05/27/2013 E-Learning

MAY 27, 2013

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Ameritas College

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VOLUME 23 • NUMBER 17

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W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health invites applications for the position of Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. The successful applicant will have an outstanding record of academic and research accomplishment and demonstrated leadership and administrative abilities.

The mission of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology is to advance understanding of basic biological processes underlying the major infectious diseases affecting public health. To combat global health threats caused by parasites (malaria), bacteria (tuberculosis) and viruses (AIDS), faculty and students conduct their studies in laboratories, in the field and in clinics. The Department has 50 full-time faculty, 100 doctoral and master’s students and a diverse research program. The Bloomberg School of Public Health has ten departments and more than 500 full-time faculty and 2,000 graduate-level students. The School is located on the Johns Hopkins University East Baltimore medical campus, a collaborative and highly interactive environment with a superb research infrastructure.

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to recruiting, supporting and fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students. All applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply. Women and under-represented minority candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. The Johns Hopkins University is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. The University promotes affirmative action for minorities, women, disabled persons and veterans.

Applications should include a Curriculum Vitae and statement of research interest and vision of leadership. Please submit electronic applications as pdf or doc files. Review of candidates will begin in July 2013.

Applications should be submitted to: Chair, Search Committee for Chair of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology c/o Ms. Susan Williams, Administrative Specialist Office of the Dean Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 615 N. Wolfe St., Room W1041 Baltimore, MD 21205 suwillia@jhsph.edu

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY The Department of the History of Science at Harvard University is conducting a search for a tenured professor in the history of medicine and its allied fields. We are particularly interested in candidates who work in global contexts and will complement and extend the department’s existing strengths. Candidates should have an exceptional record of research and proven excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentoring.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, teaching statement, and research statement by July 1st, 2013.

Materials should be uploaded to the Harvard academic positions site at http://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/4770.

The committee will request additional materials as needed from candidates over the summer.

Harvard is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, and we actively encourage applications from women and members of minority groups.

® Publisher – José López-Isa VP & COO – Orlando López-Isa

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief – Suzanne López-Isa

Ricardo Fernández, President Lehman College

Editor – Jason Paneque

Mildred García, President California State University-Fullerton

News & Special Project Editor – Mary Ann Cooper

Juán González,VP Student Affairs University of Texas at Austin

Administrative Assistant & Subscription Coordinator – Barbara Churchill

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Educ. Consultant Ventura County Community College District

DC Congressional Correspondent –

Gustavo A. Mellander, Dean Emeritus George Mason University

Peggy Sands Orchowski Contributing Editors –

Loui Olivas,Assistant VP Academic Affairs Arizona State University

Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Eduardo Padrón, President Miami Dade College

Online Contributing Writers – Gustavo A. Mellander

Antonio Pérez, President Borough of Manhattan Community College

Art & Production Director – Avedis Derbalian

María Vallejo, Provost Palm Beach State College

Graphic Designer – Joanne Aluotto

Editorial Policy The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national

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magazine published 23 times a year. Dedicated to exploring issues

Angel M. Rodríguez

related to Hispanics in higher education,The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is published for the members of the higher

Article Contributors

education community. Editorial decisions are based on the editors’ judg-

Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Frank DiMaria, Diane Elizondo, Mitchell A. Kaplan, Marilyn Gilroy,Angela Provitera McGlynn, Miquela Rivera,Alexandra Salas, Gary M. Stern

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Esquina E ditorial

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uch has been written and said about the explosion of social media and the impact it and e-learning have on society and our ability to unite and educate groups that have felt excluded and isolated from mainstream society. We discuss e-learning trends in this issue of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine. It is interesting that one aspect of social media provides Hispanics with special rewards not typical for other demographics.

The fact is that social media give Hispanics a link to their unique culture and a chance to network with those who share that culture.

For many Hispanics who feel that they must be part of the mainstream to succeed, social media can be a refuge that allows them to celebrate their uniqueness. And this presents advocates of higher education with a wonderful opportunity. Since Hispanics might be more inclined to engage in multimedia outreach, e-learning becomes a logical way to increase Hispanic enrollment and degree completion.

Summer is just around the corner – that time of year when colleges and universities face a mass exodus as many faculty and administrators go off campus, recharge and regroup before returning for the fall semester. But that doesn’t mean that the dispersed college community has to be detached from the issues that drive their agendas most of the year. Publications like The Hispanic Outlook publish throughout the year to make sure you stay informed. Starting with the June 17 issue, HO will appear in digital format only – just for the summer months – so you can stay in the loop with The Hispanic Outlook anytime, anywhere, on your iPhone, iPad, Android or laptop. We will resume with both the print and digital editions of the magazine in the fall semester.

For anyone who does not have a digital subscription yet, call our office for a complimentary user name and password so you can enjoy our current edition and all archived issues of HO. Every time we receive an e-mail, every time we use social media, we are reminded that we are living in a virtual age, a digital world in which people increasingly get their news and information on the go. HO now goes wherever you go. You can also check us out on our Facebook and Twitter pages, which are updated daily with the latest headlines. ¡Adelante!

Suzanne López-Isa Editor-in-Chief

July 20–23, 2013 Morial Convention Center New Orleans, LA

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PREPARING LATINO STUDENTS for STEM Education: The NCLR Approach PADRES CREANDO ÉXITO: Engaging Latino Parents in Education Reform

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Establishing A College-Going Culture That Supports All Students and Their Families

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Po lit

The “Americana” People of the U.S.

i cal Beat

by Carlos D. Conde

Q

UINLAN-TAWAKONI, Texas – There are thousands of small communities in every state of the union that no one has heard of.

It’s ordinary people doing ordinary things and living ordinary lives.

Putting them all together, they represent what is called “Americana,” the heartland and the people that define this great nation.

They are a far cry from Washington’s pretentious political crowd at the Kennedy Center and their “must-do” cocktail parties or the New York glitterati at a museum exhibit blowing kisses and “hello dahling” greetings.

Depending on where you live or where you happen to be in the outlands, particularly the smaller towns, it’s more like “Hey, Billy Joe, where they bitin’ today?” or “Roseanne, I found the greatest bargain today at Walmart!”

They have their share of nefarious people and ne’er-do-wells as do all communities, but spend some time with them and you start to appreciate the real character of the country whatever the diverse roots.

It’s not just about one group of people. It’s Anglos, Latinos and Blacks – but mostly Anglos – living together in a blended environment where one group may outnumber the others or dominate in certain

areas and activities, yet with all elements maintaining the harmony that’s so important to community co-existence.

I refer, in particular, to two towns, Quinlan and Tawakoni in East Texas, not too far from Dallas but far enough to evade the turmoil and trauma of a metropolis, or the Austin scene where an American Legion group from Tawakoni stopped for the night on the main highway towing a donated pool table and trailer for their town’s clubhouse and woke up to find both gone the next morning.

Bad people those Austin folks.

My wife and I were in Quinlan visiting her sister Nancy over the weekend recently, and wouldn’t you know there was a party that weekend at the local American Legion Post 517, where her companion, Bobby Durst, is the post’s “commander” or president of the organization.

Being the head of the local American Legion is a big deal in a place like Quinlan-Tawakoni, something akin to being president of a big city civic organization, and the Legionnaire activities are the biggest game, if not the main game, in the combined town of about 4,000 people.

Most of the Legionnaires are well into their twilight years, which perhaps accounts for their fervent conservatism and wave-the-flag nationalism. Most are veterans of World War II and the Korean Conflict.

Like that country-western tune

by Merle Haggard, they have little regard for the unpatriotic and dissidents like those squirrelly, unwashed “hippies” who would “run down our country, a land of milk and honey.”

On this particular day, Post 517

was holding its biggest fundraising event of the year, a fish fry (what else) to raise money to send youth representatives, a boy and two girls, to “Boys and Girls State” – to the state capital, Austin, to spend a week observing the workings of a democracy.

A lot of people may never have heard of Texas’ Boys and Girls State, which some of today’s hip youth would consider a nerdy competition for nerdy youth, mostly the small-town variety.

About the fundraiser’s main event, the catfish and crawfish fry, I mean the fish was so plentiful and deliciously eatable and one’s indulgence so big that it was a tug of war between one’s appetite and the number of crisply fried catfish you could handle until you start feeling like a bloated whale.

Bobby, the president, said there was a lot more where these giant catfish came from – the two local lakes, which he says with much sincerity produce catfish so big and athletic they practically jump into his boat.

I saw some precooked fish, and they truly were in the monster category. Then there’s the crawfish, which was served in cutout boxes, and the deep fries and coleslaw and homemade deserts, washed down with sodas or beers (wine and hard liquor are not popular), and it’s truly a food bacchanal.

The party’s not over. Did I tell you that people in the hinterlands know how to have fun without much accruements?

They have a big-stakes roulette type of game called the “chicken drop” played with a caged live chicken that they coax to parade around a horizontal wheel until the chicken – well, you don’t want to know the rest, but if it hits on your

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number, you can win big.

As usual, they hired a singing disc jockey, and he and his partner started around 3 p.m. and played and sang nonstop until 10 p.m., mostly country-western tunes, while the old cowboys do-si-doed their sweeties around the dance floor.

Some revelers brought out an unusual dance called “shadow dancing” in which the female is positioned in front and her partner two-steps her in beautiful rhythm around the dance floor.

I’m more of a “salsa” guy, but soon I was two-stepping with the best of those senior stompers.

Then it was over – for that particular evening – and they had one last song in them, “I’m Proud to Be an American,” which they sang in chorus.

It’s their signature song, and only the hardhearted – and perhaps the American Civil Liberties Union – would deny them those expressions which they sang with gusto and with perhaps the feeling that the final curtain might be unfurling, literally and figuratively on them and their beloved country.

I was hearing that song for the first time, but inspired, I also sang it with patriotic fervor – they passed out song sheets – because I, too, am proud to be an American, and until then, no one had made it as meaningful and apparent for me as those country folks did.

Carlos D. Conde, award-winning journalist and commentator, former Washington and foreign news correspondent, was an aide in the Nixon White House and worked on the political campaigns of George Bush Sr. To reply to this column, contact Cdconde@aol.com.

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MAGAZINEÂŽ MAY 27, 2013

CONTENTS Presenters at E-Learning Conference Talk EdTech Trends by Alexandra Salas Ameritas College:Targeting Latino Adults

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by Marilyn Gilroy

CHL Offering Culturally Relevant Leadership Training to Hispanics by Frank DiMaria

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Excelencia Offers Promising Practices for Latino Student Success by Angela Provitera McGlynn

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What Is Keeping High-Achieving Minority Students Away from Top Colleges? by Gary M. Stern

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Advanced Placement Incentive Program: Benefiting Students by Jamaal Abdul-Alim

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Online Articles Some of the above articles will also be available online; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

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DEPARTMENTS Political Beat

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by Carlos D. Conde

The “Americana” People of the U.S.

Hispanics on the Move

Interesting Reads Book Review

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by Mitchell A. Kaplan

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Undocumented Latino College Students

Priming the Pump...

Public Speaking

by Miquela Rivera

Back Cover

HO is also available in digital format; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

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CONFERENCES/CONVENTIONS

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Presenters at E-Learning EdTech Trends

by Alexandra Salas

etermining what new disruptive education technologies are on the Dr. Chris Bustamante, president of Rio Salado College, Scottsdale, Ariz., horizon is not an absolute science by any means, although there are shared his positive outlook during his address at the recent e-learning a few recurring themes. Conferences, meetings, workshops, mass conference in San Antonio, Texas. He summed up emerging trends not as a media, informal discussions and tweets all point to Open Education specific technology but as a mindset to re-imagine education delivery. He Resources (OER), customizable turnkey solutions, flipped classrooms, says the “next big thing is more about identifying emerging models rather mobile apps, telepresence and gamification among emerging trends. This than just the latest technology, and how we are becoming more entreprearticle will focus on OER, open textbooks and gamification. neurial as there have never been so many nontraditional students who John Makevich, director of disneed exactly what our institutions tance and accelerated learning, have to offer. It’s as though we are College of the Canyons, who presentsailing in a blue ocean of opportunied on the classroom of the future at ty where we are free to chart our the Instructional Technology own course.”

Council’s “eLearning 2013” conferBustamante explained his vision: ence, offered some guesses as to “When I speak of ‘emerging modhow the future might look. Some of els,’ I mean competency-based, the not-so-distant trends he adaptive and personalized learning broached included augmented realimodels. Rio is very involved with the ty, fields of MOOCs (Massive Open Gates Foundation with other learnOnline Courses), flipping the school ing partners [universities, commu(do all the learning online and then nity colleges] to explore these learnstudents go to school to get expaning models to more understand sive tutoring workshop) and artifitheir impact for increased student cial intelligence algorithms that can success.” empower computers to individualize “This is a promising season for instruction for students. Most imporall of us who have dedicated our tantly, Makevich noted how compleprofessional careers to provide miltion or the means by which we mealions of students with technologysure success must be evaluated or driven online learning formats,” ascertained. “What will the metrics said Bustamante. Specifically, be in the future?” he asked.

Bustamante added, “Entrepreneurial “I believe that one of the missing options: Online education provides pieces from MOOCs today is artificial institutions with proprietary LMS’s to intelligence. Obviously, there are eleprovide online courses that have ments of it within MOOCs, but the already been produced for other John Makevich, director of distance and accelerated learning, technology can still advance quite a institutions for a service fee – or a College of the Canyons bit. Once computers are able to realtuition share agreement. Online ly individualize instruction and interpartnerships between online comact at a complex level with the student, all bets are off,” said Makevich. In munity colleges and universities [private/public] with negotiated articulaaddition, he predicted, “big data will fund education. Imagine: a large orga- tion/transfer agreements [3+1] can become portable and extended to othnization could partner with a MOOC and collect a ton of data related to how ers beyond traditional borders at out-of-state tuition rates ... much more students learn, how they think, how they operate within a course, how they profit in these partnerships if there are volumes of students [it takes addimake decisions, etc. If that can be monetized, there is a potential that edu- tional marketing dollars to brand outside your state]. Those are just a coucation can be ‘free’ for students. Are there implications? Sure! There is ple. ... But the potential is great for expanded entrepreneurial ventures in much open for debate, but this is certainly one way things could go.” online education.”

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Conference Talk Open Education Resources under an open license, Corbin Tarrant, an independent technology conThrough partnerships and frontline efforts by faculty, colleges are able sultant, released last year the Guide to Open Learning – available in a to explore more instructional options. Open Education Resources is one Web or PDF version for free at http://iamcorbin.net/openlearning – which major endeavor that continues to gain a groundswell of support. Open defines and shares resources about this growing phenomenon. Another Education Resources refers to free or affordable access to open textbooks must-read is Sharyn Fitzpatrick’s #Open Textbook Tweet that promotes and resources. Broadly defined, the open designation gives license to use, awareness of open resources in Twitter nomenclature of no more than reuse and share with limited condi140 characters per entry. tions or restrictions. Some players in Open Textbooks OER are MERLOT, College Open Textbooks Collaborative, Lumen Dr. James Glapa-Grossklag, dean, Learning, Flat World Knowledge, and educational technology, learning Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative, resources, and distance learning, Open Access Textbooks, and Global College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, Text Project.

Calif., also shared his college’s OER The number of colleges openly success story at the recent ITC epromoting the use of OER as listed learning conference: “In many on the Community College cases, on their own they have taken Consortium for Open Educational to locate and adapt and then adopt, Resources continues to grow. At a and in some cases authored open workshop on integrating OER, textbooks. The reception by students Timothy Terrell, MERLOT/California has been overwhelming. For examState University, described the salient ple, in water technology a full-time characteristics of OER and how it and part-time faculty member realcan serve instructional accessibility. ized that existing textbooks were no He also challenged MOOCs and good. ... They would have used a explained how MERLOT – which publisher-created text, but it did not stands for Multimedia Educational exist.”

Resource for Learning and Online The e-book created by faculty Teaching – has been a pioneer in “lives in our repository, the students satisfying open access and accessilove it, and the faculty love it bility issues. “Don’t get so wrapped because it is high-quality content up in the technology that you lose and they are sharing with other facperspective. ... Take advantage of ulty. We are very satisfied with offerwhat things your colleagues have ing low-cost content to students in Dr. Chris Bustamante, president of Rio Salado College done, instead of reinventing the those areas,” said Glapa-Grossklag. wheel,” said Terrell.

“In sociology, we have faculty who Makevich strongly believes that “More open educational resources will have found open access textbooks for the introductory course. They adaptbecome available in the next several years. This could provide a significant ed that textbook, put in local references, and made it available to students. disruption for the traditional publishing business model. OER levels the Then they took to author one in women studies and another in gender playing field for education globally and provides access to learning for studies that will be available in our repository. We are finding that when individuals in developing nations who might not be able to afford expen- students have the choice to take the classes with professors who have the sive textbook materials.” open-source textbook, they are likely choosing those with OER. We are Open resources are available across disciplines and in many formats. seeing that in enrollment trends.”

To learn about OER, resources are extensive. For example, published In the math discipline, Glapa-Grossklag added: “We have a group of

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open resources available.

In terms of quality of OER, Rhodes noted that resources “run the gamut.” For example, OER offers e-readers, closed-captioned, peerreviewed materials. Faculty can even find comparable content on sites like Flat World, and the OER cost savings surpass that of traditional publishers.

She explained the price differential for an introduction to management supervision course – $150 to $35 on Flat World.

Kathryn Rhodes, interim vice president of student learning, Roane State Community College

math faculty who have adopted the Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative (http://oli.cmu.edu/) statistics book that is incredibly high-quality. They were not OER believers, but they were looking to increasing student success. They said this was the best content, that they were reducing the cost for their students to zero and in their eyes providing their students with the best quality there is. And over the past year, they found that they are moving through the math-to-statistics pipeline six times more students in the sections that use the Carnegie Mellon materials than those that use the traditional materials. In the previous academic year [spring and fall], just using the open textbooks, our faculty saved our students over $235,000. And that is a real number, enough to get people’s attention.”

A recent member of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER), Kathryn Rhodes, interim vice president of student learning, Roane State Community College, strongly believes that OER will continue to have a steady hold in the higher education forecast.

She explained that “working with a publisher is possible, but it takes a while.” This alternative provides faculty with academic freedom and provides a cost-saving option to students.

“We believe the open educational resource model is the way to go.

With budgets being cut and faculty asked to do more, one of the things that we can do to engage students is not have to continually create materials. We have been a member of MERLOT through the Tennessee Board of Regents for quite some time but have difficulty getting faculty members to adopt any kind of OER or any kind of textbooks that aren’t part of the big publishing companies.”

Rhodes suggested that perhaps there is a stigma, “which we have to get over,” associated with sharing and using others’ materials. Using open resources is no different than inviting a guest lecturer. To help change the mindset and encourage faculty to consider and use OER, Roane State C.C. is planning an event in June for faculty to teach them about the wealth of

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Gamification Gamification is another concept gradually making its way into classrooms as the idea of leveling up and competition attracts students. Jeff Kissinger, Florida State College, Jacksonville, Fla., discussed what it means to gamify instruction. He suggested how adding a gaming element to learning creates “affinity spaces” or an emotional affective connection that can motivate learning. Micro-credentials or the rewards and risks that come from leveling up or down, he explained, can impact how much learning takes place.

Students can earn badges that illustrate learning content mastery or completion of a given activity. He submitted Instagram as a recent example of success because it relates to “affinity spaces.” James Paul Gee has written many articles using the term “affinity spaces” to explain interactive space where learning can and does take place. Kissinger says the use of affinity spaces such as with Instagram or online games can become consuming to “the point where it’s really addictive.” Using this approach, learning tends to happen without further ado.

In trying to connect students with the course content in a more critical way, Kissinger says, gamification is being considered as a motivating factor or configuration. Kissinger also explained how there is not a huge learning curve to use badges as a reward. If you have blogged before and posted, Kissinger says, using badges is as easy as that.

Closing Thoughts “Unquestionably, emerging technologies are fundamentally changing the structure and pedagogy of online courses. They have removed the restrictions, and we are on the brink of moving from an industrialized onesize-fits-all model of online delivery to one that is more personalized,” Bustamante concludes. “We can customize learning to the style and preferences and capabilities of individual students. These advances can validate prior learning and knowledge and provide just the right instruction at just the right time.”

While the integration of education and technology continues to reimagine instructional delivery in many positive ways, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, who spoke at the “eLearning 2013” conference concluded with a poignant remark that no matter the trend, adopters should always maintain: “Will online resources replace people? Traditional learning will be complemented. At the end of the day, you can put the technology aside and understand that it is the people who make the difference.”

Relevant Links Boundless – curated free, open online textbooks – https://www.boundless.com/educators/.

Connexions – http://cnx.org/ – more than 17,000 learning objects or modules in its repository and over 1,000 collections (textbooks, journal articles, etc.).

Openstax college – http://openstaxcollege.org/.

Community College Consortium of Open Education Resources – http://oerconsortium.org/.

OpenCourseWare Consortium – http://www.ocwconsortium.org/en/community/blog/category/open-educational-resources/.

Flat World Knowledge – www.flatworldknowledge.com – online textbook and companion study aids for $19.95. More than 2,000 schools are on board.

Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative – received funding from Next General Learning Challenges, has projects underway to develop open-course frame works and eliminate textbook costs for project partners that comprise four-year and community colleges – http://www.project-kaleidoscope.org/.

MERLOT – http://oeraccess.merlot.org/index.html – a clearinghouse of information about accessibility and how to implement it.

School of Open – https://p2pu.org/en/schools/school-of-open/ – courses on what is open?

Tennessee Board of Regents – Emerging Technologies and Mobilization – http://emergingtech.tbr.edu/.

Open Badges Project for Online Learning – http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/?p=6928.

Badge Stack – http://badgestack.com/.

Mozilla Open Badges – http://openbadges.org/.

Affinity spaces – http://www.jamespaulgee.com/sites/default/files/pub/AffinitySpaces.pdf.

Cisco Virtual Forum for Education Leaders, 2013 During the two-day global “Cisco Virtual Forum for Education Leaders, 2013,” webinars and breakout sessions facilitated discussion about trends and learning solutions. At the Collaboration – Leading the Next Wave of Teaching and Research Innovation session, speakers discussed the role technology, specifically telepresence, has in reaching learners in ways not possible in years passed. Donald A. Hicks, Ph.D., professor of political economy and special assistant to the president, University of Texas-Dallas, noted that while not everyone might be on board with all innovation, he believes “word will get around. The younger students are poised to pull this technology forward. This will percolate and rise to prominence.”

Lilian P. W. Feitosa, Ph.D., professor of Portuguese and Brazilian culture and literature, James Madison University, shared her positive experience with telepresence for language learning. With this technology, Feitosa said she sees students at different campuses through separate screens. One of the things she liked the most was not having to make significant changes to the way she teaches. When she asked students for their opinion, Feitosa commented that students said it felt similar to the traditional classroom. She noted how synchronous and face-to-face are relevant in language teaching.

Together with George Mason University, the University of Virginia and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, James Madison University is part of the 4-VA consortium that was created to “promote inter-university collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner university in order to accomplish much more than any individual university could achieve alone” (www.4-va.org/about-4-va.cfm). In partnership, Cisco has provided TelePresence rooms to the 4-VA that has made endeavors like that of Feitosa’s language course possible.

Recordings of the “Cisco Virtual Forum for Education Leaders, 2013” will be available through September 2013 on demand at https://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Cisco/CiscoForum_03_13/Website/index.html#~Overview.

UNC Asheville’s Department of History is seeking qualified applicants for a Visiting Assistant Professor position in 20th Century Continental European History. The ideal candidate would have the Ph.D. in History in-hand, but applicants completing the degree in the spring of 2013 would be considered. The successful candidate should be able to teach World Civilization since 1500 and upper-division courses in European History and in colonial/post-colonial Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Candidates with experience in teaching from the lens of underrepresented communities are especially encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to UNC Asheville’s Humanities Program.

UNC Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, is the designated public liberal arts institution of the University of North Carolina system, committed to student-centered teaching and to being an inclusive campus community. UNC Asheville is committed to diversity, and women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, UNC Asheville does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices on the basis of race and ethnicity, age, religion, disability, socioeconomic status, gender expression, gender and sexual identity, national origin, culture and ideological beliefs.

Applicants should submit the following: 1) Cover letter; 2) CV; 3) Statement of teaching philosophy; 4) Three letters of reference; and 5) Undergraduate and graduate transcripts, to History Department Search, c/o Jo Steininger, Assistant, Department of History, CPO # 2830, 1 University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804 or electronically: jsteinin@unca.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately until the closing date of May 15, 2013 or until the position is filled.

Follow us at http://history.unca.edu/

The Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville is seeking a Visiting faculty member at the assistant professor level, for the academic year 2013-14 (with the possibility of renewal for one year). AOS: Medieval philosophy broadly construed and epistemology; AOC: Logic and critical thinking.

Applicants should have a wide range of intellectual interests; a dedication to teaching excellence; an appropriate level of professional activity, and enthusiasm in program building. Ability to offer courses in Jewish and Islamic philosophies would be a plus.

Teaching load: 12 credit hours per semester.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the interdisciplinary Humanities Program and Liberal Arts requirements of the university. The department is interested in someone who can help diversify its current curriculum and who has a demonstrated strong commitment to support diversity, equity and inclusion broadly within the academic setting.

UNC Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, is the designated public liberal arts institution of the University of North Carolina system, committed to quality student-centered teaching, student-teacher interaction, and mentoring of students in undergraduate scholarship and service, within an inclusive campus community. UNC Asheville is committed to increasing and sustaining the diversity of its faculty, staff, and student body as part of its liberal arts mission. UNCA is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualifications: PhD in Philosophy at time of appointment; evidence of successful college-level teaching; excitement and willingness to commit to active engagement in departmental and university wide activities. Candidates should send electronic submission of letter of application, cv, letters of recommendation and statement of teaching philosophy with “PHILOSOPHY search” on the subject line to Jo Steininger, (Philosophy Department Assistant), jsteinin@unca.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately until the closing date of May 15, 2013 or until the position is filled. Follow us at http://philosophy.unca.edu/

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INSTITUTIONS/ORGANIZATIONS

Targeting Latino Adults

A

by Marilyn Gilroy meritas College, an innovative venture aimed at Hispanic adults, is offering a new pathway to higher education with the potential to increase degree-completion rates for this underserved population. If the concept succeeds, it could provide a much-needed boost to closing the achievement gap that threatens the country’s economic future.

Officials of Brandman University, a nonprofit private institution in California that developed and launched the new college, have put together curricula and support systems to help Latino adults accelerate their studies toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. Ameritas blends online and inperson instruction to serve busy Latinos who are balancing time and money concerns while also dealing with family and work commitments.

“With only 7 percent of Hispanics ages 25 and older in California with a bachelor’s college degree, it is clear our current system is not meeting their higher education needs,” said Gary Brahm, chancellor of Brandman University. “We recognize Latino adults value their time with their families, closely watch their budgets and understand the need and benefit of having a college degree – that is why everything we do and provide has these values in mind and responds to their needs.”

Ameritas College has opened campuses in the Southern California area including Ontario, Palm Desert, Victorville and Moreno Valley.

Students can earn bachelor’s degrees in business administration, criminal justice and psychology, as well as an Associate of Arts degree in general education. The structure requires students to meet for a three-hour class on campus one evening per week and then complete and additional 2.5 hours of online instruction. All faculty members are bilingual, but most of the instruction is in English. There is year-round enrollment with the first class having started in August 2012.

For students who need to build language skills, Ameritas offers Latino working adults the chance to meet two objectives at one time: earn a degree and master college-level English. In

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University administrators Rick Mendoza, vice president of operations; Carmen Lamboy-Naughton, chief academic officer; and Tony Digiovanni, CEO

providing this option, Ameritas joins a handful of colleges that are reaching out to offer dual-language degree programs to the Hispanic community. Ameritas has hired bilingual enrollment advisors who work with students to assist them with academic goals, program options and educational financing. If it is successful in graduating more adult Latinos, Ameritas might serve as a model for the entire sector.

“True innovation is rare, especially in higher education,” said Brahm. “That is why what we are doing at Ameritas College is so important.”

The college has raised its profile by garnering support among Hispanic educators and attracting individuals such as Sara Martínez Tucker, former under secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, to serve as chair of its educational services board. She has been championing the concept by touting the new venture as a way to help working Hispanic adults break the cycle of undereducation and gain the preparation to effectively compete in a multicultural workforce.

“We are making a college degree accessible

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and opening the doors of opportunity and progress to all Hispanic adults,” Martínez Tucker said. “Whether it is a working adult looking to advance his career or an employer looking to develop and strengthen her workforce, Ameritas College brings a viable educational option to our rapidly growing Hispanic community.”

Martínez Tucker believes this is a win-win combination for both Latinos and California.

“There is an economic benefit to the state to give priority to our students. Unless enrollment and graduation rates improve substantially, California’s economic demand will come short of one million college graduates by 2025,” she said. “Ameritas College hopes to address this educational disparity by providing Latinos with an accessible, high-quality and affordable option to earning a college degree and contribute to California’s economic future.”

Tuition at Ameritas is below most private universities. The current cost is $360 per credit at the associate level and $500 per credit for the bachelor’s degree level as compared to the University of Southern California (USC), which

charges more than $1,400 per credit. However, it is higher than the state’s two- and four-year public colleges. The Los Angeles Community College District charges $46 per credit.

Michelle Hernández was one of the first group of students to enroll at Ameritas. Her profile is typical of individuals the college hopes to serve. Hernández did not go to college after high school; instead she worked for 10 years while also raising a young daughter. When her father spotted an ad for Ameritas in the local paper, Hernández decided to check it out.

“I walked in and met with a counselor, was approved for financial aid and signed up for classes,” she said. “Everyone was very supportive.”

That is exactly the reaction administrators such as Dr. Carmen Lamboy-Naughton, dean and the college’s chief academic officer, want to hear. She helped create the new academic model for Ameritas that is based on research and feedback from Latino adult focus groups. Ameritas staff members are now promoting the college through media outlets and by going out to Hispanic community groups, which have responded positively.

“We use a very grass-roots approach to recruiting,” said Lamboy-Naughton. “We work with community leaders because they are role models for our students. We want to build credibility and trust, which sometimes means students hear about Ameritas from local leaders who understand that this is a good thing.”

Ameritas administrators also acknowledge the important role Hispanic families play in the decision to attend college.

“When prospective students come in to the office to learn about Ameritas, they often bring their children and spouses,” said LamboyNaughton. “It is a commitment the family needs to understand.”

During the preliminary consultation, advisors work with the student to develop an educational plan so it is clear what level of time commitment and work load is involved and how long it will take to earn a degree. Students can take nine courses per year (six eight-week courses plus three 16week courses) over a 48-week session. They can earn an associate degree in two years, and bachelor’s degree in four and a half years, which in both cases is faster than the national average.

The college has enrolled its initial cohort of 60 students as part of the first-year cycle. Ameritas tries to keep students who start together as a cohort because they can support each other and help build a sense of community, says LamboyNaughton. She says aspects of the program have undergone some “tweaking” based on responses from students about what works for them.

In addition to developing the curriculum, one of Lamboy-Naughton’s biggest responsibilities was interviewing and hiring the faculty.

Faculty members are part-time and nontenured, just as they are at Brandman University. Many have backgrounds that are similar to students at Ameritas.

“We have had no problem finding faculty who are well-prepared bilingual specialists,” she said. “Not only do they have the commitment to our students, but they also are role models.”

Enzo Caminotti is one of the adjunct faculty members who teach at Ameritas. He is the operations manager for Converse (a division of Nike) in Ontario and saw the opportunity to teach as a chance to give back to the community and help others reach their goal. Caminotti said he also identifies with the type of student at Ameritas. As a young boy, his family moved to New York from Puerto Rico, and although they struggled financially, he eventually went to college, thanks to the “never-ending support” he received from his mother. Like his current students, Caminotti worked hard to achieve his dreams. He believes that Ameritas College’s bilingual model is one that can help motivate students and encourage them to participate more fully in the learning process.

“We use Spanish and English exercises in the classroom and in the online platform,” he said.

“These exercises help the students work on both languages while also developing other skills, such as creating presentations, using a computer, communication and research, just to name a few. Every course marries content and language in such a way that students find themselves learning the content, acquiring professional skills and enhancing both their Spanish and English at the same time.”

In trying to boost graduation and retention rates, Ameritas is relying on faculty such as Caminotti and the support of the college’s own retention and tracking measures that have been put into place. Those measures involve a combination of human and technological resources.

“It starts when we assign each student a ‘success specialist’ who walks them through enrollment and financial aid,” said Lamboy-Naughton.

“Then we add technology support in which students can bring their iPads and devices and make sure they are set up properly. We show them how to contact an online tutor or specialist that will help them with writing assignments.

“We help students navigate everything and anything they need. We are a community that is meant to help.”

First-time students also must take the pathway program, which consists of a student orientation, including an introduction to technology,

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and a success course covering time management, study tips and stress. To help with retention, the college developed an early warning system that alerts the student success specialist of potential issues before they become a problem.

For example, if a student falls behind or is absent, his/her faculty member will contact the success specialist.

Ameritas has set high goals and is aiming for a completion rate that is greater than that of public colleges, said Lamboy-Naughton. She cites the success of Brandman University, which has a 68 percent six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degree-seeking students. Ameritas would like to equal or exceed that percentage.

The Hispanic higher education community and other groups are watching and hoping Ameritas can produce results. The concept was given some financial support when it received a $250,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Educause, through the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) initiative.

The grant lauded the college for its innovative mission to provide Hispanic students the opportunity to earn associate and bachelor’s degrees through dual-language academic instruction.

The college will use the funds to extend its Blended Dual Language English Immersion (DLEI) program into a 100 percent online program that will further expand access to Hispanic adults in need of higher education. Using Brandman University’s Instructional Design for Engaged Adult Learning, Ameritas College has already redesigned courses that integrate DLEI instruction.

As described in college brochures, DLEI is unlike other models of bilingual instruction, because it has functional bilingualism for all its students as a goal. Discipline-specific instruction to support vocabulary and concept development is incorporated in both languages. The instructional framework maintains equal focus on college-level content and language learning, without sacrificing program learning. Lamboy-Naughton says they are aware that students who enroll for the totally online program will need additional support.

“When this 100 percent online program is up and running, we want to make sure our students have both the skills and the social environment they need to complete the program,” she said. “We don’t want them to feel isolated just because they are distance learners.”

Officials at Ameritas acknowledge that they have a great challenge ahead of them; however, they are confident and optimistic about bringing a viable educational option to the rapidly growing Hispanic community.

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INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS

CHL Offering Culturally Relevant Leadership Training to Hispanics

How

by Frank DiMaria

do corporations help their most talented employees advance their careers? They send them for leadership training. How do corporations help their most talented Hispanic employees advance their careers? They send them for culturally relevant leadership training.

The Center for Hispanic Leadership (CHL) is the only Hispanic talent and business development institute of its kind. CHL creates awareness of Hispanic leadership in today’s global marketplace by offering customized leadership programs to many of America’s most successful corporations.

Top dogs in the American marketplace like Target and Coca-Cola hire CHL to present its leadership workshops right on their corporate campuses.

The leadership workshops are built on six cultural characteristics: keeping your immigrant perspective, employing your circular vision, unleashing your passion, living within an entrepreneurial spirit, working with generous purpose and embracing your cultural promise; and the four skills Hispanics need to be successful in corporate America: seeing, sowing, growing and sharing.

“We’re not only talking about leadership, but we are also incorporating our natural cultural characteristics and how that best suits [Hispanics] in leadership roles. It’s really a more holistic approach to a leadership workshop. We haven’t heard of anyone else in this space who is doing it the way we are doing it. We are focusing and homing in on customizing [our training] per individual,” says Annette Prieto Llopis, the director of client relations and a trainer/coach at CHL. In many ways, CHL trainees are receiving executive coaching through an intimate workshop experience in which only about 12 individuals participate per workshop.

Before trainees set foot in the customized CHL workshop, they must take three pre-assessments and do some reading on leadership. The preassessments help Glenn Llopis, the founder and owner of CHL and its primary trainer, to evaluate the trainee’s talent based on those six cultural characteristics and four skills. Once Llopis identifies trainees’ strongest individual skills, he helps them strengthen their weaker skills, skills necessary to work with others successfully.

Then Llopis and the trainee discuss the six cultural characteristics and their importance in the workplace. “It’s very elaborate, and there are a lot of exercises that take place,” says Prieto Llopis. Even the assigned seats at the workshop are well thought out. Trainees are seated in groups in a way so that the members in each group have opposing skills.

Llopis meets one-on-one with each trainee for an hour. “It’s very intensive, and it’s very impactful. These are not my words; they are the words of our participants,” says Prieto Llopis. Many workshop participants lament that they did not have this type of leadership training in college, she says.

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CHL workshops are designed for and delivered to Hispanic middle managers striving to advance their careers. Most, but not all, corporations encourage their middle-management Hispanic employees to attend CHL workshops. Many of America’s larger corporations have monies budgeted within their diversity and inclusion departments for such leadership programs. Those that do not sometimes find professional development money within their talent development department.

Annette Prieto Llopis, director of client relations, Center for Hispanic Leadership; Glenn Llopis, founder/owner, Center for Hispanic Leadership

In addition to offering its customized leadership workshops on corporate campuses, CHL also offers them on college campuses. These are open to any corporation that would like to sign up and attend. For example, a school like Emory University in Atlanta will host a two-day workshop. One corporation, for example Verizon, will host the event, but professionals from Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS, Discover Card as well as independent

entrepreneurs will attend.

Whether on a corporate campus or a college campus, CHL can only offer its workshops semimonthly, an attempt to ensure that they are of the highest quality. Llopis, who is in the media spotlight, has written several books on leadership and writes for Forbes and Harvard Business Review, is the only individual qualified to present CHL’s training. “Let’s face it – everybody wants to see him. That’s what it’s all about,” says Prieto Llopis. Llopis spends considerable time preparing for each workshop. “So I can’t see us offering more than about two workshops per month,” says Prieto Llopis.

CHL is in the process of training the trainer, so it can offer its workshops more frequently. Prieto Llopis and other CHL chapter presidents are gearing up so they too can present at CHL workshops.

Llopis founded CHL in 2007. About five years into his endeavour, he discovered that it’s not always easy for Hispanic professionals seeking culturally relevant training to attend his workshops. And some can’t convince their employers to sponsor them. Being an astute entrepreneur, Llopis identified a need and filled that need by developing a culturally relevant leadership program on the Internet called the Hispanic Leadership Academy. He unveiled the system in October of 2012.

Prieto Llopis says that statistically Hispanics have a high rate of Internet and mobile device usage, so Llopis made his leadership program available, affordable and convenient for all Hispanics from any computer or mobile device.

CHL’s online Hispanic Leadership Academy is an interactive, videobased system from which Hispanics can receive a full leadership certificate or pick and choose from any number of individual leadership courses.

Access to the leadership academy costs as little as $29 per month.

Individuals can access the system at any time day or night and can work through the course materials as quickly or as slowly as they want to. “It’s all culturally relevant educational resources. So basically, it’s what we do in our two-day workshop. Obviously, it can’t be customized to the individual because it’s online, but it’s the same culturally relevant education in terms of leadership,” says Prieto Llopis.

The leadership component that CHL offers through its online academy would take the average user about three to five hours to complete.

Individuals who wish to take the entire certification will have to invest much more time. Access to CHL’s academy for a month costs $79. Those trainees who have free time can complete the leadership program in a month. Those who have less free time would need to purchase six month’s worth of access to the academy for $395. “We offer different price ranges to make everybody happy,” says Prieto Llopis. “So if someone only has $79 and that’s all they have, and they’ll need to finish [the training] in a month, they certainly can. It depends on how much time they want to put into it.”

Online trainees can do as little or as much as they choose during each session, but the system requires that they pass a quiz at the end of each chapter before they can move on to the next. “It’s not easy by any means.

You have to concentrate, and you have to pass the quizzes to keep moving forward. It’s interactive. If you don’t pass the quizzes, you won’t move forward. We expect you to grasp this information,” says Prieto Llopis. The system bookmarks where trainees leave off when they log out, allowing them to pick up where they left off when they log back in.

CHL’s Hispanic Leadership Academy is built on the same platform that many of America’s top leadership firms use and the same system Tony Robbins uses for his self-help tutorials. “We’ve invested a lot into this platform and a lot into the community because we feel so passionately about this,” says Prieto Llopis.

Through March of 2013, CHL had certified 1,000 individuals through

the online academy, most of whom had taken the courses on their own and not through their companies. One hundred of Target’s employees are in the process of getting their certification using CHL’s online platform. Target has also hired CHL to deliver its workshops to Target’s highest-performing managers and directors as a reward for their high achievement.

Prieto Llopis says that CHL is gaining a positive reputation within the leadership training space. So much in fact that some universities have approached Llopis to see if he would be interested in putting their names on the CHL certification. “Right now, we are not partnering with universities – we stand alone,” says Prieto Llopis.

CHL is not ready to put a university’s name its certification, but Llopis has partnered with a college in another way. CHL and Cornell University co-branded a leadership platform this past February. Over the next three years, Cornell will make 300 certifications available to their Hispanic students pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. The CHL training that Cornell’s MBA students will receive will be separate from their MBA program. There are, however, talks between CHL and Cornell to make the training a requirement within the MBA program.

In addition to helping Hispanics advance within the workplace and developing Hispanic leaders through its workshops, CHL also helps companies build their brands. Llopis, who was at one time an executive at Sunkist and has developed consumer-packaged brands sold at Costco and other grocery stores, recognized that the Hispanic super-consumer presents a huge opportunity for business. But selling to these consumers requires a new approach. CHL offers a new brand development framework that enables the growing influence and purchasing power of the Hispanic consumer to help build and expand brands.

CHL’s brand development is based on a framework under which Hispanic employees flourish with the freedom to innovate. Instead of being forced to assimilate, recognition of their unique immigrant perspective enables them to become thriving business leaders.

“You have to build brands from within – it’s interconnected,” says Prieto Llopis. “You have to build your brand from within so that building leaders becomes authentic. For instance, let’s take a [consumer-packaged good], and you are promoting that product to a Hispanic market. You are not marketing it effectively; you are not marketing the product the way you should be. And that’s where the interconnected part comes in. Why don’t you have your Hispanic talent within your company building upon those brands? That’s where it becomes authentic, and that’s really where you gain the consumer loyalty,” says Prieto Llopis.

Companies must find their authentic Hispanic voice to market to consumers. Many companies are under the impression that they can simply translate their English-language ads into Spanish, and that alone will make them relevant and effective within the Hispanic community. It does not work like that, says Prieto Llopis. In a nutshell, she says, CHL unlocks opportunities for business by giving Hispanic leaders and super consumers a voice.

CHL’s goal, according to Prieto Llopis, is to remain culturally relevant, and she feels strongly that culturally relevant educational resources are important and necessary today. “There are so many tools out there that are available that have a Hispanic veil around them. But are they authentic in terms of the true sense of Hispanic leadership? Are they truly culturally relevant in terms of training? We have worked really hard to ensure that we are delivering a first-class program. Our 100 percent goal is for Hispanic advancement, whether in the workplace, business or in entrepreneurial settings. One hundred percent of our passion and mission is advancement of the community,” says Prieto Llopis.

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REPORTS

Offers Promising Practices for Latino Student Success In

by Angela Provitera McGlynn

its quest to accelerate Hispanic student success in higher educaBeginning in 2005, Excelencia in Education has been identifying and pretion, Excelencia in Education’s Growing What Works (GWW) senting promising practices to the field. Additionally, it had monitored reacInitiative is driven by a basic tenet – find programs and strategies tions and early adopters of the practices, and noted the institutions invested that improve academic success of Latino students. Then replicate or scale in commitment to Latino students. What it has observed is the growing numup those programs and strategies to serve more students. In other words, bers of Latino students seeking to enroll in colleges and universities, reprethe initiative aims to help expand the senting vast increases. The distressreach of programs that have demoning news, however, is that the level of strated proven strategies and poliinstitutional change and commitment cies that improve Latino students’ to support Latino academic success academic achievement. has not kept pace with the increase In January 2013, Excelencia in in Latino student enrollment.

Education released the issue brief With the current demographic Growing What Works: Lessons picture, colleges and universities are Learned Replicating Promising facing the critical challenge of repliPractices for Latino Student cating promising best practices and Success, which describes results of increasing the reach of these evi“best practices” that were made posdence-based strategies for Latino stusible through a host of partnerships. dent success. Recognized by much Excelencia in Education partnered research, with this report underscorwith foundations and institutions of ing the nation’s educational plight, higher education committed to achieving our nation’s educational achieve and disseminate successful goals and workforce necessities is results in accelerating Latino student impossible without significantly success in earning degrees. The iniincreasing Latino degree completion. tiative began in 2009 and was supThe U.S. Census Bureau says that ported by the Walmart Foundation Latinos are the youngest and fastestand the Kresge Foundation. growing population in the country. In Senior Director Michele Gilliard 2010, Latinos represented 22 percent and the Walmart Foundation sponof the K-12 population in the United sored the first group of small grants States. Latinos are now the secondknown as SEMILLAS grants. The largest racial/ethnic group enrolled acronym stands for Seeding in higher education in our nation.

Educational Models that Impact and Deborah A. Santiago, co-founder and vice president for policy and research, Looking at the adult Latino popuExcelencia in Education Leverage Latino Academic Success. lation 25 years and older, the U.S. Carolyn Altman Smith, the Kresge Foundation program officer, expanded Census says that Latinos are less likely than other ethnic/racial groups to financial support in 2010 for an additional group of higher education insti- have earned an associate degree or higher. In fact, in 2011, only 21 percent tutions, as well as helping to create an online searchable database of pro- of Latino adults (25 years and older) had earned an AA degree or higher. gram information and an assessment of the initiative.

This compares with 40 percent of all adults holding postsecondary degrees.

With the support of these foundations, Excelencia in Education was In order to expand Latino student success, there is a twofold necessity: able to promote its vision including colleges and universities serving eight identify successful programs in accelerating Latino academic success and thousand Latino students all over the country. Institutional policies and degree achievement and expand the reach of what works to more Latino pedagogical strategies are improving Latino student success in higher edu- students. Both identification and expansion are necessary to meet our cation but had been serving only a small number of this growing popula- national goals of producing a more highly educated population better pretion, so this initiative was sorely needed. pared to meet the needs of a global economy.

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Excelencia sponsored two cohorts with the foundations’ grant money of SEMILLAS from 2009 to 2011. Twenty-five grants were awarded averaging about $50,000 to $75,000 per institution to help them improve Latino success. Although the grants provided financial support to implement institutional practices intentionally focused on Latino students, the practices were not limited to this demographic so that all students could benefit. However, the grant money provided colleges and universities an opportunity to overtly include Latino students in their efforts to enhance student success.

According to the issue brief, SEMILLAS grants – one year of financial support – had the following results: • More than 225 grant applications were submitted for 25 grants awarded [The number of applicants and range of competing states illustrates higher education’s interest in promoting Latino student success] • More than 6,400 Latino and other students in 11 states were served to improve college preparation, access, retention and graduation • More than 600 high school students were served to improve college preparation • Over 900 parents and families participated in activities that helped them understand the need and requirements for college • Overall, 25 college campus teams – many including staff from different administrative areas as well as advisory boards – implemented programs • One year after funding was completed, 23 of the program strategies originally funded by SEMILLAS grants were leveraged to grow their financial and human resources to maintain and expand their program efforts As mentioned, the initiative funded projects in 11 states. There were five projects funded in the very large state of California with its high numbers of Latino students. This was followed by funding for four projects in Texas, four in New York state, three in Florida, two in Connecticut and two in Arizona. The initiative also funded projects in the following states: Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey and North Carolina.

“The majority of projects (22) were implemented by public institutions of higher education at the baccalaureate level (18). Further, of the 25 grantees, nine had a Latino undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment of 25 percent or more, thus meeting the basic definition of a HispanicServing Institution (HSI). The other grantees were emerging HSIs or had growing Latino enrollments and expressed commitment to increasing Latino student success on their campuses (Growing What Works, p. 9).”

It was a much greater challenge to assess the broader success of the initiative than it was to look at immediate impacts. SEMILLAS grant recipients were able to provide some measures of effectiveness of the grants by summarizing participation, enrollment, retention, grades and/or transfer rates of those served by the grants versus data they had from previous years for this demographic.

Obviously, educational investments might not reap measurable benefits until quite some time has passed. For this reason, Excelencia used other forms of assessment, namely, the sustainability and leveraging efforts by institutions receiving grants – that is, were SEMILLAS grant recipients able to find ways to continue their commitment to this underserved population?

The brief looked at five areas to assess the effectiveness of the initiative.

Excelencia’s review of the outcomes of the grants provides a roadmap for addressing increased Latino academic success in the future.

The first area Excelencia analyzed was funding. What they found is that even a modest financial investment, if it is well implemented, does affect Latino student success. These external funds, the SEMILLAS, gave institutional leaders opportunities to better serve Latino students and thus improve their chances for academic success.

The second assessment Excelencia used was what they called “leveraging.”

Leveraging involves the institutions’ ability to keep projects going. Several grantees leveraged their SEMILLAS grants by obtaining additional funding to sustain the practices they had in place to improve Latino student success. Some other recipient institutions were able to leverage SEMILLAS grant funding within their own institutions to receive additional support beyond the grants.

The third assessment of effectiveness involved what Excelencia called “sustainability.” One of the measures of sustainability related to grant institutions were presidents’ and provosts’ commitment to the continuation of the program activities beyond the funding. Many institutions, because of the initial grants, were able to gather in-kind institutional support and nonmonetary support so they could continue the goals of the initiative.

“Intentionality” was the fourth area analyzed. The report states: “Identifying practices with evidence in increasing Latino student success for replication served as a catalyst for institutional change. Reexamining institutional procedures to serve Latino students better proved to be a critical step to increase the success of all students (Executive Summary, p. 6).”

The SEMILLAS grants were modest financial investments and had a relatively short duration. Yet the preliminary results of the initiative certainly demonstrate the importance of institutional commitment to promote student success particularly for underserved students such as Latinos. Clearly, there is great potential for institutions, community-based organizations and policymakers to invest effort and resources to expand the reach of databased best practices for promoting academic success.

There are many challenges to sustain the initiative’s efforts. The grants provided financial incentives, albeit modest ones, to get institutional commitment. Most of the challenges the institution recipients faced at the end of the funding were budgetary constraints. The other major factor threatening sustainability was how labor intensive the projects were, requiring dedicated staffing requirements.

Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of the initiative, institutions might lose the degree of commitment required to perpetuate Latino student success because of the monetary and staffing challenges they face.

Given the vast increases of Latinos in America, a lessening of commitment to their academic success would be shortsighted and damaging to the nation as a whole. In order to reach the educational and workforce needs of our nation, increasing Latino success in educational attainment is a requirement we cannot afford to ignore.

Excelencia worked closely with institutions that were the recipients of SEMILLAS beyond the period of funding in order to continue studying and supporting the work of campus leaders and their commitment to Latino student success.

In the words of the authors of this report, Deborah A. Santiago, cofounder and vice president for policy and research at Excelencia in Education, and Estela López, senior associate with Excelencia, “Some of the core lessons learned from this experience [the initiative and follow-up research] were that efforts to implement or replicate evidence-based practices require intentionality, resources, appropriate support, and leadership commitment from both the participating institution and the managing organization (Growing What Works, p. 19).”

Interestingly, one of the lessons learned reported in the brief is that when institutions re-examined their procedures to serve students better, the re-examination process proved to be a critical step to increase graduation rates for all students.

Angela Provitera McGlynn, professor emeritus of psychology, is an international consultant/presenter on teaching, learning and diversity issues and the author of several related books.

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REPORTS

What Is Keeping High-Achieving Away from Top Colleges?

Why

aren’t more high-achieving minority students with top SAT scores and strong grades accepted into Ivy League and other selective colleges? Most simply don’t apply, says a new study, The Missing One-Offs: The Hidden Supply of Low-Income, High-Achieving Students, written

by Caroline Hoxby, professor of economics at Stanford University, and Christopher Avery, professor of public policy and management at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and published by the Brookings Institution.

In fact, only 34 percent of top-performing high school students in the bottom quadrant of income attended any of the country’s most demanding 236 colleges. That compares to a whopping 78 percent of students in the top quadrant that attend these selective colleges. In fact, the study says, “There are between eight and 15 times as many highachieving students from low-income families as college admission staff at selective colleges thought there were.” When these students are accepted, they “graduate at the same rates as high-income students with the same level of achievement.”

Hoxby defines low-income, high achievers as students whose SAT scores are in the top 10 percentile, whose grade point average is A-minus or higher and whose family income is below $41,472. The report estimates that there are approximately 25,000 to 35,000 minority students who fit this description. Hoxby stresses that minority students with C averages and mediocre SAT scores won’t be eligible for admissions or scholarships into these top colleges.

Moreover, Hoxby explains that selective colleges go beyond a handful of Ivy League schools. The top 236 colleges are ranked by Barron’s Profile of American Colleges and include state flagship colleges such as University of California-Berkeley, Ohio State University, the University of Virginia and several State University of New York colleges. “Many top students could easily get into the top 80 colleges; many, almost safely,” Hoxby said.

Most skilled guidance counselors advise that students apply to a panoply of colleges including several that are a stretch and highly selective, several that are a good match or well-suited for the student’s academic abilities, and a couple of

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“safe” colleges that are most likely to offer admission. But the report concluded, “Few lowincome students do this; the bulk of their applications are to non-selective colleges.”

The introduction to the study described these talented students as “buried treasure. The U.S. has a trove of low-income students who are extremely well-prepared for college and who have been little-recognized up to now.”

In a follow-up interview with The Hispanic Outlook, Hoxby said when she analyzed college

Fidel Vargas, president, HSF

costs, most low-income achievers ironically spent more attending local colleges than they would have attending the cream of the crop.

“They’re often paying more to attend much less selective colleges, including the cost of room and board,” she said. Furthermore, Hoxby said that “it’s not often travel costs” that serve as an obstacle. Many talented minority students don’t live at home when attending college.

Most of the minority students who are accepted by the top colleges often stem from metropolitan areas and attend highly rated magnet or firstrate public high schools. “Even though they’re low-income students, they’re surrounded by high-achieving kids,” Hoxby said from her Palo Alto office. The minority students who attend

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selective high schools such as Stuyvesant High, Bronx High School of Science, and Brooklyn Tech in New York City, for example, have developed a strategy and network. They attend College Night, know the top schools and often are selfinitiating about applying.

When students attend a magnet school, for example, two things happen, suggests Hoxby. The selective universities have this high-profile high school on their radar screen and send representatives in search of students that fit their profile.

These top-ranked colleges “find these students, visit them, have recurring visits, and send invitations to students to visit the campus,” Hoxby noted. Moreover, college advisors at these selective high schools are sophisticated and often have relationships with leading admissions staffs.

On the other hand, the gifted minority student attending a rural high school or school in a smaller-sized city is at a disadvantage. Since there are approximately 45,000 high schools nationwide, admissions staff can’t possibly visit every high school in every location, particularly out-ofthe-way ones. Hence, many talented students get overlooked and don’t make the connection to top colleges. In short, Hoxby says, “It’s hard for the college to know the student is out there.”

In response to the study, Claire Vaye Watkins, an assistant professor of English at Bucknell University, who was raised in Pahrump, Nev., wrote a New York Times Op-Ed, saying, “By the time they’re ready to apply to colleges, most kids from families like mine – poor, rural, no college grads in sight – know of and apply to only those few universities to which they’ve incidentally been exposed.” She noted that the military visited her school, but few admissions people did.

Since so many high school college advisors are overwhelmed and often deal with 350 to 400 or more students, it’s difficult for them to provide intensive one-on-one counseling for each student. When the high-achieving students tell counselors that they are going to the local college, which might be academically rated below the top tier, the advisor approves and is glad the student is pursuing higher education.

Focusing on the Remedies Many Hispanic students who are raised in a

Minority Students

by Gary M. Stern household where their parents haven’t attended college and don’t know how to navigate the system are overwhelmed by the increasing college cost of tuition, room and board, books and travel. “We show them the difference between the sticker price and what they actually pay. It helps make them realize that you might be paying more to go to the local college than to go to the selective one,” Hoxby said.

Many Latino students are also reluctant to take out large loans, straddling themselves and their family with huge debt. They assume that attending the premiere colleges entails taking on steep debt.

But Hoxby said that most high-achieving students accepted by selective institutions gain access to financial aid that eliminates the need for loans.

Often the select schools have larger endowments, offer more aid, and cover room and board and even offer stipends for travel home.

When top-performing minority high school students settle for the local college, which isn’t highly ranked, they can still obtain a degree and first-rate education. But many of them won’t be challenged, won’t gain access to the same resources and won’t be stretched by the intellectual caliber of their classmates.

Indeed many of these highly rated Latino students opt for community colleges, which are less expensive to attend. Hoxby praised community colleges and recognizes the critical role they play in providing vocational and technical jobs in the American economy. But most junior colleges are located close to a student’s home. If something happens in the family, it often triggers the student’s dropping out, delaying college and often not returning to attain a degree.

Hoxby’s best advice for talented Latino or African-American students can be summarized in one word: apply. She says these A students must organize their time differently and do some future planning compared to other students. By no later than October of their senior year, they must have taken their SAT tests, submitted scores to the college, delved into what deadlines apply and make sure all deadlines are met. But these talented students can submit forms, write essays, file financial forms and finally be admitted to a school that will challenge and stretch them. It could make a major difference in their lives.

Reader response online to the Brookings site was revealing. Meghan (last name not included) said that the $30 to $70 application fee for selective colleges for low-income students can be a deterrent, especially when applying to multiple colleges.

But Hoxby didn’t just study this issue; she decided to take action to jumpstart the number of talented minorities applying to first-rate colleges.

She and colleague Sarah E. Turner, a leadership

Caroline Hoxby, professor of economics, Stanford University

professor at the University of Virginia, distributed 40,000 packets in the mail to high-achieving minority students in October of their senior year.

The mailing included 75 sheets of paper filled with data about the top colleges’ admission standards, graduation rates and financial aid data. Students also received coupons that waived the application fees, which made applying easier and less expensive (anticipating the suggestion that reader Meghan had made).

The result was that 54 percent of students who received the mailings were admitted to college compared to 30 percent in a control group of lowincome students with comparable grades. Students receiving the packet were 40 percent more likely to apply to a college that suited their academic achievements.

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The study underscores “the misperception about costs related to college,” said Fidel Vargas, president of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, based in Gardena, Calif. Much of high-achieving students not taking advantage of opportunities reflect the growing economic gap in the country and the thinning of the middle class. “Buying power has decreased, and low-income families are relying, to some degree, on the support of the extended family to pay bills and their mortgage. Staying close to home is an extension of that,” he says.

What can colleges do for a bright Latino kid from Los Angeles, who is accepted to a top college in Boston but can’t leave because the family needs that student to make money to pay bills?

Could the financial aid package also include some family stipend, Vargas wonders.

Encouraging more minority students to apply to highly ranked colleges requires a more comprehensive approach among several organizations.

Vargas would like to see the College Board identify all students who score high on the PSATs, whose income is below the poverty threshold, and have these top colleges connect with them. Since many bright minority students are savvy about social media, reaching them through Facebook and Twitter would also help. He’d like to see President Obama or Education Secretary Arne Duncan inaugurate a national dialogue about colleges and minority access.

Colleges could play a more active role in pursuing these students. “They need to be creative, think outside the box, and understand the primary driving forces of why they don’t even apply,” Vargas says.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is addressing these issues. “We’re an organization looking for ways to demystify the idea that elite universities are beyond the reach of lower-income students and can be affordable,” he says.

Vargas says these questions aren’t academic but are at the core of America’s future. He says the Wall Street Journal reported that Latinos in 2013 in the U.S. constituted 13 percent of the workforce but by 2050 that number will jump to 30 percent. “If we don’t address it, we’re putting our country in jeopardy,” he says.

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INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS

Advanced Placement Incentive Program: Benefiting Students

For

by Jamaal Abdul-Alim most high school students, the chance to make money comes by working a job after school. But for 18-year-old Ralph Alvarez of Texas, the chance to earn a paycheck came in class during school hours.

Alvarez earned four $100 checks by participating in the Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP), a $60 million national initiative that serves 300,000 students annually and which research has shown to be associated with higher rates of college degree attainment and increased wages, particularly for Hispanic students.

Through the program, students can earn $100 for a passing score on the Advanced Placement exams administered by the College Board.

Alvarez, a graduating senior at R.L. Turner High School in the CarrolltonFarmers Branch Independent School District in Texas, earned $400 by scoring a 3 or better on four different AP exams during his junior year. The exams included exams in physics, calculus and history. At the time he was interviewed for this article, Alvarez had plans to take several more AP exams before the end of his senior year, thus potentially earning another several hundred dollars.

Alvarez said he would have taken the AP courses and exams regardless of whether he got paid.

“The $100 was just a cherry on top,” Alvarez told The Hispanic Outlook during an interview. “Getting a 5 on the exam is an investment.”

Indeed, students who score well on AP exams often qualify for college credit, which thereby saves the students time and money when they go to college. The extra $100 that students earn in the APIP for every passing score on an AP exam helps cut college costs, too.

For instance, Alvarez – who has an offer to attend the University of Texas (UT)-Austin and was anticipating offers from several other universities – said he planned to use the money to buy books for his college courses. He said he plans to study architectural engineering, a subject that captured his interest when he became impressed with the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, during the NBA All-Star Game of 2010.

Alvarez’s story represents just one of a myriad of high school students’ college dreams that are coming true thanks in no small part to the APIP. Education leaders say that AP courses help boost a student’s chance of getting into college.

“When colleges see that students took an AP course, that’s the number one factor that stands out for admission,” said Gerry Charlebois, executive director of advanced academic services at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. “They [colleges] want to know that [students] have been taking the most rigorous courses they can take and have been successful,” Charlebois said.

Indeed, grades in college-prep classes have long been a top factor in college admissions decisions, with about 80 percent of colleges rating the college-prep course grades as “considerably important” in the decisions, according to a National Association for College Admission Counseling report titled 2012 State of College Admission.

In Texas, over 25,000 students at 69 high schools are enrolled in APIP. About one-fourth of the cost of the program is funded locally, and the average cost per school is $100,000, according to Charlotte Carlisle, president

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Ralph Alvarez, senior at R.L. Turner High School in the CarrolltonFarmers Branch ISD in Texas

of Advanced Placement Strategies Inc., which oversees the APIP program in Texas as part of its National Math + Science Initiative.

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD has had the APIP since 2002.

Fred Hurst, Alvarez’s AP physics teacher at R.L. Turner High School, said the program has changed the academic culture of the school.

“When I first started, I might have a class of maybe 15 kids, and now I have two classes of around 50,” Hurst said of his AP physics course. “It’s just opened up the amount of kids who take AP.” Charlebois shared similar thoughts.

“I see the AP program as such a strength,” Charlebois said. “The success we’ve had has been exponential.”

Indeed, at R.L. Turner High School, a predominantly Hispanic high school just outside of Dallas, 658 students took AP Exams in math, science and English in 2012, a dramatic increase from the 370 who had taken the exams in the prior year, according to figures provided by Charlebois.

Of the AP test takers last year, 228 scored 3 or better – a passing score. possible to enhance outcomes by improving both students’ and teachers’ That’s twice as many as the 124 who achieved passing scores the year before. decision making and increasing access to well-taught rigorous courses.�

Hurst refers to AP classes as “a great equalizer.�

Jackson said his study is groundbreaking because while recent evi“What I love about AP is when a kid is taking a test, it doesn’t matter dence has shown that moving students from low-performing schools to what walk of life you come from,� Hurst said. “A 4 is a 4, a 5 is a 5, a 3 is a high-performing schools can improve student outcomes, very little evi3 regardless of where you live or what your dad does for a living.� dence has shown that students’ long-run outcomes can be improved by But achieving the passing scores is not an easy feat. adopting a program at their current schools. “The AP course definitely requires more time,� Alvarez said. “We get “Because there has been little credible evidence on the efficacy of collegehomework way more often than non-AP students. But one of the things prep programs despite large public and private expenditure on such proabout AP classes is I have to apply myself more to grasp the material.� grams, the results of this study are encouraging about the potential efficacy of Students also have to pay to take the exams, although students in APIP pro- college-preparatory programs at improving the educational outcomes of disgram at R.L. Turner High School – where roughly two-thirds of the students are advantaged students who are consigned to inner-city schools,� Jackson states. eligible for free and reduced lunch – get to take the exams at a discounted rate of about $20, according to Charlebois.

The extra work and the investment evidently pay off.

According to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper titled Do College-Prep Programs Improve Long-Term Outcomes?, the APIP increases college attendance by an average of 4.2 percent and wage earnings by at least 2.7 percent.

Hispanic students who participated in the $Ä Ä?Ä?ĖĘĖ Ä Ä— /Ä’ÄĽÄŚÄŁÄ’Ä? 4ĔĚĖÄ&#x;ĔĖĤ Ä’Ä&#x;Ä• program experienced a 2.5 percentage point .ĒļęĖĞĒļĚĔĤ increase in college degree attainment, and an 11 percent increase in earnings, according to the ÉŠF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO BOOPVODFT B OBUJPOXJEF TFBSDI UP SFDSVJU B OFX %FBO GPS UIF $PMMFHF PG /BUVSBM 4DJFODFT BOE .BUIFNBUJDT paper by Northwestern University labor economist C. Kirabo Jackson.

'PVOEFE JO UIF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO JT UIF MFBEJOH VSCBO QVCMJD SFTFBSDI VOJWFS TJUZ JO 5FYBT 6) JT B A5JFS 0OF SFTFBSDI VOJWFSTJUZ UIBU FOSPMMT PWFS TUVEFOUT “The APIP led to larger improvements in edu6) JT UIF nBHTIJQ PG ɊF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO 4ZTUFN XIJDI TFSWFT NPSF UIBO cational attainment and earnings for Hispanic stuTUVEFOUT FOSPMMFE JO GPVS VOJWFSTJUJFT UXP CSBODI DBNQVTFT BOE GPVS SFHJPOBM UFBDIJOH dents (the group with the lowest baseline college DFOUFST attendance rates) than for white and black stu6) JT B NFNCFS JOTUJUVUJPO PG UIF 5FYBT .FEJDBM $FOUFS UIF XPSME T MBSHFTU NFEJDBM dents,� Jackson said in the paper.

DPNQMFY BOE IBT GPSHFE NPSF UIBO QBSUOFSTIJQT XJUI DPSQPSBUJPOT BOE HPWFSONFOU “These findings suggest that, in addition to BHFODJFT JO UIF OBUJPO T FOFSHZ DBQJUBM ɊF 6OJWFSTJUZ IBT NPSF UIBO MJWJOH reducing ethnic gaps within schools, because the BMVNOJ BOE JUT UPUBM SFTFBSDI FYQFOEJUVSFT SPTF UP PWFS NJMMJPO MBTU ZFBS program was targeted to inner-city schools with ɊF $PMMFHF PG /BUVSBM 4DJFODFT BOE .BUIFNBUJDT /4.

JT POF PG OJOF DPMMFHFT JO UIF low shares of high income and white students, 6OJWFSTJUZ BOE JT DPNQSJTFE PG TJY EFQBSUNFOUT #JPMPHZ BOE #JPDIFNJTUSZ $IFNJTUSZ the program also helped to reduce educational $PNQVUFS 4DJFODF &BSUI "UNPTQIFSJD 4DJFODFT .BUIFNBUJDT BOE 1IZTJDT /4. IBT B OVNCFS PG DFOUFST BOE JOTUJUVUFT UP GPTUFS JOUFSEJTDJQMJOBSZ SFTFBSDI BDSPTT UIF $PMMFHF and earnings gaps overall,� Jackson said in the ɊF $PMMFHF FOSPMMT BQQSPYJNBUFMZ 4DJFODF NBKPST BCPVU VOEFSHSBEVBUFT paper. “The earnings increases associated with BOE HSBEVBUF TUVEFOUT BOE IBT BOOVBM SFTFBSDI FYQFOEJUVSFT PG NJMMJPO the APIP for Hispanic and black students are ɊF %FBO JT UIF DIJFG BDBEFNJD BOE BENJOJTUSBUJWF PċDFS PG UIF $PMMFHF BOE JT SFTQPOTJCMF large enough to reduce the black-white earnings GPS UIF FOFSHFUJD WJTJPOBSZ BOE FĊFDUJWF MFBEFSTIJQ PG /4. ɊF TVDDFTTGVM DBOEJEBUF GPS gap by one-third and to eliminate the HispanicUIF QPTU XJMM CF BO JOUFMMFDUVBM MFBEFS BNPOH UIF GBDVMUZ B TUSPOH BEWPDBUF GPS UIF UFBDIJOH white earnings gap entirely.�

BOE SFTFBSDI NJTTJPO PG UIF $PMMFHF B QSFFNJOFOU VOJWFSTJUZ DJUJ[FO BOE BO FOFSHFUJD Jackson expounded on the long-term finanBOE DPOTDJFOUJPVT BENJOJTUSBUPS GBNJMJBS XJUI DIBMMFOHFT JO IJHIFS FEVDBUJPO OBUVSBM TDJFODFT BOE NBUIFNBUJDT cial benefits of the program.

He noted that the total cost of the program is " A-FBEFSTIJQ 4UBUFNFOU QSPWJEJOH NPSF FODPNQBTTJOH JOGPSNBUJPO BCPVU UIF QPTJUJPO $PMMFHF BOE 6OJWFSTJUZ JT BWBJMBCMF BU IUUQ OTN VI FEV EFBO TFBSDI roughly $225 per high school junior and senior, and thus $450 per student since most students 8IJMF BQQMJDBUJPOT BOE OPNJOBUJPOT XJMM CF BDDFQUFE VOUJM B OFX %FBO JT TFMFDUFE JOUFS FTUFE QBSUJFT BSF FODPVSBHFE UP TVCNJU UIFJS SFTVNF BOE DPWFS MFUUFS UP PVS DPOTVMUBOU BU are exposed to the program for two years.

UIF BEESFTT CFMPX CZ +VMZ UP BTTVSF PQUJNBM DPOTJEFSBUJPO Once in the world of work, those who would have otherwise earned $25,000 per year earn an 6) /4. 4FBSDI additional $925 per year.

3 8ÄšÄ?Ä?ĚĒĞ 'ÄŚÄ&#x;Äœ ĂŠ "Ä¤Ä¤Ä Ä”ÄšÄ’ÄĽÄ–Ä¤ “This would imply a lifetime benefit of the APIP )JHIMBOE 1BSL 7JMMBHF 4VJUF %BMMBT 5FYBT of $16,650 and a benefit-to-cost ratio of 37 to 1,â€? &NBJM UZMFS GVOL!SXJMMJBNGVOL DPN Jackson states in his paper. “With higher baseline 'BY earnings, this ratio would be even higher.â€?

He said the findings imply that “it might be _ɊF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO JT BO BċSNBUJWF BDUJPO FRVBM FNQMPZNFOU PQQPSUVOJUZ FNQMPZFS_

%&"/

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HI S PAN I C S O N T H E MO VE

Castro Keynotes LEAD Summit at CSUSB

chology. She has worked in the education field for more than 20 years.

Julián Castro (pictured), the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and the first Latino to deliver a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, was the headline speaker at the 4th annual Latino Education Advocacy Days summit in March at California State University-San Bernardino. Now in its fourth year, the LEAD summit focuses on educational issues affecting Latinos at the national, regional and local levels, said Enrique Murillo, the executive director and founder of the LEAD project, and a professor of education at Cal State San Bernardino. Castro, 38, spoke on “Educational Alignment: Profiles of Local Innovation.” The session was introduced by assistant professor Margarita Machado-Casas and moderated by professor Ellen Riojas Clark; both are in the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies at the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Castro is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.

CUNY Law Professor Rivera Nominated to New York State Court of Appeals Jenny Rivera, who has been on the faculty at City University of New York School of Law since 1997, in January was nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to a seat on the New York State Court of Appeals. Rivera, founder and director of the Law School’s Center on Latino and Latina Rights and Equality, teaches property, administrative law, civil procedure, lawyering and civil rights.

She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, reporter for the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, and a former member of the National Board of Bar Examiners Diversity Issues Committee. Among her many awards and recognitions is the 2013 Spirit of Excellence Award from the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and the New York State Bar Association 2012 Diversity Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award. Rivera has a JD from New York University School of Law and an LLM from Columbia Law School.

Arellano Becomes Dean of Academic Affairs at PCC In California, Pasadena City College (PCC) recently welcomed the new dean of academic affairs, Dr. Ofelia Arellano, who, in her new position, will participate in the curriculum development process in cooperation with the PCC Academic Senate; assess needs for new instructional programs and services; and assist in the development, implementation and evaluation of new instructional and learning assistance and student development programs. Arellano comes to PCC from Santa Barbara City College, where she served as vice president in the Continuing Education Division. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of California-Santa Barbara, where she studied counseling psy-

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Rueda Elected to National Academy of Education Robert Rueda, Stephen H. Crocker Professor in Education for the University of Southern California (USC) Rossier School of Education, was elected recently as a member of the National Academy of Education (NAEd) – the first USC professor ever to be vested by the Academy. As an honorific society, the Academy consists of up to 200 U.S. members and up to 25 international associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship or outstanding contributions to education. Rueda’s research

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interests focus on sociocultural factors in learning and motivation. He played a leadership role in the redesign of USC Rossier’s Education doctorate program, building it into a national model for practitioner-based programs, according to the Carnegie Commission on the Education Doctorate. He is also a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and the American Psychological Association.

Eastern Announces Victoria Soto Endowed Scholarship Fund Eastern Connecticut State University has announced the creation of the Victoria Leigh Soto Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund to support Eastern students studying to be teachers who have unmet financial need. On Dec. 14, 2012, alumna Victoria Leigh Soto, class of 2008, lost her life protecting the children in her first-grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., from an assailant who shot and killed 20 children and seven adults. Soto was a dean’s list student while she attended Eastern as an elementary education and history double major.

“Our faculty remembers Vicki as a joy to be with, an exemplary student who was committed to nurturing young lives,” said Eastern President Elsa Núñez. For information, visit www.easternct.edu/advancement/victoria_ soto.html.

Enfield, Connecticut

Asnuntuck Community College has the following Full-time Faculty opening:

Instructor of Mathematics Information on qualifications and compensation is available at www.asnuntuck.edu (click on Employment).

Asnuntuck Community College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F. Protected group members are strongly encouraged to apply.

Interesting Reads Slingshot: AMD’s Fight to Free an Industry from the Ruthless Grip of Intel

By Héctor Ruiz This is the inside story of the great microchip war. When Héctor Ruiz joined AMD, quickly ascending to the CEO’s suite, he took the helm of a dynamic company that was nonetheless struggling against perceptions that it could not contend with Intel, the Goliath of the microchip industry. As government investigations began to reveal the truth about Intel’s predatory business practices, Ruiz realized that AMD’s only option was to become David to Intel’s Goliath.

2013. 200 pages. ISBN 978-1608324446. $23.95 cloth. Greenleaf Book Group Press, Austin, Texas. (512) 891-6100. www.greenleafbookgroup.com.

I Speak of the City: Mexico City at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

By Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo In this multidisciplinary tour of Mexico City, Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo focuses on the period 1880 to 1940, the decisive decades that shaped the city into what it is today. From art to city planning, from epidemiology to poetry, this book challenges the conventional wisdom about both Mexico City and the turn-of-the-century world to which it belonged. The book deals with the rise of modernism and the cultural experiences of such personalities as Hart Crane, Mina Loy and Diego Rivera.

2013. 528 pages. ISBN 978-0226792712. $45.00 cloth. University Of Chicago Press, Illinois. (773) 702-7700. www.press.uchicago.edu/.

A New American Family

By Peter Likins This memoir tells the story of Peter Likins, his wife Patricia, and the six children they adopted in the 1960s, building a family beset by challenges that ultimately strengthened all bonds. With issues such as inter-racial adoption, mental illness, drug addiction, unwed pregnancy and homosexuality entwined in their lives, the Likins’ tale isn’t just a family memoir – it’s a story of the American experience, a memoir with a message.

2013. 200 pgs. ISBN 978-0816530410. $17.95 paper. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Ariz. (800) 621-2736. www.uapress.arizona.edu/.

Undocumented Latino College Students: Their Socioemotional and Academic Experiences

by William Pérez, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, Calif., and Richard Douglas Cortés, Glendale Community College, Glendale, Calif.

Published by LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, El Paso, ISBN: 978-15332-461-2, 186 pages, Hardcover list $65

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illiam Pérez is associate professor of education at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. Richard Douglas Cortés is an academic and transfer counselor at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Calif. Their latest book, Undocumented Latino College Students: Their Socioemotional and Academic Experiences, summarizes the results of a research project that examines the psychosocial, economic and institutional challenges encountered by Latinos with undocumented immigrant status who want to pursue higher education in the United States. Utilizing survey data from in-depth interviews conducted with a cross-sectional sample of male and female students and administrative staff at select community colleges around the country, the researchers highlight the social impact that these challenges have upon the academic outcomes and psychological well-being of Latino students who are undocumented. The research found that Latino students with undocumented immigrant status attending community colleges face significant social barriers to participation in on-campus programs and tend to experience higher levels of psychological stress and marginalization in comparison to the general student population at their institutions. The research also found that administrative staff and college faculty are not trained to deal with the special problems presented by the undocumented student population.

In chapter five, one of the most interesting in the book, the authors make recommendations for best practices that can be used by higher education institutions to work more effectively with undocumented students. They recommend that community colleges develop special training workshops for professors, counselors and administrators designed to prepare them to work more effectively with undocumented students who have been systematically excluded from participation in college activities because of their residency status, language and unfamiliarity with the American educational system. They also recommend that college recruiters increase their efforts to reach out to undocumented high school students who are having matriculation difficulties so that they can assist these students with application preparation and provide them with up-to-date information about scholarship opportunities and government-funded financial aid programs that can make college more affordable. Finally, they recommend that student affairs and administrative staff at community colleges take a more active role as advocates for undocumented students by building alliances with community-based organizations that support the legal rights of immigrant youth and seek to improve social conditions for these families. In the final chapter, the authors end their discussion with a review of their research results and make suggestions as to how community colleges can apply these findings to the development of programs that will serve to expand higher education opportunities for undocumented Latino students in the United States.

Reviewed by Mitchell A. Kaplan, Ph.D.

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The Best Candidate for you

KAVLI INSTITUTE FOR THEORETICAL PHYSICS Deputy Director A Deputy Director position at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics will be available as early as January 1, 2014. The Institute is supported principally by the National Science Foundation and has the responsibility of contributing to progress in all areas of theoretical Physics.

The Institute seeks a person with a proven research record and administrative capabilities.

The Deputy Directors work closely with the Director in planning the Institutes ~12 yearly research programs and play a prominent role in outreach planning, computing, and in administering the Institute. It is expected that a Deputy Director spend one half time in scientific research. This is a fixed-term appointment whose total duration is dependent on the Deputy Director’s career stage. Those who intend to return to their home institution have a 23 year duration, while those who have no return obligation can be renewed for additional terms depending on performance.

Persons interested in the position, or wishing to nominate candidates, should contact the Director, Professor Lars Bildsten, at bildsten@kitp.ucsb.edu. Application Deadline is August 15, 2013.

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The University of California, Santa Barbara, is an equal opportunity/ Affirmative Action employer.

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Help us change the world, learner by learner.

Bristol Community College, the leading resource for education and workforce development in southeastern Massachusetts, is currently seeking applications for faculty positions (15 credit hours per semester) in the following disciplines:

TENURE TRACK, INSTRUCTIONAL POSITIONS Full-Time, Fall Semester, 2013 • Assistant Professor of Nursing (Pediatric and/or Maternal Nursing) • Instructor of Art in Design/Digital Media • Instructor of Business Administration • Instructor of Criminal Justice • Instructor of Early Childhood Education • Instructor of Economics • Instructor of Electrical Engineering/Green Technology • Instructor of Hospitalist and Casino Management • Instructor in Mathematics These positions are in accordance with the MCCC/MTA collective bargaining agreement.

Screening will begin with applications received by June 7, 2013 and will continue until the positions are filled.

In addition, we have an administrative opportunity for the following: (Search Extended)

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Screening will begin with applications received by May 24, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.

All positions require a Master’s degree in a related field.

To apply and/or view specific application requirements for each position, visit www.bristolcc.edu/jobs and follow the applicant instructions. Only online applications will be considered.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER We encourage minorities and women to apply.

Bristol Community College changes the world by changing lives, learner by learner.

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Advertising

Florida Seeks STEM/Health Experts The State University System of Florida is a national leader in the delivery of STEM degree programs, and its strategic plan calls for doubling the number of STEM graduates by 2025. The Chancellor is seeking two senior leaders to guide the creation of the system’s firstever STEM and health strategic plan.

Special Advisor for STEM and Health Initiatives (One-year contract appointment; location negotiable) The Special Advisor will collaborate with academic leadership at the system’s 12 member institutions to oversee the development of a strategic plan for STEM and health programs. The plan will contemplate issues such as program development, enrollment projections, accrediting issues, communications initiatives, and systemwide and institutional goals that help ensure a positive return-oninvestment for the State of Florida. The ideal candidate would be a seasoned leader (former provost, dean, etc.) from an institution with health and STEM programs and will have an earned doctorate and proven track record of experience in leading complex and highly coordinated strategic planning efforts. The Chancellor is looking for an individual who can easily move between “thinking and doing” balancing an ability to offer advice while contributing to critical deliverables. The ideal candidate will be a master of collaboration and possess exceptional communication and interpersonal skills. The chosen candidate will be invited to negotiate regarding terms of employment such as length of contract (12 months maximum), working hours, base of location, compensation, etc.

Director of STEM and Health Initiatives (Permanent full-time position in Tallahassee, Fla.) The Director will work closely with the Special Advisor for STEM and Health Initiatives (see description above) in the development of a strategic plan for STEM and health programs. The ideal candidate will have an earned doctorate and a proven track record of experience in strategic planning efforts, preferably in an academic setting. As a primary writer and editor of the plan, the ideal candidate will possess exceptional organizational and communication skills. The Chancellor welcomes applications from a diverse range of individuals with backgrounds in any STEM or health field.

Email a cover letter and CV to vacancies@flbog.edu or fax to 850.245.9981.

Candidates are subject to pre-employment background screening.

The State University System of Florida serves more than 330,000 students in 12 institutions ranging from a nationally-ranked liberal arts college to top-ranked comprehensive research universities. The Board of Governors is the constitutionally created body that oversees the system and appoints a Chancellor who serves as the chief executive officer.

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P.O. Box 68 Paramus, NJ 07652-0068 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

P ri min g the Pump. ..

PUBLIC SPEAKING

S

Miquela Rivera, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with years of clinical, early childhood and consultative experience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

ome people please us when they stand up and speak; others, when they sit down. Effective public speakers set themselves apart from the crowd, and public speaking skills distinguish Latino students preparing for higher education.

For many Hispanic students, high school speech class is too late to build the attitude and skills necessary for effective public speaking.

Beginning with the early elementary school years, Hispanic students can learn that public speaking is an essential skill based on organized thoughts that engage the audience and serve a specific purpose. Calling upon students to share ideas with classmates or read aloud are two typical ways teachers prime the public speaking pump early. Beyond third grade, more formal public speaking can be required and comfortably completed if students are taught how to do so. Specific know-how can help the young Latino avoid the fear and dread that so often plague others who have no clue where to begin. Preparation, practice and coaching are keys to moving a shy Latino student from anxiety to confidence.

The four-point IRAC method to public speaking – Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion – is useful for students from fourth grade up. First, having the student select a topic or issue of concern or interest hooks him into the assignment. He can then convey a more impassioned, convincing message.

For example, a student who proclaims that “public speaking terrifies me” is clear on the issue because it is his. (Assigned topics are sometimes difficult for students to embrace and can be introduced later, once the student is confident in the process from beginning to end.) After stating the topic or issue, the rule is stated. (“Most people become afraid of public speaking at one time or another, but that fear can be overcome.” The analysis section of the speech details why/when the speaker or the audience should take steps that are being suggested to resolve the problem. (“Follow this format for developing a speech, and practice once a day in front of others.”) The conclusion draws all the points together and reiterates the importance of the topic, the key challenges, best solutions and benefits derived from implementing those steps.

Beyond preparing the text itself, Latino youth can practice other ways of limiting stage fright or calming the jitters. Relaxation techniques using

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deep breathing and visualization help the student control breathing, slow down heart rate and focus.

Learning to find a few friendly faces in the crowd and addressing one at a time can turn a scary audience into a seemingly smaller, less-threatening group. Practice – though often viewed as tedious – increases the Latino student’s mastery of the material, helps the student keep the speech within the prescribed time limits and provides the chance to enhance the speech by practicing emphases, inflections and gestures.

The ethics and guidelines of effective public speaking are essential, too. Coaching on preparing adequately, dressing appropriately, understanding the subject material, knowing the audience, expressing gratitude, maintaining eye contact, having proper posture, avoiding slang or obscenities, minimizing nervous habits, observing time limits, and using words intentionally can take a public speaker from awkward to confident and effective. Perhaps equally helpful in public speaking – and beyond – is being prepared for anything and thinking on your feet. Whether it is a power failure, a rowdy crowd, a sudden change in available time or unexpected questions from the audience, a young Latino can learn to handle various circumstances successfully to deliver his message anyway.

If teachers put into place speaking requirements in all classes and provide the necessary coaching, the skills are built across time and not isolated to just one class that only some will take late in high school.

The attributes, techniques, ethics, guidelines and lessons learned through public speaking can be generalized by Latino students making their way to and through higher education. Being prepared, mastering material, using intentional language, presenting oneself confidently and connecting with others – familiar or not – can carry Latino students through the classroom or campus and through various situations.

Opportunities will more likely be offered to Hispanic youth who practice the lessons of public speaking overall because they present themselves well and will catch the attention of adults who might be willing to take a chance on them. That impact on Latino youth stretches far beyond the podium.