Sylvia Mendez is an American civil rights icon of Mexican-Puerto Rican ancestry.
President Obama announced on November 17, 2010, that he will award the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, to her in early 2011.
At age eight, she played an instrumental role in the Mendez v. Westminster case, the landmark desegregation case of 1947. The case successfully ended de jure segregation in California, and paved the way for integration and the American civil rights movement integration and the American civil rights movement.
In Mendez v. Westminster, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco established an important legal precedent by ruling school districts could not segregate on the basis of national origin. Shortly thereafter, California Gov. Earl Warren pushed the state legislature into repealing laws that segregated Asians and Native American school children.
Thurgood Marshall, who wrote the NAACP's friend of the court brief for Mendez v. Westminster, used the decision as precedent when he argued Brown v. Board of Education in front of the U.S. Supreme Court – seven years later.
In 2007, to mark the Mendez trial's 60th anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service issued a special stamp.
Jorge E. Ponce
Co-Chair
Council of Federal EEO and Civil Rights Executives
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Call for Applications for LALS Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies
Master of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago
The program of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is accepting student applications for the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American and Latino Studies. Applicants wishing to start in the program during the Fall 2011 semester are encouraged to apply before January
15, 2011 (for full funding consideration) but the admissions committee will still review applications after that deadline.
The degree offers an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of Latin American societies and Latinos in the United States. It encourages an approach that ranges across the social sciences, humanities, literature and the arts, cultural studies and history. The M.A. will train students to reflect on and engage with social issues of contemporary importance in the study of Latin American and Latino populations such as globalization, colonialism, post colonialism, transnational’s immigration, development, and equality as well as questions related to identity and membership, including race, culture, nationality, and gender. The program will offer a unique set of research courses to prepare students, including a semester placement with a community based organization in which students learn a series of specialized skills that place them on a solid career path, both in academic and non academic settings.
More information and application details available:
http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.pdf
http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.doc
The program of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is accepting student applications for the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American and Latino Studies. Applicants wishing to start in the program during the Fall 2011 semester are encouraged to apply before January
15, 2011 (for full funding consideration) but the admissions committee will still review applications after that deadline.
The degree offers an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of Latin American societies and Latinos in the United States. It encourages an approach that ranges across the social sciences, humanities, literature and the arts, cultural studies and history. The M.A. will train students to reflect on and engage with social issues of contemporary importance in the study of Latin American and Latino populations such as globalization, colonialism, post colonialism, transnational’s immigration, development, and equality as well as questions related to identity and membership, including race, culture, nationality, and gender. The program will offer a unique set of research courses to prepare students, including a semester placement with a community based organization in which students learn a series of specialized skills that place them on a solid career path, both in academic and non academic settings.
More information and application details available:
http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.pdf
http://www.uic.edu/las/latamst/Call%20for%20AdmissionsLALS-UIC.doc
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
MALDEF LAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING UPHOLDING AB 540, WAIVER OF OUT-OF-STATE FEES FOR ALL QUALIFIED STUDENTS
LOS ANGELES, CA - Today, MALDEF applauded the California Supreme Court's ruling in Martinez v. Regents, upholding the California law known as AB 540. AB 540 provides a waiver of out-of-state tuition fees at California's public colleges and universities for students - regardless of immigration status - who have completed three years at a California high school and have attained a high school diploma, or the equivalent thereof.
In response to the ruling, MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz remarked, "This important and beneficial ruling vindicates the careful process followed in drafting AB 540 to ensure that it complies with federal law. The Court's decision means that California's institutions of higher education will continue to be strengthened by the inclusion of some of our state's brightest and most successful students, who simply lack legal status due to the nation's failure to enact the widely-supported DREAM Act."
In today's ruling, the California Supreme Court concluded that California's tuition waiver met the requirements established by federal law to allow the State to provide a post-secondary education tuition waiver to graduates of California high schools, including undocumented students, who have proven ties to the State. Such ties includes the payment of taxes to the State. In its decision, the Court explained that, even though the federal government has established some restrictions on state power, states retain the power to enable undocumented students to have meaningful access to college education.
In 2005, a national anti-immigrant group filed a lawsuit in California state court challenging the validity of AB 540. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of students with minimal to no ties to California, claiming that AB 540 was in violation of federal law. MALDEF represented students receiving the AB 540 tuition waiver at the trial court level, and continued to represent them as Amicus Curiae in the Supreme Court.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org
For all media inquiries, please contact Laura Rodriguez at (310) 956-2425.
In response to the ruling, MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz remarked, "This important and beneficial ruling vindicates the careful process followed in drafting AB 540 to ensure that it complies with federal law. The Court's decision means that California's institutions of higher education will continue to be strengthened by the inclusion of some of our state's brightest and most successful students, who simply lack legal status due to the nation's failure to enact the widely-supported DREAM Act."
In today's ruling, the California Supreme Court concluded that California's tuition waiver met the requirements established by federal law to allow the State to provide a post-secondary education tuition waiver to graduates of California high schools, including undocumented students, who have proven ties to the State. Such ties includes the payment of taxes to the State. In its decision, the Court explained that, even though the federal government has established some restrictions on state power, states retain the power to enable undocumented students to have meaningful access to college education.
In 2005, a national anti-immigrant group filed a lawsuit in California state court challenging the validity of AB 540. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of students with minimal to no ties to California, claiming that AB 540 was in violation of federal law. MALDEF represented students receiving the AB 540 tuition waiver at the trial court level, and continued to represent them as Amicus Curiae in the Supreme Court.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org
For all media inquiries, please contact Laura Rodriguez at (310) 956-2425.
Monday, November 15, 2010
National Latino Leader? The Job is Open
Latinos and Leadership
By their own reckoning, Latinos living in the United States do not have a national leader. When asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider "the most important Latino leader in the country today," nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said "no one."
These findings emerge from a bilingual national survey of 1,375 Latino adults conducted by landline and cellular telephone from August 17 through September 19, 2010prior to this month's mid-term electionsby the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
Sonia Sotomayor, appointed last year to the U.S. Supreme Court, was the most frequently named individualsome 7% of respondents said she is the most important Latino leader in the country. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) of Chicago is next at 5%, followed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 3%, and Jorge Ramos, an anchor on Noticiero Univision, the national evening news program on the Spanish-language television network Univision, at 2%. No one else was named by more than 1% of respondents.
The survey also explored the subject of leadership in the Latino community in another way. Respondents were presented with the names of eight prominent Latinos and asked if they had heard of each. Those who said they had were then asked if they considered that person to be a leader.
Of the eight names presented, Sotomayor received the highest leadership score: 45% of respondents considered her a leader. Ramos is next at 38%, followed by Villaraigosa at 29% and Guitierrez at 23%. No one else on the list had a score above 20%.
The report, "National Latino Leader? The Job is Open," was authored by Paul Taylor, Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.
The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
By their own reckoning, Latinos living in the United States do not have a national leader. When asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider "the most important Latino leader in the country today," nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said "no one."
These findings emerge from a bilingual national survey of 1,375 Latino adults conducted by landline and cellular telephone from August 17 through September 19, 2010prior to this month's mid-term electionsby the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
Sonia Sotomayor, appointed last year to the U.S. Supreme Court, was the most frequently named individualsome 7% of respondents said she is the most important Latino leader in the country. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) of Chicago is next at 5%, followed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 3%, and Jorge Ramos, an anchor on Noticiero Univision, the national evening news program on the Spanish-language television network Univision, at 2%. No one else was named by more than 1% of respondents.
The survey also explored the subject of leadership in the Latino community in another way. Respondents were presented with the names of eight prominent Latinos and asked if they had heard of each. Those who said they had were then asked if they considered that person to be a leader.
Of the eight names presented, Sotomayor received the highest leadership score: 45% of respondents considered her a leader. Ramos is next at 38%, followed by Villaraigosa at 29% and Guitierrez at 23%. No one else on the list had a score above 20%.
The report, "National Latino Leader? The Job is Open," was authored by Paul Taylor, Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center, and is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.
The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Texas students oppose tuition break for illegal immigrants
Texas students oppose tuition break for illegal immigrants
By Daniel de Vise
The Student Senate at Texas A&M University last week registered its opposition to a bill in the Texas legislature that would give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
The students voted 41 to 28 for a bill that opposes the state legislation. State lawmakers had asked for student input, according to an article in the campus newspaper.
Later in the week, the university's student body president vetoed the bill, saying the issue should be left to the state legislature.
Texas is one of 10 states that already allow in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants, according to a chart prepared last summer by the Chronicle for Higher Education.
Four other states explicitly forbid illegal immigrants to claim the tuition break, and two others, Georgia and Louisiana, bar them from public universities altogether.
Neither Maryland nor Virginia has a statewide policy on resident tuition for illegal immigrants, nor on the more basic question of whether those immigrants should be admitted to public universities. But the issue is simmering in both states.
Last month, a Maryland lawmaker challenged Montgomery College on its de-facto policy of allowing illegal immigrants to pay the lowest tuition rates, those charged to county residents. The actual rule grants the tuition breaks to recent graduates of the county's public school system, and does not consider their immigration status.
The states seem to be drifting in somewhat different directions on the question of tax-supported higher education for illegal immigrants. Maryland's Democrat-controlled legislature has repeatedly tried and failed to make in-state tuition a right for illegal immigrants. Virginia lawmakers have tried to bar illegal immigrants from public higher education.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas A&M Campus Newspaper, the Battalion,
By Haley Lawson
Updated: Sunday, November 7, 2010 23:11
This past week, the Student Senate passed a tuition bill that would determine the demographics of college students who receive in-state tuition. However, Student Body President Jacob Robinson vetoed the bill. "The Student Senate has clearly spoken through the passing of this bill. However, numerous students have also clearly spoken in opposition to the bill. SBP Robinson is taking this issue very seriously and will be addressing the veto of the in-state tuition bill next Wednesday at the senate meeting," said Konrad Johnson, SGA executive vice president. Robinson said the senate meeting room was not the appropriate place to vote on a state issue. The bill is a state issue and he said it should be settled appropriately through the state legislature. "Regardless of the logic behind the bill, the Texas A&M Student Senate meeting room is an inappropriate place for an attempt to settle a state issue," Robinson said. "There was no polling done and no data collected. We should be getting that on all bills." Robinson said the bill was not addressing the underlining issue of residency. "This bill does not state the residency question. The issue should not be tuition rates, the issue should be residency," Robinson said. "This bill is not helping in the end if we aren't fixing the residency problem."
By Daniel de Vise
The Student Senate at Texas A&M University last week registered its opposition to a bill in the Texas legislature that would give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
The students voted 41 to 28 for a bill that opposes the state legislation. State lawmakers had asked for student input, according to an article in the campus newspaper.
Later in the week, the university's student body president vetoed the bill, saying the issue should be left to the state legislature.
Texas is one of 10 states that already allow in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants, according to a chart prepared last summer by the Chronicle for Higher Education.
Four other states explicitly forbid illegal immigrants to claim the tuition break, and two others, Georgia and Louisiana, bar them from public universities altogether.
Neither Maryland nor Virginia has a statewide policy on resident tuition for illegal immigrants, nor on the more basic question of whether those immigrants should be admitted to public universities. But the issue is simmering in both states.
Last month, a Maryland lawmaker challenged Montgomery College on its de-facto policy of allowing illegal immigrants to pay the lowest tuition rates, those charged to county residents. The actual rule grants the tuition breaks to recent graduates of the county's public school system, and does not consider their immigration status.
The states seem to be drifting in somewhat different directions on the question of tax-supported higher education for illegal immigrants. Maryland's Democrat-controlled legislature has repeatedly tried and failed to make in-state tuition a right for illegal immigrants. Virginia lawmakers have tried to bar illegal immigrants from public higher education.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas A&M Campus Newspaper, the Battalion,
By Haley Lawson
Updated: Sunday, November 7, 2010 23:11
This past week, the Student Senate passed a tuition bill that would determine the demographics of college students who receive in-state tuition. However, Student Body President Jacob Robinson vetoed the bill. "The Student Senate has clearly spoken through the passing of this bill. However, numerous students have also clearly spoken in opposition to the bill. SBP Robinson is taking this issue very seriously and will be addressing the veto of the in-state tuition bill next Wednesday at the senate meeting," said Konrad Johnson, SGA executive vice president. Robinson said the senate meeting room was not the appropriate place to vote on a state issue. The bill is a state issue and he said it should be settled appropriately through the state legislature. "Regardless of the logic behind the bill, the Texas A&M Student Senate meeting room is an inappropriate place for an attempt to settle a state issue," Robinson said. "There was no polling done and no data collected. We should be getting that on all bills." Robinson said the bill was not addressing the underlining issue of residency. "This bill does not state the residency question. The issue should not be tuition rates, the issue should be residency," Robinson said. "This bill is not helping in the end if we aren't fixing the residency problem."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The HACU National Internship Program
NEWS RELEASE
HACU Media Contact
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia
Link Icon210.576.3206
HACU seeking students for its national internship program
Paid internships often lead to federal government and corporate employment
San Antonio, TX –The HACU National Internship Program , the nation’s largest Hispanic internship program, is accepting applications from college and university students for internships taking place January 13 - April 30, 2011. Deadline to apply is Nov. 4. Applications for summer internships are also being accepted until Feb. 25, 2011.
Students accepted into the program participate in paid internships with federal and corporate offices in Washington, DC and across the nation. Internships are offered in the spring, summer and fall.
HACU National Internship Program summer 2010 participants.
“Providing students with the opportunities to help them succeed beyond college and prepare them to enter the professional world after graduation is incredibly valuable,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “The HACU National Internship Program continues to fulfill its mission of opening doors of opportunity by providing students a chance to earn an income and also make professional connections for future corporate and federal employment.”
Throughout the years, the HACU National Internship Program has helped many students gain employment. So far this year, HACU has known of eight students who have received offers of employment in the federal government. Last year 15 students were placed in internships with Deloitte and 8 others with Sodexo, Lockheed Martin, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Successful corporate interns almost always receive a job offer upon graduation," said Flores.
The HACU National Internship Program places more than 600 students in paid internships annually. These internships provide talented Hispanic and other minority students with the opportunity to develop their career and professional skills and receive financial support to help motivate students through graduation. The HACU National Internship Program has placed more than 9,000 students in internships since its inception in 1992.
About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represent approximately 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. HACU is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas where it will celebrate its Silver Anniversary during its annual conference “25 Years of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success,” October 29-31, 2011. More information is available at www.hacu.net.
HACU Media Contact
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia
Link Icon210.576.3206
HACU seeking students for its national internship program
Paid internships often lead to federal government and corporate employment
San Antonio, TX –The HACU National Internship Program , the nation’s largest Hispanic internship program, is accepting applications from college and university students for internships taking place January 13 - April 30, 2011. Deadline to apply is Nov. 4. Applications for summer internships are also being accepted until Feb. 25, 2011.
Students accepted into the program participate in paid internships with federal and corporate offices in Washington, DC and across the nation. Internships are offered in the spring, summer and fall.
HACU National Internship Program summer 2010 participants.
“Providing students with the opportunities to help them succeed beyond college and prepare them to enter the professional world after graduation is incredibly valuable,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “The HACU National Internship Program continues to fulfill its mission of opening doors of opportunity by providing students a chance to earn an income and also make professional connections for future corporate and federal employment.”
Throughout the years, the HACU National Internship Program has helped many students gain employment. So far this year, HACU has known of eight students who have received offers of employment in the federal government. Last year 15 students were placed in internships with Deloitte and 8 others with Sodexo, Lockheed Martin, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Successful corporate interns almost always receive a job offer upon graduation," said Flores.
The HACU National Internship Program places more than 600 students in paid internships annually. These internships provide talented Hispanic and other minority students with the opportunity to develop their career and professional skills and receive financial support to help motivate students through graduation. The HACU National Internship Program has placed more than 9,000 students in internships since its inception in 1992.
About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represent approximately 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. HACU is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas where it will celebrate its Silver Anniversary during its annual conference “25 Years of Championing Hispanic Higher Education Success,” October 29-31, 2011. More information is available at www.hacu.net.
The Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections
11.3.2010
by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center
Report Materials
Tuesday's midterm elections were historic for Hispanics. For the first time ever, three Latino candidates-all of them Republicans-won top statewide offices. In New Mexico, voters elected the nation's first Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez. In Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval won the governor's race and became Nevada's first Hispanic governor. And in Florida, Republican Marco Rubio won the U.S. Senate race.
Despite these big top-of-the-ticket wins for Republican Hispanic candidates, Latino voters continued their strong support for Democratic candidates nationwide. National exit poll results show that Democrats had a nearly two-to-one advantage-64% versus 34%-over Republicans in U.S. House races among Latino voters. In other statewide races, Democratic candidates won the Latino vote, usually by wide margins.
by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center
Report Materials
Tuesday's midterm elections were historic for Hispanics. For the first time ever, three Latino candidates-all of them Republicans-won top statewide offices. In New Mexico, voters elected the nation's first Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez. In Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval won the governor's race and became Nevada's first Hispanic governor. And in Florida, Republican Marco Rubio won the U.S. Senate race.
Despite these big top-of-the-ticket wins for Republican Hispanic candidates, Latino voters continued their strong support for Democratic candidates nationwide. National exit poll results show that Democrats had a nearly two-to-one advantage-64% versus 34%-over Republicans in U.S. House races among Latino voters. In other statewide races, Democratic candidates won the Latino vote, usually by wide margins.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2009, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff, 2009-10
This First Look presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2009-10 data collection. The HR component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and Fall Staff (S) for fall 2009 and Salaries (SA) for academic year 2009-10. All three sections of the HR component were required for the winter 2009-10 collection. The HR data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system.
The data on which this report is based are available to researchers and the public through the IPEDS Data Center, which can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This First Look report continues the series of First Look reports based on the collection of data from over 6,700 postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid programs.
The purpose of this report is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. As a result only selected findings are presented. These findings have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available when using the IPEDS data rather than to discuss all of the observed differences, and they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue.
We hope that the information provided in the report will be useful to a wide range of interested readers. Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to make full use of the IPEDS data for analysis, to perform comparisons of peer institutions, or to help answer questions about postsecondary education institutions.
Thomas Weko Associate Commissioner Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division
The data on which this report is based are available to researchers and the public through the IPEDS Data Center, which can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This First Look report continues the series of First Look reports based on the collection of data from over 6,700 postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid programs.
The purpose of this report is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing descriptive information. As a result only selected findings are presented. These findings have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available when using the IPEDS data rather than to discuss all of the observed differences, and they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue.
We hope that the information provided in the report will be useful to a wide range of interested readers. Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to make full use of the IPEDS data for analysis, to perform comparisons of peer institutions, or to help answer questions about postsecondary education institutions.
Thomas Weko Associate Commissioner Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division
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