CUE Institute to examine ideas that help Latino students

The USC Center for Urban Education at the USC Rossier School of Education is hosting a two-day event for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) on October 10–11 to offer a detailed look at strategies for increasing the academic success of Latino students.

The Institute for Equity, Effectiveness and Excellence at HSIs, which will be held at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles, begins with a workshop on October 10. Teams from HSIs will engage in equity-minded inquiry into data on Latino students’ access and success at their own institutions. Participants will learn how to create and communicate an evidence-based agenda for change, as well as how to employ and evaluate interventions to increase Latino students’ success on their campuses.

On October 11, the institute will present a daylong conference featuring speakers and interactive presentations. Participants will hear from campus presidents, practitioners and scholars who have expertise in implementing reforms to increase the success of Latino students at HSIs and learn how to create an integrated and equity-focused strategy for achieving excellence and effectiveness in serving Hispanic students.

USC Professor Manuel Pastor will present the opening keynote on demographic change and leadership challenges in America. The closing keynote will be given by CUE Co-Director Estela Mara Bensimon, California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Manuel Baca and Professor Enrique Murillo of California State University, San Bernardino.

Attendees can participate in a number of informative breakout sessions that address such topics as how to read stories in numerical data; how to write Title V grants; how to develop an identity as an HSI; how to track student success; how to increase sensitivity toward diverse populations; and how to strengthen the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) pipeline for Latinos.

In addition, a presidents’ panel will feature a number of institutional leaders who will discuss how they are working to create a culture that supports excellence for Latino students.

Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux, assistant professor at George Washington University, and Roberto Suro, director of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, will present findings from their report on equity in STEM outcomes at California’s HSIs during a lunch keynote.

The two-day institute is sponsored by the Lumina Foundation, The Teagle Foundation, USA Funds and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. It is supported by the HSI: Central Northern California Community College Summit; Southern California Consortium of Hispanic-Serving Institutions; Latino Education and Advocacy Days; USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration; and the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute.