Latino conference explores role in higher education
JUAN ANTONIO LIZAMA TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: March 13, 2010
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Many people inaccurately believe that Hispanic students are new to public schools and higher education, state Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson said yesterday.
In 1931, he pointed out, Mexican-American parents in Southern California fought a court battle to end separate-but-equal education for their children -- two decades before the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision banning segregation in public schools.
He made his remarks at the fourth annual Virginia Latino Higher Education Network's Encuentro at Virginia State University, which drew about 60 people, mostly Hispanic college faculty and administrators from across the state.
That history "shows that Hispanic parents have been involved in their children's education for a very long time," said Robinson, who grew up in California.
Today, more Hispanic students are taking Advanced Placement courses and the ACT college entrance exams than ever, he said.
"We're moving in the right direction," he said.
The Latino Higher Education Network is nonprofit statewide organization made up of Hispanic and non-Hispanic college and university faculty and administrators.
The two-day conference, which ends today, focused on Hispanic leadership and students in higher education. Sessions included Hispanic women leading the way, planning and access for students, and challenges of illegal immigrants wanting to attend college.
While California has one of the largest Hispanic populations among the states, Virginia has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade, according to the U.S. census.
Census figures show the Hispanic population is now about 460,000, or about 6.8 percent of the Virginia population. Last fall, 4.3 percent of the college students were Hispanic, compared with 2.8 percent 10 years ago, according to the State Council of Higher Education.
Deborah Santiago, vice-president for policy and research from the Washington-based Excelencia in