Irma García: Blazing Trails & Scoring Success by <b>Jeff Simmons</b>

It’s lonely at the top for Irma García. Since 2007, when she was named the athletic director at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, N.Y., she has remained the first and only Hispanic woman to lead a Division I athletic program.

Santiago Targets Achievement Gap as CEO of Hispanic College Fund <b>Jamaal abdul-alimn</b>

As an accomplished university leader who helped boost revenue and enrollment at one of the largest universities in the Midwest, Dr. Carlos Santiago anticipated there would be questions about his recent decision to leave the world of academia.

U. of California-Riverside Devises a Successful Latino Graduation Strategy by <b> Gary M. Stern</b>

The University of California (UC)-Riverside, a large institution with 20,746 undergraduates that is 35 percent Latino, takes graduating Hispanics very seriously. It relies on several success strategies, including first-year learning communities, creating Hispanic academic programs, developing an early-warning academic alert, and using data to retain and graduate larger number of Latino students than the norm.

TCU’s Recruitment Strategies Yielding More Hispanic Students – and Retaining Them by <b> Gary M. Stern</b>

In the fall of 1999, administrators at Texas Christian University (TCU), located in Fort Worth, Texas, met to devise a strategy to attract more African-American and Latino students. At that time, only 5 percent of its students were Latino; and 4 percent, African-American. After initiating a task force, TCU stepped up its efforts to diversify its campus.

University of Michigan Finds New Ways to Attract Latinos and Minorities by <b> Gary M. Stern</b>

“College Corps mentors are trained in how to understand and cope with issues that can arise for Latino students.” --William Collins, Director, Center for Educational Outreach, U-M

Antonio Flores Celebrating His 20th Year as Executive Director of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Still Going Strong by by <b> Gary M. Stern</b>

Most executive directors of non-profit educational organizations burn out.  It’s just an expected result of running an organization with limited resources and excessive hours.

A University of Maryland Graduate School Program Prepares Doctoral Students for Life Outside of Academia

“This is a national issue. The University of Maryland is responding to that need. Many students want and are interested in careers outside of academia, and many of them are unsure of how to manage their own career.” — Dr. Susan C. Martin, program director for career and professional development at the University of Maryland Graduate School

Latino Professors To Pursue a New Job or To Stay Put—That Is the Question? by <b> Gary M. Stern</b>

Remember two decades ago or so when employees who worked at GE, IBM and many corporate firms for 25 years earned a watch at their retirement party? Those days, for the most part, are gone.  Now savvy employees expect to change jobs every so often, identify new challenges and keep their skills updated.

Enrollment vs. Retention – Why Are There So Few Women Engineers? by <b> Frank DiMaria</b>

No More Pencils, No More Books

Fewer than 50 percent of the students at Virginia State University (VSU) have the means to purchase the textbooks needed for their courses. Even with the odds stacked against them, some complete their courses, albeit with great difficulty.

Political Beat & Latino Kaleidoscope <b> Carlos D. Conde </b>

Whereas Watch Your Step Latinos Immigration reform advocates might not realize it, but Republican Gov. Jan Brewer might have done them a big favor when she signed immigration bill SB 1070, considered onerous by Latinos because it allows law enforcement in Arizona to challenge any suspicious character on his legal status.

The System Is Broken, Ad Nauseam <b> Carlos D. Conde </b>

There’s a fruit vendor in my border hometown in Texas who sells fresh fruit from his truck. He’s a popular figure because he’s good with the “pilon,” the baker’s dozen giving, let’s say, 15 oranges for the price of a dozen. His wife was a coveted seamstress until an immigration patrol picked her up and sent her back to Mexico. She was gone a few months, probably took the time to visit relatives, and now she’s back again to her routine, probably still illegal.