The advancement and empowerment of Latinos/as in higher education is an important part of the mission of the NASPA Latino Knowledge Community. Through Blogging La Voz, we provide you resources and updates, in addition to what we provide through the newsletter. From this, we hope you will continue the dialogue that we believe to be important to the continued progress of our community.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

LKC Awards: Call for Nomination

In keeping with the tradition of the Latino/a Knowledge Community, we are seeking nominations for the annual Mena-Valdez Awards Ceremony to take place at the 2014 NASPA conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The awards ceremony provides an opportunity for the LKC to recognize outstanding individuals within our community and those who have helped our community to flourish.

We are seeking nominations for the following awards:
  • Amigo Award
  • Outstanding New Program
  • Outstanding Faculty Award
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Award
  • Outstanding New Professional Award
  • Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award
  • Outstanding Senior Student Affairs Officer
To learn more about the awards, please visit the LKC awards page.
To nominate someone for an award, please submit a letter of nomination along with the nominee's current resume or CV to Amanda Flores at floresa6@sfasu.edu.

Nominations are due by Friday, November 1, 2013


Mena-Valdez Award Ceremony – Brief History

Salvador Mena and Laura Valdez served as the inaugural national co-chairs of the Latino/a Knowledge Community. Both were instrumental in creating, establishing, and advancing Latino/a issues, concerns, and the agenda. As the inaugural co-chairs, we acknowledge and honor them with the official naming of this award ceremony.

Book Review: Latino Change Agents in Higher Education: Shaping a System that Works for All


In a 2008 article in the chronicle of higher education written by Peter Schmidt, “Higher Education is in flux as demographics change, a federal report shows,” the following is written:
    
        “Despite the growing diversity at colleges, however, the nation’s minority populations continue to face major educational obstacles, cautions the report, titled “The Condition of Education 2008.” Compared with other minority groups, Hispanic students remain underrepresented in colleges and universities, largely because many of them are immigrants who have poor English skills and attend schools in low-income areas. “

It has been reported that 14.1% of the undergraduates in institutions of education identify Latino/a. With this increasingly changing demographic, there is a call for reform on education that addresses this influx of underrepresented populations that are entering in to our schools, and especially those of higher education. This topic is covered and ideas are shared on some best practices in the book entitled, “Latino Change Agents in Higher Education: Shaping a System that Works for All.” It’s a beneficial read for all educators, and not just those who also identify as Latino/a, but it is best to first teach us in order to prepare to teach others. 

 In this book, the voices of eleven Latino change agents are collected and compounded into twelve essays that address the demographics, concerns or problems, needs, strategy, and insight to change the system of higher education. These twelve essays are divided into four parts: “The Past Cannot Be the Future”; “Systemic Change, Si: Special Add-On Program, No”; “A Bright Future Necesita Un Grito Fuerte” and “Beginning the Work of Reshaping Higher Education.” Within each of the four parts are between 2-3 essays.
In the first part the struggles of educating Latino students effectively is demonstrated. The essays discuss an overhaul of the curriculum that is deemed necessary in order best serve the needs of the students. In taking a look at the curriculum it is necessary to focus on the content that is taught, rethinking if the content continues to be relevant to the student population it’s trying to reach.

Going through to the second part there are examples of states that have made attempts to reform their educational systems as seen in California’s Master Plan for Higher Education  but with it being more than 50 years old, there is no doubt that it’s outdated.   The environment in which Latino students are not being challenged to achieve academic success and get higher degrees is said to be due to the lack of role models for these students. They often do not see of what they can aspire to be. There is a call made out to the formed Latino organizations to gather and increase their presence, as they can play the most pivotal roles in being change agents. With the coming together of these various organizations we can begin to use our untapped talent. 

In the third part of the topic of the physical environments of the Latino communities is discussed and the need to increase a sense of ownership for those living in these areas. Increase a sense of ownership by becoming political and activists in the spirit of uplifting their community. Another key element is to act proactively to the issues in these communities, rather than be reactive to them as they appear. A way to tackle this is working on the root causes and working on those to establish a strong foundation from which the community can grow stronger as other issues are solved. With strong communities and leaders that invest in their citizens can in turn address the lack of knowing as seen in a lot of Latino households where the opportunities for higher education are just not known about. In another essay in this section of the book, the lack of information that parents possess is a major issue. These parents are not aware of the opportunities that their child can obtain because it’s not something that is widely publicized to the parents. 

In the last part, one of the essays outlines the qualities that a good leader should naturally have. In this section the topic of commitment is discussed, the time commitment that a leader must be willing to put in to the change they want to see if not only in hours and days, but more in years. It is said that a leader will only make a real change that is worth noting if they stick to it for five years. Anything less may not be permanent results. Think about educators in higher education and how often in an attempt to move up the educational ladder, we change positions before these five year marks.  These changes are sometimes to other institutions, showing that in order to make real progress in any environment we must commit to it at least five years. 

In this book, authors from all over contributed to unify the vision that would address the needs of the changing demographics. In reading this book, one must believe that the current educational system is broken. The content is no longer reflective of the ever changing student population that we see in our classrooms and/or offices. 

While the full weight of creating a new system that allows Latino students to succeed should not fall on us, if we aren’t willing to be the first to yell out for a call of action- who will do it for us? 


  


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Leaning In Without Losing Self

The summer of 2013 was an exciting one for me both personally and professionally – I got engaged and I presented for the first time at the NASPA Region II conference in New York City with a colleague.  Our roundtable discussion focused on Women’s Issues and discussed topics such as work-life balance, personal and professional successes (educational achievements, awards and promotions).  

In preparation for the roundtable, I read several journal articles as well as books and had conversations with other colleagues and other professional women.  One of the books I read was 'Lean In' by Sheryl Sandberg. 
 
Like so many others, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and after reading it, I figured I would start “leaning in” in every aspect of my life.  Well, the first question that came to mind was “What does it mean to “lean in?”  In my case, it meant to become more confident, to adopt new roles, face new challenges, and perhaps, even take a more masculine approach to my career and personal life...But, in reality, I was really dismissing my values and roots.  

As a Latina-American woman who was raised in a traditional household - I come from culture where traditional gender roles are not just adhered to but are embraced.  As is well known, the man is the one who is expected to be strong, dominant, and provider for the family. Naturally, other questions began to emerge - What was I trying to prove? Would I forget about those ideals after reading this book?-.  I love my new role as a fiance and take a tremendous amount of pride into every aspect of it. So, I wonder, “Why not transform the traditional roles by committing to being partners? “Why not also be strong and be a provider?”

I ask these questions because it seems that “leaning in” has been interpreted as being dominant and maybe, even rigid? What does it mean to other professional Latina-American women?

About the Author:

Katherine Aguirre is a Counselor/Assistant Professor at Suffolk County Community College, the largest community college in the state of New York.   Katherine is responsible for academic advisement, recruiting new students, and developing programs and initiatives to increase the retention and graduation rates of the underrepresented student population. In 2011, Katherine was a recipient of the “Top 30 Professionals Under 30 Award” presented by the Huntington Chamber of Commerce.    

She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Dowling College, a Masters Degree in Counseling from CW Post-Long Island University and a Post-Graduate Degree from St. John’s University.   She is currently in an Educational Administration Doctoral program at St. John’s University.  Her research intends to focus on developmental coursework and first-generation Latino/a  college students. She has presented at SUNY CDO Conference, NASPA Region II conference and is an active member of ACUI, NASPA and LILTA. 

 
 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

NASPA 2014 in Baltimore, MD


NASPA announces a fresh, innovative approach to the NASPA Annual Conference that will redefine and surpass expectations from any previous conference experience! The event is a four-day gathering of student affairs professionals who come together to learn, grow, and be inspired. Whether you’re presenting or an active participant, the NASPA Annual Conference is the single best professional development and networking opportunity for you.



The 2014 NASPA Annual Conference will be in Baltimore, Maryland this year. Early bird prices end on January 10, 2014.

As you register for the NASPA Annual Conference, consider joining the Latino/a Knowledge Community for their annual pre-conference.



Thanks to Chris Medrano for taking this picture of the LKC NASPA 2013 Pre-Con group! 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Message from the LKC Leadership Team

Greetings from the Latino/a Knowledge Community Leadership Team,


We wish you a Happy New Year and a great beginning to the spring semester. For the past several months, your LKC Leadership Team has been planning for the upcoming 2013 NASPA National Conference in Orlando, Florida and other important LKC activities. Please take a moment to review the information and reach out to either of us if we can be helpful in any way.

KC Chair/Co-Chair Elections

NASPA will be hosting the National KC Elections for Twelve KCs who will be electing their new chairs or co-chairs this month. The LKC Nominating Committee is excited to announce that we have four candidates who are running for the LKC chair position. The winner of the election will have the opportunity to select a vice-chair to assist her/him in leading the LKC Leadership Team. The KC National Elections are scheduled to begin next week. Only those with current NASPA memberships will be permitted to vote and only KC members who are officially affiliated with a KC will be permitted to vote in the KC election. Because NASPA’s member database does not "talk to" its listserv system, it is critical that KC members make sure that they are affiliated with the KC in their NASPA member profiles. Instructions for "How to Join a KC" can be found here (on the right margin). We are asking all LKC members to take one minute to review and update their NASPA membership profiles so they can vote during the election. Please review and update your profile, if necessary, no later than Monday, January 14, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact Tonantzin Oseguera, Nominating Committee chair, at tonantzin.oseguera@ucr.edu.

Latino/as in Higher Education Institute Pre-Conference

There is still time to register for the 2013 Pre-Conference titled "La Frontera: From Aspiration to Attainment". Members of our Pre-Conference Planning Team, under leadership of Mary Jo Gonzales (maryjog@mail.iastate.edu) and Frank Cuevas (fcuevas@utk.edu), are working hard to design an engaging educational and professional development program for the day and we hope to see you there.

2013 Awards Nominations

In keeping with the tradition of the Latino/a Knowledge Community, we are seeking nominations for the annual Mena-Valdez Awards Ceremony to take place at the 2013 NASPA conference in Orlando, Florida. The awards ceremony provides an opportunity for the LKC to recognize outstanding individuals within our community and those who have helped our community flourish. We are seeking nominations for the following awards: Amigo Award, Outstanding Faculty Award, Outstanding New Professional Award, Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award and Outstanding Senior Student Affairs Officer. To review the full award descriptions, please visit this site. To nominate someone for an award, please submit a letter of nomination along with the nominee’s current resume or CV to Amanda Flores at floresa6@sfasu.edu. Nominations are due by Friday, February 15, 2013.

Save these Dates

Please save these dates and times in your conference calendar.

Event Name: Latino/a Knowledge Community Leadership Meeting

Date: 3/18/13

Start Time: 7:30 AM

End Time: 9:30 AM

Location: Emerald - Marriott

Event Name: Latino/a Community General Assembly

Date: 3/19/13

Start Time: 9:00 AM

End Time: 10:00 AM

Location: Bahamas-Aruba - Marriott

Event Name: Latino/a Doctoral Student Support Group Meeting

Date: 3/19/13

Start Time: 11:00 AM

End Time: 12:00 PM

Location: Diamond - Marriott

Event Name: Latino/a Knowledge Community Mena-Valdez Awards Reception

Date: 3/19/13

Start Time: 7:00 PM

End Time: 8:00 PM

Location: St. Thomas - Marriott

Conference Social Events

In response to your feedback, we are organizing social events during the conference and we will share this information prior to the conference.

In closing, the LKC Leadership Team is looking forward to seeing you at the conference and we hope you will join us at these events. We also hope you will submit your nominations to recognize colleagues who have contributed to our field and the Latino/a community.

Sincerely,

Terry Mena

Latino/a Knowledge Community Chair

tmena@fau.edu

Angela Batista

Latino/a Knowledge Community Vice-Chair

abatista@usi.edu


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Breaking the Color Gap: Brown is the New Color

Witten By Victoria Snyder
Frostburg State University

Many of my students and colleagues have asked me what brought me to the field of Higher Education. I have a simple yet much understated response; there was no who looked like me working at my institution. I am a beautiful child of mixed heritage. My mother is Caucasian and my father Mexican. I went to a Predominately White Institution for my undergraduate work and slowly realized that the school was split in to two—White and Black with no room for those “Brown” kids. The Black students had the Black Student Union and the White students, well they were the majority, and they had each other. But where did I fit in? Where did the Brown fit in? Where were the faculty members or staff members like me? Where were the students like me? I felt alone, lost, not wanted in my journey through college. I sat back and heard racist jokes, was told to take derogatory comments on the chin, and listen to countless classmates mock my heritage. For a while I sat silent, because I thought I had to, until I realized I had a voice and that I needed to stand up not just for myself, but for others like me. That led me to what I felt was my calling, working in the diversity field in Higher Education.

As I transcend my career in Higher Education I feel there s still a lack of education or conversation about the Brown students. Let me preface by saying that not all schools are divided into the White and Black but that some do amazing work reaching out to various multicultural populations. In the field of diversity, too often I have seen institutions support one population over the other. Where do my hermanos and hermanas fit? Hispanics are the largest minority population entering higher education, with 2.1 million students currently. However, when you look around at the number of faculty and staff of Hispanics, Asians or those from the LGTBQ community, do those numbers represent their growing populations respectively?

My call to mi gente is this: be that voice, be that person. Often, we are a small population on college campuses, and it can be terrifying to stand up and be that one person, that person who expresses a voice for a whole demographic, but we have to! It is up to us to be the proponent on our respective campuses. Sitting back and denying our heritage, only promulgates the problem instead of solving it. How many terrified, alone, and scared children are going through their college careers without having a mentor, or someone who is like them who can guide them? Your call to action is as follows: stand up at your institution, speak to HR, to the Vice Presidents and President about increasing the population of Hispanic faculty and staff members. In 2012 alone, Hispanics made up 16.5 % of the population in Higher Education, which is an outstanding number! Why shouldn’t the population of faculty and staff members in Higher Education reflect that same percentage? Encourage others to be that mentor and that guide for other students. You never know what your guiding hand or mentorship can do for the next generation. As for working in Higher Education, its okay to push the Brown agenda, I encourage you to do so! Challenge administration for more money to support Hispanic students and their programs, meet with Admissions to create advanced efforts to recruit students, and do not be afraid to research and read up on growing trends with Hispanic students. Your effort no matter how small will get the ball rolling and you never know what change you can make from there.

Stay positive, stay energetic and remember, Brown is the color!

About the Author:

Victoria Snyder is the Assistant Director of the Diversity Center at Frostburg State University. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Mount Union in history and a Masters degree from the University of Akron in Higher Education Administration. She is currently pursuing a second Masters at Duquesne University in Leadership in Professional Administration.



Friday, November 2, 2012

DREAMers

Written By Laura Bohorquez
Loyola University Chicago

Growing up in Brewster, a small rural agricultural town in central Washington State has been an immense life lesson and a true blessing; it taught me the power of organizing and the power that came with being in solidarity with community. Furthermore, it taught me early on how it felt and what it meant to hold multiple marginalized identities (Mexican, woman, lower working class, DREAMer) while living in a White-heterosexual dominated society.  Moreover, and most importantly growing up in a town that lacked basic human resources and access to a good education allowed me to explore how my marginalized identities as well as the privileges that I hold from my other identities (educated, bilingual, catholic, heterosexual, able-bodied) all intersected and fostered my resiliency and helped me find the voice that I needed to empower myself and others.   

Growing up I have learned that struggle is inevitable and thus I constantly remind myself that I come from a place of resiliency and empowerment, which is my family. Additionally, I continuously remind myself that I come from education and from the ideology that in order to keep succeeding, I have to always bring my community with me.  With this said, early last spring semester I decided that I wanted to practice my ideology by contributing to Loyola University Chicago’s (LUC) Jesuit mission of social justice and practice being a person for others.  I decided that I wanted to do this by following my passion on immigration and education and what better way than by advocating for undocumented students.

With the support of my director Sadika Sulaiman-Hara and the contributions of my colleague Maria Guzman the first safe space & ally training for undocumented students at Loyola was created. Since the beginning, my vision for this project included and emphasis on education and the deconstructing of the negative profile that the media has given immigrants. Furthermore, I wanted to give the Loyola community the opportunity to learn about the issues faced by undocumented students from DREAMers themselves. I wanted people to have the opportunity to reflect on their journeys and be able to connect and experience parallel empathy with undocumented students.  Moreover, I wanted all participants to leave the training feeling empowered and confident and understanding that either as a DREAMer or an ally, we all play an important role as social justice change agents.  My overall goal was to bring awareness to Loyola’s campus about the barriers DREAMers face so that we could create a more welcoming campus for all students because initially our purpose in an institution of higher education is to support and foster the education of all students.

On September 27th and October 4th my colleague and I made my vision a reality.  We educated about 50 staff, faculty, and graduate students about terminology, the history of the various legislations affecting DREAMers such as the DREAM Act and current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals memorandum, we talked about the undocumented student movement, the role that Loyola had played in advocating for DREAMers and we gave DREAMers the opportunity to share their experiences. At the end of the training we provided our attendees with various tangible resources, such as a counselors guide, academic research, names to community organizations as well as guided them through the DREAMer website that I created under the Department of Student Diversity & Multicultural Affairs at LUC. My colleague Maria and I also mentioned that we too were willing to support them in their ally journey.  

Due to the training, I have been encountered by allies who want to learn more and others who offer to assist me in making Loyola a more welcoming space for DREAMers.  My first lesson learned is that once we provide people with a common language, the basic issues faced by DREAMers, the opportunity to reflect on their journey, and resources; people are more willing to openly talk about their role as an ally.  My second lesson learned is that I had the privilege to create, follow my passion, and share my knowledge with others, something that many graduate students only hope for.  My experience has been transformational and grounding, it has reinforced my ideology that anything is possible; it’s just a matter of educating one another, recognizing our privileged and marginalized identities, and always remembering to bring our communities along.