or
ianadon@latinopolicyforum.org

The Latino Voter Participation Summit is hosted by:

Enlace Chicago, Illinois Latino Agenda, Instituto del Progreso Latino, Latino Policy Forum, Latinos Progresando, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, National Council of La Raza – Chicago Office, Puerto Rican Agenda, and The Resurrection Project

Full Scholarship for Graduate Programs at NEIU

2010-10-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Northeastern Illinois University College of Business invites the Latino community to apply for full scholarships available from a federal grant for underrepresented groups and low income individuals for our graduate programs (Master in Business Administration; Master in Accounting).

Students can receive special scholarships and tuition waivers. Candidates can contact Roula Vastis (A-Vastis@neiu.edu; 773-442-6103) if they have additional questions on the graduate programs or scholarships.

More information on both our graduate and undergraduate programs is available on our website.

President Obama to Sign Executive Order on White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics on Tuesday and West Wing Update

2010-10-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

This was an exciting couple of weeks and we are closing out Hispanic Heritage Month with a bang.

On Tuesday, October 19, President Obama will sign the Obama Administration’s Executive Order on the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The ceremony will follow a National Education Summit and Call to Action hosted by the U.S. Department of Education that will begin on Monday (watch here), which will bring Administration officials together with experts in education and Hispanic community leaders from around the country on issues ranging from early childhood learning to higher education.

To reach the ambitious education goals President Obama has set for our nation and ensure America’s future competitiveness in a global economy, we must raise Hispanic education attainment at every level. The revised executive order will place a high priority on action designed to do exactly that. The White House Initiative was established in September 1990 to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary of Education on education issues related to Hispanics and address academic excellence and opportunities for the Hispanic community. It was subsequently continued by President William J. Clinton and President George W. Bush. Under President Obama, the office is led by Juan Sepulveda who has taken aggressive steps to hear from communities across the country about what works and what doesn’t work and how the Initiative can better serve the Hispanic community.

***To watch President Obama sign this executive order important to the Hispanic community, please log onto www.whitehouse.gov at 1pm EST on Tuesday, October 19th***

In other announcements, President Obama nominated Jimmie V. Reyna to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- one of the highest judicial positions in the nation. A native of New Mexico, Mr. Reyna is a renowned international trade lawyer respected for his deep legal expertise and distinguished track record of leadership in the Latino community.

On October 8th, Secretary Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Service announced more than $727 milllion in grants from the Affordable Care Act to updgrate and expand community health centers. We know that community health centers are a critical access point to the health care system for the Latino community and places like Centro de Salud de La Comunidad San Ysidro in California and El Borinquen Health Center in Miami, Florida received important funding.

Following through on a commitment to provide support to Main Street banks, thrifts, and credit unions that lend to small businesses and families in underserved communities, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the completion of funding under its Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI). Overall, that program has invested $570 million in 84 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Community development financial institutions have been at the forefront of the efforts to fight the economic recession in our nation’s low-income communities and at a time when many financial institutions have pulled back, CDFIs have actually increased their lending and investments in underserved communities. These CDCI investments will enable community banks, thrifts, and credit unions to spur economic development in the communities that have been hit hardest by the economic downturn. Click here to find out what CDFI’s and CDCI’s received funding.

Secretary Donovan and the Department of Housing and Urban Development also awarded $6.5 million in grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions to help revitalize local neighborhoods, to help revitalize local neighborhoods, promote affordable housing and stimulate economic development in their communities. The funding announced today is provided through HUD's Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Program. Hispanic Serving Institutions like Fresno City College in California and Midland College in Texas received this critical funding.

Lastly, the Peace Corps announced new partnerships with eight higher education organizations to help recruit the next generation of Peace Corps volunteers and highlight the career and volunteer opportunities that are available through Peace Corps. The participating academic partners include The American Indian Higher Education Consortium, The Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund, The Council of 1890 Universities, The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Phelps Stokes, The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and UNCF. Under the partnerships, Peace Corps will participate in partner conferences and meetings, and work with each organization to create new ways to share electronic resources and education materials.

Have a great week!

Stephanie Valencia
Associate Director
White House Office of Public Engagement

CPS officials offer deal in Pilsen field-house sit-in

2010-10-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

October 18, 2010 10:34 PM

-- Michelle D. Anderson

In a bid to end a monthlong standoff over the planned demolition of a field house next to Whittier Elementary, Chicago Public Schools officials have offered to install and staff a library inside the Pilsen school and to lease the field house to a nonprofit community group.

Under the new proposal, the group chosen to lease the field house for a nominal sum would maintain the structure and make sure it complies with city building codes.
Schools CEO Ron Huberman wrote that Whittier parents committee members could help review proposals from qualified groups. However, to avoid conflicts of interest, committee members who are part of any group seeking the lease could not participate.
Whittier parent committee member Evelin Santos said there's no space inside the school for a new library.

"No, no and no. There's no space whatsoever. Where's the library going to fit?" Santos said.

But CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond said experts assessed the building to ensure the library could fit. Bond said it is the most reasonable option CPS could offer when Huberman meets with representatives of the group on Wednesday. She noted that about 160 other CPS schools also lack a library, and that the district recently invested $1.65 million for improvements at Whittier, including security cameras, a new cafeteria, new computer room and state-of-the-art science classroom.

In the letter to Whittier parents, Huberman reiterated that the structure is not safe. He said the building does not have sprinklers, proper fire detectors or adequate heating, and its roof is damaged. Santos said the parent committee will continue to occupy the field house, scheduled for demolition. Parents have begun installing their own library inside the field house.

Demographics of U.S.Hispanics

2010-10-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Demographics of U.S.Hispanics
by Melissa Campbell

A recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center profiles the 10 largest Hispanic
populations in the United States by country of origin, drawing on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey. Currently, the nation’s population of 304.1 million includes 46.8 million Hispanics. Respondents to the survey self-identified their country of origin as the country from which they immigrated or the
country from which they trace their family ancestry.

The largest Hispanic population, at 30.7 million, is of Mexican origin, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the nation’s Hispanics. The second largest Hispanic group, with 4.2 million, hails from Puerto Rico. Hispanics of Cuban origin comprise the third-largest group, at 1.6 million, with Salvadorans a close fourth at just under 1.6 million. Hispanics of Dominican origin comprise 1.3 million of the nation’s population, accounting for the fifth-largest Hispanic population. The sixth- through 10th-largest Hispanic populations, in descending order, are Guatemalans at
986,000, Colombians at 882,000, Hondurans at 608,000, Ecuadorians at 591,000 and Peruvians at 519,000.

The report details various demographic characteristics of each of the 10 groups, providing some interesting similarities as well as points of departure.

Nuestra Voz College Fair for ALL Students

2010-10-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Nuestra Voz invites you to a college forum where information regrading financial aid and opportunities for all students regradless of their immigration status will be given. We will also be discussing the application proccess and what to expect from a college classroom experience.

Saturday, October 16 · 11:00am - 12:30pm

Location

Our Lady of Mt Carmel Community Center
1115 N. 23rd Ave.
Melrose Park, IL

Snacks will be served!

All are welcome to attend.

Ga. Regents OK restrictions for illegal immigrants

2010-10-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

By KATE BRUMBACK - Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA -- The state Board of Regents voted Wednesday to tighten policies governing illegal immigrant applicants to Georgia colleges and universities, acting on complaints that the university system has been swamped by illegal immigrant students.

The regents approved the stricter policy over the protests of a coalition of immigrant rights activists urging it be rejected.

Under the new policies, to take effect with the fall 2011 semester, University System of Georgia schools will be barred from accepting illegal immigrant applicants if the school has rejected any academically qualified applicants in the two most recent academic years.

That includes five Georgia colleges and universities: the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Medical College of Georgia and Georgia College & State University.

The regents voted on four recommended new policies at their meeting Wednesday after a committee investigated complaints that Georgia taxpayers were subsidizing the education of undocumented students through in-state tuition and that undocumented students were taking seats from academically qualified Georgians. There was little discussion and little opposition to the recommendations.

That committee reported that out of preliminary fall 2010 student enrollment of 310,361 students, 501 are in the country illegally or have incomplete documentation - or 182 new students and 319 returning students. All are paying out-of-state tuition.

Under the new rules, applicants must also state on the application whether they are entitled, if admitted, to pay in-state tuition. Even before the vote, illegal immigrants, even those who reside in Georgia, were not eligible for in-state tuition.

Each university system institution would have verify the legal presence in the United States of every person who is admitted and applies for in-state tuition, for example by using federal databases.

Language will be prominently displayed on applications for admission stating that the applicant understands that any false statement on the application or attached documents could result in a fine of not more than $1,000, a prison sentence of one to five years and dismissal from the school.

The board was forced to address the issue of illegal immigrant students in Georgia after a high-profile case involving an illegal immigrant and Kennesaw State University student who was nearly deported after an arrest in March.

Jessica Colotl was arrested after a traffic stop for driving without a license. When Cobb County authorities determined she was in the country illegally, they turned her over to immigration authorities. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to defer action on her case for a year, allowing her to complete her classes.

A coalition of immigrant rights and civil liberties groups sent a letter Tuesday and held a news conference just before the regents' meeting Wednesday urging the regents to reject the proposal.

The activists argued that academically qualified illegal immigrant students shouldn't be barred from attending some of the state's top schools and that federal databases used to check immigration status are error-prone.

Many of the students are brought to the U.S. by their parents as young children and have grown up here, said Azadeh Shahshahani of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. It is a "matter of fundamental fairness" to allow these illegal immigrant students to attend these schools, she said.

Shahshahani said she was extremely disappointed by the vote.

"We're going to actively monitor the situation and investigate whether there are ways to challenge this proposition that was voted on today," she said.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/13/738501/ga-regents-ok-restrictions-for.html#ixzz12R6KBz2L

Latino Men See Dramatic Jump as First-year Medical School Students

2010-10-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

By Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
October 14, 2010

Luis Godoy’s rocky sojourn took him from life as a gangbanger and teenage father to first-year medical student. When Luis Godoy earned his associate’s degree and became a radiological technician in 1999, he soon found himself being called upon to do more than just take X-rays.

“I was able to bridge a gap between physicians that don’t speak Spanish and patients that don’t speak English,” Godoy said during a recent interview. “I found that very fulfilling.”

So fulfilling, in fact, that the experience of working alongside physicians and serving patients who told Godoy they thought he’d make a good physician himself ultimately led Godoy, now 31, to enter the UC Davis School of Medicine this fall in Sacramento, Calif.

While entering medical school is a significant accomplishment for anyone, it was a monumental feat for Godoy, whose childhood was split between schoolwork and helping his parents pick and cut peaches and pears on a migrant farm camp in Suisun Valley in California, who became affiliated with the San Marcos street gang as a youth, and who ultimately got expelled from high school during his sophomore year and became a teenage father during his senior year.

But Gudoy’s rocky sojourn from gangbanger and teenage father to first-year medical student is more than just a compelling story of a student who overcame daunting odds to achieve success in the realm of higher education. It is one of the many stories behind statistics released Wednesday by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) that show significant gains in the numbers of minorities who entered medical school this year.

While the number of first-year enrollees to U.S. medical schools has gradually increased over the years—from 16,541 in 2003 to 18,665 this year—the demographic with the most dramatic increase was among Hispanic males, such as Godoy, whose overall medical school enrollment increased by 17.1 percent over last year, according to AAMC. Hispanic female enrollees increased by 1.6 percent, and total Hispanic enrollment was up 9 percent, or 1,539 this year versus 1,412 last year.

The total first-year medical school enrollment for African-Americans grew by 2.9 percent to 1,350 over 2009, when it was 1,312. American Indian enrollees increased by 24.8 percent, although their numbers were small, going from 153 last year to 191 this year.

The largest increase was in the West, where underrepresented minority enrollment grew from 14.1 percent in 2009 to 16.1 percent this year.

Beyond the potential impact of outreach programs such as the AAMC’s Aspiring Docs program, which seeks to get more well-prepared minority students to pursue careers in medicine, AAMC officials say they are hard-pressed to explain what is behind the growth, particularly the dramatic rise in the number of Hispanic male medical students.

But Godoy—who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from UC Davis—says that, based on conversations he’s had with fellow Hispanic male medical students at the school, the upswing is the result of first-generation immigrants such as himself coming of age and wanting to do something to address the impoverished conditions and unmet needs that they experienced as children.

“From my experience and my peers that are Hispanic males, I think that growing up, experiencing a lack of health care, and all that drove us to want to go back and change how things are,” said Godoy, who is enrolled at UC-Davis through a program called Rural-PRIME (Programs In Medical Education). The program is meant to cultivate “physician leaders” with a desire to serve in underserved communities.

AAMC officials say that, as mandated health care coverage under the Obama administration’s health care reform kicks in, increasing both the number and diversity of America’s doctors of the future will prove more and more important.

“We are very pleased to see the diverse gains,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch. “We really hope this is a trend that’s going to continue in the coming years.”

“We know the national trend is headed toward more diversity,” he continued. “You don’t improve communities unless you have a workforce that reflects the diversity of those communities.”

Although the number of Hispanic males in medical school rose dramatically this year, Hispanics as a group are still underrepresented among medical school enrollees, constituting 8.2 percent of first-year medical school enrollees this year but 15.8 percent of the U.S. population.

Similarly, African-Americans represented 7.2 percent of all first-year medical school enrollees this year but 12.9 percent of the U.S. population.

Technically, Whites are underrepresented, too, making up 64.8 percent of first-year medical school students but 79.6 percent of the U.S. population, but the distinction, of course, is that Whites are not a minority. The one group that is over-represented, if you will, is Asians, who represented 22.6 percent of first-year medical school enrollees this year, or 4,214 of the total 18,665.

Kirch said that, while the number of medical students is growing overall, a shortage of 60,000 is still projected in 2015. An added difficulty to producing more doctors is the scarcity of residency slots, Kirch said.

Asked if HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions were behind increases in the number of minorities enrolling in medical school, Dr. Marc Nivet, Chief Diversity Officer at AAMC, noted that, while studies have shown that students do have an “affinity” for such institutions at the undergraduate level, “We do not have any data, none that I’m aware of, at the professional school level. We don’t know if that holds true at the professional school level.”

A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education

2010-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Progress toward an audacious goal

For the past two years, Lumina Foundation for Education has been calling for the United Statesto increase higher education attainment rates — the proportion of the population that holds a high-quality postsecondary degree or credential — to 60 percent by the year 2025. This call — Lumina’s Big Goal — has been taken up by many others. Foundations, state governments, national higher education associations and President Obama have all issued their own calls for increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials.

In February 2009, Lumina issued its first Stronger Nation report on higher education attainment in the U.S. and in individual states. Since then, the national conversation about higher education has shifted dramatically as a result of a new focus on attainment. Factors that influence attainment — most notably, the need to improve completion rates in higher education — are receiving much more attention at the federal, state and institutional levels.

This year, there were several proposals advanced through the federal budget process to increase completion and attainment. In spite of the current state budget crisis, several states have enacted attainmentfocused policies this year, including performance funding plans — proposals that tie funding allocations directly to completion rates. There’s a growing realization that our higher education system must increase its capacity to serve more students, and that improving higher education productivity is essential to accomplishing this. Of perhaps the most long-term importance, there is new attention to the need to assure the quality of postsecondary degrees and credentials. This need can only be met if we better define the learning outcomes that students must obtain at each level of education and then ensure that academic programs give students the opportunity to achieve those outcomes. (See “How do we define quality?”)

This new version of A Stronger Nation, which we intend to update annually, is the first to reportprogress toward the Big Goal as well as the gap between current performance and the need. This report also refines the methodology used to calculate higher education attainment, particularly at the state and county levels.
The report includes individual profiles for all 50 states. Each profile shows the current level of attainment, the rate of improvement in attainment over the past eight years, and the level of increase needed to reach “Goal 2025,” 60 percent attainment by that year.

Hispanic Scholarship Fund General College Scholarships

2010-10-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

HSF/ General College Scholarships

Calendar

Application Available September 1, 2010
Application Deadline December 15, 2010
Application Processing January through May 2011
Selections June 2011
Award Notifications July 2011
Verification of Enrollment Fall 2011

Award Distribution Fall 2011

Program Description
HSF/ General College Scholarships are designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage obtain a college degree. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis to:

•Graduating High School Seniors
•Community College Students
•Community College Transfer Students
•Undergraduate Students
•Graduate Students
Award amounts generally range from $1,000 to $5,000.

APPLY NOW

Eligibility Requirements
•Be of Hispanic heritage
•Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with a permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551 (not expired)
•Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
•Have plans to enroll FULL-TIME in a degree seeking program at a two or four year U.S. accredited institution in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands or Guam during the 2011-2012 academic year
•Must apply for federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
•Be pursuing first undergraduate or graduate degree

Support of the Whittier Parents Committee

2010-09-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education
PO Box 300201  Chicago, Illinois 60630
www.ilache.com (312) 362-8588

September 30, 2010

To the Whittier Parents Committee:

On behalf of the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE), we would like to express our support of your efforts to create a library for the children of your school. ILACHE is an organization for Latino professionals and those with an interest in Latino higher education. We understand that education is not only a path for individual advancement but is also an important investment in the healthy development of our communities. Therefore, we recognize the significance of your campaign.

ILACHE promotes the advancement of the Latino community through education and advocates for greater representation of Latino youth in colleges and universities in Illinois. One of our goals is to ensure that any Latino youth who desires to pursue a professional career is motivated and given the necessary support to reach their goals. We know that young people do better when their creativity is stimulated. We appreciate the fact that books play a critical role in introducing children to the world in all of its aspects. Books not only help develop minds but also encourage children to dream of a better future in which they play a major role. It is only just that all children be given the resources that can help them to succeed. Therefore, we support you in your efforts to provide the best education you can for the youth of our community.

We wish you success in the struggle to secure the educational rights of your children.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Ortiz, Ed.D.
President
Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education

RECESSION DRIVES UP POVERTY LEVELS AMONG LATINO FAMILIES

2010-09-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Recently released data on 2009 by the U.S. Census Bureau reveal increases in poverty among all Americans, reflecting the job losses associated with the peak of the recession, according to new analysis by NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. The data show that more Hispanic families, like other American families affected by the recession, are falling into poverty as a result of joblessness. However, Latinos are more likely to have children, so unemployment among Latinos has a greater effect on overall child well-being.

Latinos with jobs seem to be weathering the storm better, but effective antipoverty programs are also helping. Important programs that deserve continued support include unemployment benefits, food stamps, school lunches, health care, education, housing assistance, and others that mitigate the most negative effects of poverty and unemployment among hard-hit families.

Census findings include the following:

* The Latino poverty rate increased from 23.2% in 2008 to 25.3% in 2009. Twelve million Latinos were counted as poor in 2009, representing an increase of 1.4 million since 2008. In 2009, a four-person family was considered poor if income fell below $21,954.

* Latino median household income was $38,039 in 2009, which was not statistically different from its 2008 level.

* In 2009, the poverty rate for Latinos was 25.3%, compared to 9.4% for Whites and 25.8% for Blacks.

* Poverty is highest among children. The Latino child poverty rate was 33.1%, the poverty rate among Latino adults was 21.4%, and the poverty rate among Latino seniors was 18.3%. Other studies have shown that without Social Security, 50% of Hispanic seniors would be poor.

“Targeted tax credits such as the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit help lift working poor families out of poverty,” said Eric Rodriguez, NCLR Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation.

NCLR continues to support efforts such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expansion of tax credits and incentives for the working poor and the creation of green jobs training and contracting for disadvantaged workers. Not only have these measures helped ensure that families can afford basic food and shelter, but increased wages can fuel business activity and economic growth. Lastly, Social Security helps keep the majority of Hispanic seniors out of poverty and must be protected and strengthened to ensure that it has adequate financing for future generations of Americans.

“Federal efforts, whether to provide children access to healthy food or help parents pay rent, have helped support jobless workers and should continue to play a strong role,” said Rodriguez, “but federal support for families alone is not enough. We need more effective skills training for unemployed workers, and we need more jobs. Doing this well requires business and government to work together on a grander scale and in a deeper way than we’ve seen thus far.”

2010-2011 MALDEF Law School Scholarship Program

2010-09-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Applications for the 2010-2011 MALDEF Law School Scholarship Program are now being accepted.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Since MALDEF's founding, it has been an organizational hallmark to support the next generation of lawyers who will advance the civil rights of the Latino community. MALDEF's Law School Scholarship Program awards scholarships of varying amounts to several students each year based on their commitment to serve the Latino community through law; their past achievement and potential for achievement; and their financial need.

MALDEF's 2010-2011 Law School Scholarship Application is NOW AVAILABLE at www.maldef.org. It is due to MALDEF by September 30, 2010.

I, Too Am America: DREAM Act Rally

2010-09-22T09:03:00.001-07:00

PRESS ADVISORY

Contact: Oneka Ijeoma (817) 269-9906

I, Too Am America: DREAM Act Rally
Hundreds of Chicago College Students, University Administrators and Families Rally to Push DREAM Act

What: Youth, Student Organizations, University Administrators, Families, and Community Members will have a press conference and rally in support of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors) by responding to Tuesday’s Senate vote on the Department of Defense Authorization Bill to urge for passage of the DREAM Act. The “I, Too Am America” Rally is a call to action to the community on a national level and a declaration that undocumented youth are contributing Americans dedicated to the well being this country.

When: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 from 3pm to 5 pm

Where: Roosevelt University at Michigan and Congress (Grant Park Entrance Pavilion)

Who: Undocumented Youth, Allies, Immigrant Youth Justice League, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Dominican University President - Donna Carol, Roosevelt University President- Chuck Middleton, Mansfield Institute of Social Justice and Transformation, Latino Policy Forum, Latinos Progresando, Nuestra Voz, P.A.S.O West Suburban Action Project, Kapwa, Filipino Student Organization - Loyola University, Latin American Student Organization - Loyola Univeristy, Latino Alliance-Columbia College, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc., Student Alliance for Immigration Reform, School of Social Work Student Organization, Roosevelt University Sociological Society, Black Student Union.

Why: This week the DREAM Act has gained the support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and President Obama. Around the nation, students have responded with more than 10,000 calls a day to senators urging them to vote in favor of the DREAM Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Bill.

Yesterday the Republican party along with several Democrats filibustered the Defense Appropriation bill which included the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Now undocumented students who would benefit from the DREAM Act along with the support of educators, University administrators, clergymen and military personnel will express the urgency they feel to be a part of this nation and not let politicians play with the future of the contributions they could and have made to America. We are calling on Senator Reid to introduce the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill before the end of this week.

The DREAM Act is a piece of proposed federal legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for youth who graduate from US high schools, show good moral character, arrived to the US before the age of 16, and complete at least 2 years of college or serve in the armed forces.

Visuals: Hundreds of students students holding signs about wanting to pursue a higher education and students who want to join the military, University administrators making pro DREAM Act statements, people registering others to vote.

Graduate Enrollment Continues Strong Growth in 2009

2010-09-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Graduate Enrollment Continues Strong Growth in 2009
Increases higher for men, reversing long-term trend

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is reporting today that enrollment of new students at U.S. graduate schools grew 5.5% from 2008 to 2009, compared to 4.5% the previous year. Total enrollment grew 4.7% in 2009 after gaining 3.0% in 2008.
CGS’s annual comprehensive report on trends in graduate education shows that growth in both first-time and total graduate enrollment in 2009 was higher for men than for women, reversing a long-term trend. First-time enrollment of men increased 6.7%, compared to 4.7% for women. In contrast, over the past 10 years first-time enrollment of women grew by an annual average of 5.2%, compared to 4.2% for men.
For the first time since 2004, the enrollment of new international graduate students declined in 2009, by 1.7%, compared to 6.0% growth for U.S. students. From 1999 to 2009, the average annual growth in first-time enrollment was 4.9% for U.S. students and 3.3% for international students.
“The strong growth in first-time graduate enrollment is an indication of the continued high value of graduate education,” said CGS President Debra W. Stewart. “In particular, the 6.0% gain in first-time U.S. enrollment reflects the increasing necessity of a graduate degree to successfully compete in a 21st-century knowledge-based economy,” she added.
Another reversal of a long-term trend occurred among doctoral degrees. While women have long earned the majority of master’s degrees awarded in the U.S., the 2008-09 academic year was the first year ever that women earned the majority (50.4%) of doctorates as well. The one-year increase in doctorates was substantially stronger for women than for men, 6.3% vs. 1.0%.
The report also shows that enrollment trends differed by ethnicity as well as by gender and citizenship. First-time enrollment growth for U.S. minority groups ranged from 6.2% for American Indian/Alaskan Natives to 9.3% for Asian/Pacific Islanders, compared to 5.3% for White, non-Hispanic students.
The report presents statistics on graduate applications and enrollment for fall 2009, degrees conferred in 2008-09, and trend data for one-, five- and ten-year periods. Data are disaggregated for a number of student demographic and institutional characteristics. Other findings include:
[continued] Council of Graduate Schools
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 230 • Washington, DC 20036
(202) 223-3791 • www.cgsnet.org
• Applications for admission to U.S. graduate schools grew 8.3% from 2008 to 2009. The most popular fields were business, engineering, and social & behavioral sciences. However, the fastest one-year growth occurred in health sciences, up 14.6%.
• The three fastest-growing broad fields for first-time enrollment were public administration & services, health sciences, and biological & agricultural sciences. The field with the largest enrollment, education, grew the slowest: just 0.1%, in contrast to an average of 5.7% annually over the last 10 years.
• Between 2008 and 2009, first-time graduate enrollment increased faster at the doctoral level than at the master’s level: 6.3% vs. 5.1%.
• The representation of minority groups in U.S. graduate schools continued to increase in 2009, rising from 28.3% to 29.1% of first-time domestic enrollment.
• The proportion of international students in first-time enrollment fell from 18.0% to 16.5%.
• The proportion of women graduate students remained constant, at about 6 out of 10.
• However, the share of women students varied by citizenship and race/ethnicity: women comprised almost 71% of Black/African American first-time enrollment, compared to just over 42% of international students.
• Similar to the trend in first-time enrollment, growth in total enrollment of men outpaced that of women in 2009, 5.2% to 4.4%, in contrast to the long-term trend. Over the past 10 years, the average annual growth was 4.2% for women, compared to 3.0% for men.
• About three-fourths of all graduate students were enrolled at the master’s level, and almost 90% of graduate degrees conferred in 2008-09 were master’s degrees.
• The number of master’s degrees awarded increased 4.3% and the number of doctoral degrees conferred grew 3.9% between 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1999 to 2009 presents the findings of an annual survey of U.S. graduate schools, co-sponsored by CGS and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. It is the only annual national survey that covers enrollment in all fields of graduate study and is the only source of national data on graduate applications. The report includes responses from almost 700 institutions, which collectively confer about 80% of the master’s degrees and 90% of the doctorates awarded each year.
###

ILLCF $2000 Scholarships - Deadline Oct. 27, 2010

2010-09-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF) was established as a strong voice and resource for the Illinois Latino population and for those that work and live within Latino communities statewide. Through its annual statewide conference and the ILLCF Public Policy Institute, the foundation seeks to successfully empower Latinos to confront critical issues affecting their communities and to increase access to federal, state and community programs in such areas as employment, education, community and social services, health care, housing and other issues.

Annually, the members of the ILLCF select deserving young people of good character and high academic achievement to receive foundation scholarships to help them achieve their educational objectives. This year, the $2,000 scholarships will be granted to current undergraduate college students whose home residence is in Illinois and who are attending Illinois colleges or universities. Scholarships will be awarded on November 19, 2010, during the ILLCF scholarship luncheon at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

Scholarship guidelines are the following:

• An applicant must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student during the fall term of 2010 or the spring term of 2011 at an accredited community college or four-year college or university in Illinois;
• Applicants must be of Latino ancestry;
• The application form must be filled out completely (typed), including a personal statement describing how the scholarship award will help the recipient achieve his or her educational and career goals;
• A letter of recommendation written by the student’s primary academic advisor or major professor must accompany the application in a separate envelope sealed by the person writing the recommendation; and
• Scholarship money must be used in the same academic year as it is granted.

Scholarship Application Form available at
http://www.illcf.org/scholarship.html

Please mail completed applications (including the letter of recommendation) to be received by October 27, 2010, to:

Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation Scholarships
c/o Jesse H. Ruiz
Drinker Biddle
191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3700
Chicago, Illinois 60606-1698

Hispanics’ Views on Higher Education

2010-09-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hispanics now represent the largest minority group in America, and increasing numbers of Hispanic students are enrolling in higher education at institutions of all sizes and types. The Associated Press and Univision, in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, conducted a survey via mail, telephone, and Internet with approximately 1,500 Hispanics living in the United States. Thirty-seven percent of respondents were born in the United States, 36 percent were born in Mexico, and the remaining 27 percent were born in other countries. Questions were wide-ranging and covered many facets of social and political life, and included a focus on educational attainment, educational aspirations for children, and views about education-related debt. The survey had a response rate of 40 percent and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

FINDINGS

Personal Educational Attainment

The largest percentage of survey respondents had not completed high school (33 percent). Twenty-seven percent were high school graduates, 17 percent had some college education, and 9 percent were college graduates.
More than half of respondents (55 percent) had plans to complete a college degree, while 32 percent indicated college was never in their plans.
The most frequently cited reasons for not completing a college degree included not being able to afford it (32 percent) and having family responsibilities that precluded college (32 percent).
Educational Attainment Expectations for Children

Ninety-four percent of respondents expect that their own child or children will attend college. Only 4 percent reported having no expectation about college.
Seventy-four percent of respondents reported that “attending a four-year college” is the most important goal for a girl to have after high school. Seventy-one percent agree with this statement for a boy. The second-most important goal reported for girls was “attending a community college” (9 percent). For boys, the second-most important goal was “getting a job” (9 percent).
Nearly nine out of ten respondents (87 percent) reported that a college education is important for a person to get ahead in life. Only 9 percent said a college education is “somewhat important,” and 2 percent said college is “not important.”
Cost of a College Degree

Only 22 percent of respondents said they were “comfortable” with taking on long-term debt (such as a mortgage or education loans). Half were “not comfortable,” and 24 percent were “somewhat comfortable.”
However, when asked specifically about taking on education debt, 39 percent of respondents said it was “always a good idea,” and 43 percent said it was “sometimes a good idea.” Only 12 percent said taking on education debt was “never a good idea.”
Almost half of respondents (46 percent) said that they worry “a lot” about not having enough money to send their children to college. This worry was behind only “being unable to pay my bills” (57 percent), and “losing my job” (48 percent).

Source: AAC&U

www.aacu.org/aacu_news/AACUNews10/September10/facts_figures.cfm?utm_source=news&utm_medium=blast&utm_campaign=NewsSept10

WIU Cited for Hispanic Student Success

2010-08-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

WIU Cited for Hispanic Student Success

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University is the only Illinois public university and the only Midwestern public university cited among 20 other U.S. public institutions by The Education Trust for successful graduation rates for Hispanic students.

According to the recent brief, "Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating Hispanic Students," published by The Education Trust (edtrust.org/dc/publication/big-gaps-small-gaps-hispanic), only 13 percent of young adult Latinos hold bachelor's degrees, compared with 39 percent of whites and 21 percent of African Americans. Currently, less than half of Hispanic students who enter four-year colleges and universities graduate within six years.

The institutions recognized in the brief are serving Hispanic students well, as evidenced by the small or nonexistent graduation-rate gaps between Hispanic and white students, according to The Education Trust. Western was among 20 public colleges or universities cited for having the smallest white-Hispanic gaps. Western's rate is 0.8, placing the University at 14th among the 20 recognized.

"We are pleased to be included as a best practice institution in The Education Trust's recent study. This recognition further affirms our entire University's commitment to our core value of educational opportunity," noted WIU President Al Goldfarb. "I'd like to especially extend my appreciation to Alda Godines for her work through Western's Casa Latina Cultural Center and the resources and support this center provides our students."

For more than 38 years, Western's Casa Latina Cultural Center has provided support services for Latino and international students and promoted the understanding of the Latino people to Western's community, surrounding areas and people in the State of Illinois. Prior to the creation of "La Casa" in 1972, Raul Rodolfo Salazar, an assistant professor of foreign languages and literature at WIU, welcomed Latino students into his home to meet and serve as a support system for one another.

The Casa Latina Cultural Center houses two primary groups, the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), Tradicion Hispana Dance Troupe and the International Friendship Club. The center's objectives are to expand collaborative opportunities that showcase the Hispanic and international cultures; inform students about sources of financial assistance; expand current programs and implement new programming to ensure that the changing education and cultural needs of students are being met; develop strategies to further increase retention rates and promote academic success; and create an environment that supports a wide range of student interests and provides opportunities for leadership and personal growth.

"Our staff works diligently with students to assess their educational needs and to ensure their success at Western. We meet with students when we see that they are having problems academically and offer our assistance. Our students and their families are making many sacrifices to obtain their education and we want to make sure that they succeed," Casa Director Alda Godines added.

In addition to providing resources on campus for Hispanic/Latino students, Western provides information about the admissions process to students at high school visits and college fairs in Hispanic communities throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. The University's current Hispanic population is 4.9 percent (total minority population: 16.1 percent). The number of Hispanic students at Western increased 29.5 percent from Fall 2005 to 619 in Fall 2009. Preliminary numbers for Fall 2010 Hispanic Student enrollment is 637.

Western has also been recognized as one of only three Illinois public universities for the Center for Student Opportunity's (CSO) "College Access and Opportunity Guide" for its retention of first-generation and low-income students. Additionally, Western has been cited as a "best practice" model institution among just 15 U.S. colleges and universities – and the only Illinois university cited – by the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) for retention and graduation rates.

"Institutions on the 'small gap' list usually don't land there by accident. Often, they have developed a strong commitment to student success, and they have implemented strategies to promote equity and high academic achievement as well," noted the brief's authors, Mamie Lynch and Jennifer Engle.

For more information on Western Illinois University, visit wiu.edu. For more information on The Education Trust, visit www.collegeresults.com.

Posted By: Darcie Shinberger, University Relations
Phone: (309) 298-1993 * Fax: (309) 298-1606