{"id":68,"date":"2026-07-07T12:05:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/black-student-cultural-resources\/about\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T09:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T14:28:16","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/roberto-hernandez-center\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About<\/h1><\/header>\n\n\n

The Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center (RHC) at UWM is a dedicated hub for Latino student success and community engagement. By providing bilingual advising, essential academic resources, and dynamic cultural programming, the RHC empowers students to thrive from their first day on campus through graduation. Beyond academic support, the Center serves as a vital bridge between the university and Milwaukee\u2019s vibrant Hispanic community, fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates Latine heritage and promotes educational equity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\nStaff Directory<\/a>\n\n\n\nContact<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Our Historia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Latino\/a community in Milwaukee<\/strong> had grown steadily since the turn of the twentieth century, and by 1970 there was a vibrant population of at least 30,000 in the city. This community faced an array of urban social issues, including unemployment, competition for housing, lack of social programs, and under-representation in educational institutions. Although a number of Latines worked for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, only 12 students were enrolled during the 1970-1971 academic year. Many Latino activists attributed this low enrollment to a lack of support at the university: few administrators or advisers spoke Spanish, there existed no support center for Latine students, and there were no means of transportation to the Kenwood campus. The absence of these resources provided very little incentive for Latino\/a students to enroll at UWM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials from the UWM School of Education began outreach efforts in the late 1960s, working with the newly established Committee for the Education of Latin Americans (CELA) to develop plans for a Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute (SSOI) to be housed within the school. It quickly became apparent to education administrators, however, that the proposed scope of such an institute was beyond the ability of the School of Education to implement, and they suggested that Latino activists take their proposals directly to the Office of the Chancellor. Members of CELA, led by Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez, did just that, staging sit-ins, protests, and camp outs at the office of J. Martin Klotsche during the late summer and fall of 1970. Their efforts proved fruitful: in November 1970, UWM opened its Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute, a forerunner of today\u2019s Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt above from UWM Libraries Digital Collections. Visit UWM Latino Activism Collection<\/a> for a visual history of the origins of the Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full history: \u201cLatinos at UWM: A History of the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute and the Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez Center<\/a>\u201d by Joseph A. Rodriguez<\/a>, UWM Professor Emeritus of History and Affiliated Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Who was Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez was one of the most active Latino leaders in the city of Milwaukee during the 1970\u2019s. In the late 1960\u2019s, he was one of less than a dozen Latinos enrolled at UWM. He became one of the leading voices in the Latino\/a community\u2019s efforts to increase Latino\/a access to and representation at the university, negotiating with administrators for the creation of the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute (SSOI) in 1970.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As chair of the negotiating team for the Council for the Education of Latin Americans (CELA), Hern\u00e1ndez presided over the committees that chose the first SSOI director and staff. He was also one of the key individuals that helped to negotiate the first language maintenance bilingual program in Wisconsin and assisted in the enactment of Wisconsin\u2019s first Migrant Worker\u2019s Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving Milwaukee, Hern\u00e1ndez continued his youth and community advocacy in Texas where he was regarded as one of the most successful organizers and social transformers. In 1994, Hern\u00e1ndez died prematurely of a heart attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Latine activists gathered in Chapman Hall, 1970. Image from UWM Libraries digital collection on UWM Latino Activism<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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