Southwestern Joins Hispanic Association

Southwestern Adventist University recently joined the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), according to University President Eric Anderson.  “This University represents the full variety of the Adventist denomination in southwestern United States,” says Anderson.  “That is one of our strengths.”

Anderson estimates that “about a third” of Southwestern students are Hispanic.  “It is hard to generalize about this group,” he adds, since it includes people of “wide range of backgrounds and several ethnic groups.”  HACU requires its member institutions to have at least a 25% Hispanic representation among its students.

Southwestern has joined the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which will benefit the many Hispanic students on campus.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the HACU is a national organization representing more than 400 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Although member institutions in the United States represent less than 10% of all higher education institutions nationwide, together they are home to more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

In 1992, HACU led the effort to convince Congress to formally recognize campuses with high Hispanic enrollment as federally designated HSIs and to begin targeting federal appropriations to those campuses. Soon after, HACU joined other organizations in convincing Congress to appropriate money specifically for HSIs. HSIs were granted $12 million in 1995 from federal resources. Since then, funding has increased significantly. In 2010, $117.4 million was appropriated for HSIs under Title V of the Higher Education Act.

In addition, the Office of Information Technology Initiatives provides technological assistance to member and partner higher education institutions to enhance their capacity in information technology. OITI promotes, educates, assists and facilitates the use of information technology for teaching, learning, research and administration at member institutions.

Thousands of young Hispanics benefit from HACU with internships, scholarships, college retention and advancement programs, precollegiate support and career development opportunities and programs. Students at Southwestern can join HACU’s student affiliation, which includes listing on the HACU website and membership directory, free posting of their resume in the ProTalento database, and updates on scholarships and internship programs.

For more information about HACU, visit their website.

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