MILWAUKEE_The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month this October by unveiling a major new initiative to make UWM a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).<\/p>\n
Earning the HSI federal designation will help UWM expand services and support to its thriving population of Latino students, who make up around nine percent of its undergraduate population of 21,000. Institutions that achieve HSI status\u00a0are eligible for funding to support student recruitment and retention, faculty development, community outreach and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur top priority is student success,\u201d said UWM Chancellor Mark Mone. \u201cAchieving HSI status is critically important to addressing the upcoming demographic changes of an increasingly diverse student population.\u00a0Our efforts will benefit all students through a learning environment that prepares them for today\u2019s world.\u00a0We will simultaneously\u00a0produce UWM graduates who understand their local communities and provide a pipeline of prepared and talented employees for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Demographic trends in Wisconsin indicate that HSI status is an achievable and relevant goal for UWM over the next decade.\u00a0Latino students will soon represent Wisconsin\u2019s fastest growing group of college bound students. For a college or university to achieve HSI status, at least 25 percent of its undergraduate students must be Latino.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can say that I am very excited that we\u2019ve launched the Chancellor\u2019s Committee for Hispanic Serving Initiatives, but in many ways this is no surprise,\u201d said Alberto Maldonado, interim director of UWM\u2019s Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center. \u201cTruly, this is a continuation of the work that started at UWM 46 years ago when Latino students knocked on the chancellor\u2019s door and requested a university resource dedicated to their enrollment and success here.\u201d<\/p>\n
That university resource became the Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center, one of the few full-time university-based centers in Wisconsin dedicated to the needs of Latino students.\u00a0Located in UWM\u2019s Bolton Hall, the center serves 75 UWM students daily and advises 800 yearly. The center is in the process of expanding its advising staff, will offer evening hours by student request during UWM midterm and finals week and will co-host the third annual Bilingual Open House (Casa Abierta) on Saturday, Jan. 28,\u00a0<\/sup>2017.<\/p>\n The Chancellor\u2019s Committee for Hispanic Serving Initiatives convenes bimonthly at UWM and comprises university administrators, faculty, staff and students.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:<\/strong> Alberto Maldonado, (414) 229-1169, donpepe@uwm.edu<\/p>\n About UWM<\/b><\/p>\n Recognized as one of the nation\u2019s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 81 countries. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin\u2019s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2017 \u201cBest Midwestern\u201d university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, as well as a top \u201cGreen College.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MILWAUKEE_The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month this October by unveiling a major new initiative to make UWM a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Earning the HSI federal designation will help UWM expand services and support to its thriving population of Latino students, who make up around nine percent of its undergraduate population of 21,000. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-39569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"yoast_head":"\n