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Life Lessons From Latino College Presidents

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César Chávez, The Image or The Myth?

ical Beat

by Carlos D. Conde

Was

the MexicanAmerican farmworkers leader César Chávez an authentic hero for all Latinos or did he dedicate himself solely to a relatively small group of ethnic farmworkers concentrated in a small section of California and to a cause that initially found good fortune but eventually unraveled and became a figment of its true self and mission?

Chávez died in 1993 at age 87 and left a legacy that now sits in judgment by history but continues to flourish for better or for worse.

Even though maybe around 10 percent or less know intimately of him, his works, his achievements and his foibles, César Chávez nevertheless became in popular lore a paladin of the American Latino with an image that extends beyond his ethnic credentials.

He could do no wrong but in some aspects he did, as historians are beginning to reveal.

He’s the founder and leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union whose rallying cry was “Si Se Puede”, (Yes, We Can) and no social

movement since by Latinos has been able to duplicate it or even come close.

Only Martin Luther King’s Jr’s civil rights movement, “We Shall Overcome” was bigger but Chávez’s wasn’t as much about social equality as it was about economic parity and fairness for MexicanAmerican farmworkers, primarily grape pickers.

Chávez as a historical reference is unequivocally the all-American icon celebrated in word, song and monuments, boulevards, and babies; the hero of all heroes for Latinos, mostly MexicanAmericans.

If you note his awards and recognition and adoration, some would say he’s bigger than the pope but to Chávez, a very religious man who relied on the Virgin de Guadalupe, that would be sacrilegious.

Chávez with true grit exposed the indignities and the suppression toward Mexican-American farm workers in the late ’50s and early ’60s by the California grape growers.

The grape growers grudgingly listened, resisted initially and then capitulated amidst the crusade that the iconic former agricultural worker and his forces launched.

The popular image is of a stubby, sunbaked MexicanAmerican –the genus, Latino, was not in vogue in American parlance in the ’60s – marching with a group of bedraggled farmworker Chicanos to the California

state capitol, Sacramento, to plea for fair wages and better working conditions.

César Chávez’s march was instrumental in focusing the social and economic injustices that had long afflicted this minority group and was exemplified in the grapepickers movement.

Chávez was a neophyte in this type of activity but with good timing, he got the help of Chicago labor organizer Saul Alinsky, who through his California connections, was looking for a Latino leader with a good labor issue.

Chávez and the Latino grape pickers versus the Anglo grape growers was the perfect storm.

The cause received national attention when Chávez went on 25-day fast in the Mahatma Gandhi tradition.

Robert and Ethel Kennedy came to see him along with a throng of self-aggrandizing Washington politicians.

There’s a lot more to the César Chávez lore, however, that exposes some kinks in the armor.

Journalist Miriam Pawel has written two definitive books on Chávez’s social activism and his persona that changed in his last years and affected his earlier pursuits.

The first, The Union Of Their Dreams, is about eight of Chávez’s original team recounting those heady early days when everything went right to the later years when Chávez and the UFW began to take a different tack from its original course.

Chávez was about organiz-

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ing, not about management, and in certain areas he was inflexible and unique. He didn’t like bureaucracy including his own or the middle class.

As some good leaders do, he would make a pact with the devil if it helped the cause, like snitching on illegal migrants – mostly Mexicans – to enforcement officers.

With Chávez gone and the march of time, the UFW has become almost irrelevant going from a high of once over 80,000 members to about 15,000 today.

Pawel’s second book, recently released, was nineyear effort that portrays a man “monumentally inspiring and deeply flawed, the most significant Latino leader in U.S. history. Yet his life has been told only in hagiography until now.”

She called Chávez “a heroic figure, but heroes have flaws, they’re not perfect human beings.”

A movie, “César Chávez, an American Hero,” is now in theaters. President Obama hosted a screening in the White House, calling Chávez one of his heroes who inspired him, but didn’t stay around for the viewing, saying he’d see it later.

Carlos D. Conde, awardwinning 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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MAGAZINE® MAY 19, 2014

CONTENTS

Re-thinking the Admission Process

by Frank DiMaria

Mobilizing the College Experience at Del Mar College by Michael Bratten

Page 8

8 10

Life Lessons Recounted in Groundbreaking 12 Book on Latino College Presidents by Michelle Adam CSAs for Low-Income Families JumpStart Savings for College by Jamaal Abdul-Alim

14

Puente Program Helps Community College 16 Students Transfer to UC Riverside by Gary M. Stern

Page 14

18 The Economic Story of Higher Education: Stratification and Inequities by Angela Provitera McGlynn

You can download the HO app

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Published by “The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Publishing Company, Inc.”

Executive Editor – Marilyn Gilroy

Managing Editor – Suzanne López-Isa News & Special Project Editor – Mary Ann Cooper

Administrative Assistant & Subscription Coordinator – Barbara Churchill

Washington DC Bureau Chief – Peggy Sands Orchowski

Contributing Editors –

Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Contributing Writers –

Gustavo A. Mellander

Art & Production Director –

DEPARTMENTS Political Beat

Avedis Derbalian

3

by Carlos D. Conde

César Chávez, The Image or The Myth?

Interesting Reads

7

Book Review

7

by Mary Ann Cooper

Dominican Baseball: New Pride, Old Prejudice

Targeting Higher Education Implementing Common Core State Standards

Priming the Pump...

Calling All Role Models

20

by Gustavo A. Mellander

by Miquela Rivera

Back Cover

Graphic Designer – Joanne Aluotto

Sr. Advertising Sales Associate – Angel M. Rodríguez

Article Contributors

Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Michael Bratten, Frank DiMaria, Angela Provitera McGlynn, Miquela Rivera, Gary M. Stern

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The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national magazine. Dedicated to exploring issues related to Hispanics in higher education,The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is published for the members of the higher education community. Editorial decisions are based on the editors’ judgment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the article, and the potential interest to the readers of The Hispanic Outlook Magazine®. From time to time, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® will publish articles dealing with controversial issues. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and/or those interviewed and might not reflect the official policy of the magazine. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® neither agrees nor disagrees with those ideas expressed, and no endorsement of those views should be inferred unless specifically identified as officially endorsed by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine®.

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Esquina E ditorial

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here comes a time when it seems best to take a step back and re-examine everything that has been dubbed “conventional wisdom.” The College Board’s decision to make major changes to the SAT makes it clear that higher education and education, in general, is in the process of self-examination this year. As we report in this issue of HO, GPA, standardized tests and essays do not successfully measure the true talent of a college applicant. Hopefully these changes will level the playing field for minority and financially disadvantaged students who can’t afford the tutoring and prep courses that can improve test scores and access to higher education. Elsewhere in this issue we talk about other major change in the form of the Common Core standards being implemented over the next three years in states approving their adoption. Of course some change can only come from within – spurred by a healthy dose of inspiration. For that inspiration we also feature a story about Latino College Presidents: In Their Own Words, by Rubén Martínez, director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University, in collaboration with David León, which shares the stories of Latino leaders by recounting the pathways Latino college presidents have taken to reach the top level in higher education administration.

As we report, Latino leaders are here to give back to their community and to higher education at large, and this book could be an important tool to motivate new generations of leaders to do the same. Time will tell. ¡Adelante!

Suzanne López-Isa Managing Editor

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Interesting Reads

Cuban Americans and the Miami Media

by Christine Lohmeier After establishing the significance of Miami as a locale to receive a high number of migrants after the Cuban revolution in 1959, what follows is the evolution of Cuban-Americans as an exile community in Miami and how media institutions have covered this new community. The author shows how media driven memories of pre-revolutionary Cuba have been kept alive in Miami and over time became more inclusive through the use of new media technologies.

2014. 212 pp. ISBN: 978-0786468942. $40.00 paper.

McFarland Publishing, Jefferson, N.C., (336) 246-4460 www.mcfarlandbooks.com Schooling for Resilience: Improving the Life Trajectory of Black and Latino Boys

by Edward Fergus, Pedro Noguera, and Margary Martin Schooling for Resilience investigates how seven newly formed schools, created specifically to serve boys of color, set out to address the broad array of academic and social problems faced by black and Latino boys. Drawing on student and teacher surveys, focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations, the authors investigate how these schools were developed, what practices they employed, and how their students responded academically and socially.

2014. 296 pp. ISBN: 978-1612506746. $29.95 paper.

Harvard Education Press. Cambridge, Mass., (800) 4051619. www.hup.harvard.edu Wicked Women of New Mexico

by Donna Blake Birchell The New Mexico Territory attracted outlaws and desperados as its remote locations guaranteed non-detection while providing opportunists the perfect setting in which to seize wealth. Many wicked women on the run from their pasts headed there seeking new starts before and after 1912 statehood. This book follows the tales of these wild women in a collection that proves crime in early New Mexico wasn’t only a boys’ game.

2014. 128 pp. ISBN: 978-1626191280. $16.99. paper.

The History Press. Charleston, S.C., (843) 577-5971 https://historypress.net

Dominican Baseball: New Pride, Old Prejudice

It’s

by Alan Klein

2014. 200 pp. ISBN: 978-1439910887. $24.95 paper. Temple University Press. Philadelphia, Pa. 19122. (800) 621-2736. www.temple.edu.

hard to believe that professional baseball did not have any players of color until Jackie Robinson was plucked from the Negro Leagues to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Since that groundbreaking development, baseball has become fully integrated with black, Hispanic and Asian ballplayers and coaches. In 2013 New York Yankee and Panamanian Mariano Rivera’s retirement from baseball after an extraordinary career as the arguably greatest closer of all time, called attention to how Latino players have changed the face of baseball.

His biography includes stories of growing up poor, fashioning a baseball mitt out of a milk carton. His story is a testament to how young men in Mexico, Cuba, Latin America and South America have embraced America’s favorite pastime and are sought after by stateside talent scouts.

By far, one of the richest sources of talented players has come from the Dominican Republic including Pedro Martínez, Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramírez. By 2000, Dominican baseball players were in every major league clubhouse, and regularly winning every baseball award. In 2002, Omar Minaya became the first Dominican general manager of a major league team. What sets the Dominican Republic apart from other Latin nations, and how did this codependent relationship between MLB and Dominican talent arise and thrive?

This is the basis of Alan Klein’s Dominican Baseball. Klein examines the history of MLB's presence and influence in the Dominican Republic, the development of the booming industry and academies, and the dependence on Dominican player developers, known as buscones. But this is not a story told through rose-colored glasses.

Klein also addresses issues of identity fraud and the use of performance-enhancing drugs as hopefuls seek to play professionally. To be fair, drug abuse is not confined to Hispanic players, but identity fraud is. There is more than anecdotal evidence that some players have resorted to falsifying birth records to conceal their age and true identity in order to get into the “bigs.” What was once a fertile and unspoiled scouting location for new talent has become big business with all the positive and negative baggage that comes with it.

Dominican Baseball charts the trajectory of the economic flows of this transnational exchange and the pride Dominicans feel in their growing influence in the sport. Klein also uncovers the prejudice that prompts major league baseball to diminish Dominican claims on legitimacy. This sharp, smartly argued book deftly chronicles the uneasy and often contested relations of the contemporary Dominican game and industry.

The author, Alan Klein, is a professor of sociology-anthropology at Northeastern University and has written previous books on baseball. He is also the author of Sugarball: The American Game, the Dominican Dream; Growing the Game: The Globalization of Major League Baseball; and Baseball on the Border: A Tale of Two Laredos.

Reviewed by Mary Ann Cooper

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ADMISSIONS

Re-thinking the

For

by Frank DiMaria

generations the admission process has been one part art and one part science, as schools search for the perfect blend of assessments needed to identify the most talented and inspired students. GPA, SAT, ACT, and the college essay have long been at the core of the admissions process.

Robert Sternberg, former president of the University of Wyoming and former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts, has a lifetime of research that shows GPA, standardized tests and essays do not successfully measure the true talent of a college applicant. From his years of research Sternberg developed a theory that he has put to work in the admissions process.

“We have developed measures of creative, practical, wise, and ethical thinking. Some of the measures are described in my book, College Admissions for the 21st Century. The solution to the problem, I believe, is to use tests that measure more than just memory and analytical skills – that go beyond the very narrow definition of intelligence and scholastic aptitude that has prevailed in our society,” says Sternberg, who earned his PhD at Stanford University.

While performing research as a psychology professor at Yale, Sternberg focused on measuring intelligence and creativity and tried to demonstrate just how socialization steers the way kids develop. His research proved very important to those students on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder.

Kids who grow up in adverse financial circumstances learn to adapt with practical survival skills, while more affluent kids often are asked to focus on analytical and memory skills.

Since the traditional college application process largely tests analytical skills, it gives students who developed in an environment that valued those qualities an advantage. Such a system doesn’t allow colleges to admit the most creative and adaptable student populations, according to Sternberg’s research.

“If a child grows up speaking English as a second language, or grows up in poverty, or comes from a troubled family, his or her opportunities just are not the same as those of a child who grows up in an upper middle class, placid environment. Test scores have to be interpreted in light of background context,” says Sternberg.

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As dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts, Sternberg helped the school pilot a new admissions policy based on testing students for their creative and practical skills as well as their analytical skills. Admissions officers at Tufts found that his method helped them do a much better job of predicting student success. “It's been very effective in increasing numbers of underrepresented minority applicants who are successful in the admissions process. It enables students who have important skills that happen not to be measured by the SAT or ACT to show that they are capable of doing strong college work,” says Sternberg.

Sternberg named his policy Kaleidoscope. The basis for this innovative policy was his model of intelligence, WICS (wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized) and his Triarchic Theory. The idea was to measure predicted first-year academic success, over and above SATs and high school GPAs, as well as predicting first-year extracurricular activities, leadership and active citizenship. Every year that Kaleidoscope measures were used in the admissions process, the entering class’s average SATs and high school GPAs went up.

Kaleidoscope uses open-ended questions and provides admissions officials with the means to score the answers while allowing both applicants and admissions officers the opportunity to evaluate students beyond standardized tests.

These open-ended questions are based on a theory of leadership. Positive leaders, according to Sternberg, require a synthesis of: (a) creative skills and attitudes in order to generate new ideas; (b) analytical skills and attitudes in order to ensure that the ideas are good ones; (c) practical skills and attitudes to implement their ideas and to persuade others of the value of these ideas; and (d) wisdom-based skills and attitudes to ensure that the ideas help to achieve a common good, over the long and short terms, through the infusion of positive ethical values. The questions in Kaleidoscope are designed to measure these creative, analytical, practical, and wisdombased skills and attitudes. The WICS theory is an extension of Sternberg’s theory of successful intelligence, which he spent several years validating in empirical research.

To allow students to demonstrate their creativity during the admissions process, they might be asked to write a story with

a title such as "The End of MTV." Or they might be asked to draw an advertisement for a new product or service. They might also be asked to submit a creative video via YouTube or to describe a United States in which Rosa Parks had never given up her seat on the bus on that fateful day.

To show their analytical skills, applicants are asked to state their favorite book and to defend their reasons for this choice.

“We measure practical skills by questions asking, say, how the applicant persuaded a friend of something the friend did not initially believe. We measure wisdom-based skills by questions such as how, in the future, the applicant will take a passion he or she has and use it to make the world a better place,” says Sternberg.

Although responses to the questions are rated holistically, they are based on rubrics. Sternberg and Tufts’ admissions officers trained the test’s raters to use specific criteria when they assessed the applicants’ responses. For example, they assessed creative strength in terms of novelty, quality and task appropriateness. They assessed analytical strength in terms of organization, quality of analysis, logic and balance.

Sternberg and the admissions team performed statistical validation on the predictive validity of the evaluations of the responses for predetermining success in college. In this way, they were able to assess which questions worked well and which did not. Sternberg says that Kaleidoscope ratings of creative, analytical, practical, and wisdom-based skills are based on the whole application, not just on essays, drawings and other products that they placed on the application.

When it implemented Kaleidoscope, Tufts had to hire a few more admissions officers and retrain the existing ones, and gradually the student population began to change. But the benefits were certainly much greater than the costs. Sternberg believes admissions should be based on the mission of a college or university. Kaleidoscope changed the pool of students Tufts accepted and how he and the admissions thought about what it means to have a talented student.

Sternberg is currently at Cornell University where he recently was appointed professor of human development at the College of Human Ecology. His Kaleidoscope procedures are used at Oklahoma State (where he was provost) and at Tufts, where they have proven very successful in increasing numbers of underrepresented minority applicants who might not otherwise have had the chance to attend a university.

Although Sternberg has made significant strides in convincing some admissions officers that standardized tests come up short in fully assessing an applicant’s talent, he knows the old guard in higher education will never give up on them. These tests, he says, are the tools they themselves used to get where they are today. “They can't imagine people could be successful through other abilities,” he says. “People who are strong in multiple-choice tests are not necessarily those who most welcome creativity and innovations.”

As America’s colleges and universities search for the most effective admissions policy to identify talented and inspired students, Sternberg is steadfast in his belief that there is no

“It's been very effective in

increasing numbers of underrepresented minority applicants who are successful in the admissions process.”

Dr. Robert Sternberg, professor of human development, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University perfect admissions process. “But a good process will look at all kinds of strengths – musical, artistic, scientific, athletic, journalistic, business – all of the different ways in which students can excel,” he says.

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TECHNOLOGY

Mobilizing the College Exp

by Michael Bratten, Del Mar College

With the implementation of a new Wi-Fi network emanating from traffic intersections, Del Mar College students like Cecily Ensley can access Viking Net on any mobile device anywhere in Corpus Christi.

The

technological tide is turning at Del Mar College, and advancements in the last year amount to a full-blown sea change. The objective: Give today’s tech-savvy students what they need when they need it – and make it available on whatever electronic device they may be using.

A slew of new, interactive projects, some completed and others in the pipeline, are making the college experience easier and more accessible than it’s ever been for students and prospective students.

“We’ve never had this many projects launched in one calendar year,” said August Alfonso, chief information officer at the college. “Collectively, we’re defining the prominence of technology at Del Mar College.”

After all, 60 percent of Internet activity is wireless and increasing, Alfonso said.

A major change The college took the first step toward this technological

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revolution a year and a half ago by directing the information technology department to put college resources at students’ fingertips.

“They asked us to maximize high-tech and high-touch, with the No. 1 goal being access to Del Mar College,” Alfonso said.

“We know students have the devices. We want to allow them to use our resources. This is a major change.”

Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, is the infrastructure behind the change. It isn’t so much a technology as it is a guiding principle aimed at making academic activities possible on any device 24/7. Any student with a browser, whether on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, has access to the college.

BYOD’s inception paved the way for a succession of forward-thinking projects. Viking Net, a Wi-Fi network designed specifically for students, enables them to surf the Internet, check email and do anything else online with their own device. (The Viking is the Del Mar College mascot.) Where the student goes, access follows.

“I use it for entertainment and to do research for my classes,” said Hilliary Herrera, 20, a nursing education major, as she browsed Viking Net on her tablet. “It’s very useful when I can’t get to a computer.”

Self-service Academic activity and mobile technology merged in August 2013 with the adoption of the Canvas learning management system, which allows interaction in a user-friendly, online environment with a social media feel. Users can download the mobile app, and students can submit assignments and communicate with their classmates and instructors. Alfonso calls it mobile learning.

“It’s self-service,” he said. “Students can practically complete a course with this.”

Daisy Garnica, 19, a chemical engineering major, especially likes Canvas’s calendar feature because it helps her stay on track with her class assignments.

“When you work and go to school like I do, your time is limited,” she said. “It’s good to have that visual.”

Because Canvas is hosted in the cloud, there are no servers to buy and maintain. And there’s no possibility of interruptions in network connections that could halt coursework. That’s a significant advantage in the subtropical Texas Coastal Bend, where the threat of a hurricane can lead to shutdowns and

perience at evacuations six months out of the year.

Answering the call Recently, the college upgraded its telephone system to better manage calls from people asking general questions, which increase exponentially at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Dedicating additional staff to answer the calls wasn’t feasible. The dilemma turned into an opportunity, and once again, interactive technology was the solution. Using their own device, students can now just use Ask the Viking.

Accessible via a button on the college’s home page (www.delmar.edu), Ask the Viking goes beyond the standard Frequently Asked Questions feature. It is regularly updated according to users’ questions. More than 90,000 inquiries have been answered since its launch in August 2013.

“It’s a great tool for answering preliminary questions,” said Gracie Martínez, student enrollment center coordinator. “The calls that come in now are much more manageable. They’re specific questions from students who genuinely need additional assistance.”

The top three questions from Ask the Viking users are: • • •

How do I get a campus map?

How do I apply for admission?

How much does tuition cost?

The questions are valuable to the college because they reveal interest by prospective students, Alfonso said.

Best service possible Attracting students is part of the strategy behind the new technologies. Enhancing the college experience is another part.

“We have to be efficient but also offer the best service possible so that students have a positive experience,” Alfonso said. “That’s key to being a technology powerhouse.”

The college has invested about $184,000 in Viking Net, Canvas and Ask the Viking, Alfonso said. More projects are in the works, such as a scholarship app. The college’s web server, located 140 miles away in San Antonio, will soon be migrated to the cloud. Eventually, students will be able to

apply, register and pay for classes on their mobile device, Alfonso said.

But the most far-reaching project is the 78415 initiative. Set for a soft launch this summer, it will make Wi-Fi service available in the ZIP code with the highest number of the college’s students – essentially expanding BYOD and Viking Net. There are 1,318 students from the ZIP code enrolled at the college for the spring 2014 semester.

Strong support College President Dr. Mark Escamilla strongly supports the project because 78415 is an underserved community where economically disadvantaged students don’t take online access for granted. The infrastructure for wireless connectivity already exists through a network that emanates from City of Corpus Christi facilities, light poles and intersections with traffic lights. The city, seeking ways to upgrade the network for residential and municipal use alike, is enthusiastic about partnering with the college.

“We have a mission to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Corpus Christi and this fits directly into that,” said David Treviño, the city’s information technology program coordinator and network manager. “It’s going to benefit all residents of the ZIP code. The applications that can use public Wi-Fi are practically unlimited.”

Once 78415 is launched, the college hopes to grow the project to all the communities it serves. Alfonso expects the cost to decrease proportionately with the number of students in other ZIP codes.

The college’s technological advances wouldn’t be possible without progressive thinking by its president, executive team and other stakeholders, Alfonso said. Like him, they see the writing on the wall.

“Mobile learning is upon us,” he said. “Our students are dictating this. The institutions that provide mobile access will be the successful ones.”

“The technical environment at Del Mar College is ready.

This is the right place and the right time.”

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Life Lessons Recounted in Groundbreaking Book on Latino College Presidents PROFILES

R

by Michelle Adam

ubén Martínez will never forget the impact the first Chicano leader of a U.S. research institution had on him. He recalled how Tomás Rivera, former chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, approached him and his friends as they sat outside the student center drinking coffee as graduate students there in 1979. While other administrators passed them by without saying a word, Rivera took notice of them, and showed interest in their academic life.

“He recognized us as students, addressed us in our own language, and pointed us to the significance of our educational experience,” said Martínez. “That experience has been a part of my professional career from the very beginning.”

Today, as director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University, Martínez, in collaboration with David León, has published a book that, for the first time, shares the stories of Latino leaders like Tomás Rivera in higher education. Their coedited book, Latino College Presidents: In Their Own Words, recounts the pathways Latino college presidents have taken to reach their level in higher education.

As part of a “Diversity in Education” series, this volume focuses on three themes: how college presidents survived the educational pipeline, and the impact of their families in achieving this; how they moved up the faculty/administration ladder, what experiences made this possible; the advice they’d give others; and what projects, programs, and initiatives they have created and implemented as presidents that reflect their experiences.

Published this past March, this oneof-a-kind book provides readers some-

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thing unique – a glimpse into the lives of Latino college presidents through their own words and writings. The 11 presidents invited to share their stories represent different types of institutions – community colleges, four-year institu-

David León, co-editor of Latino College Presidents: In Their Own Words

tions, and research universities –and a variety in geographic location, gender, and subgroups of Latinos. Unfortunately, Latino leaders at Ivy Leagues or private higher education institutions were not included, since none seemed to exist at this time.

Among those included in this volume were: Erlinda J. Martínez, president of Santa Ana College in California; Herlinda Martínez Glasscock, president of North Lake College in Texas; Leslie Anne Navarro, president of Morton College in Illinois; Monte E. Pérez, president of

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Riverside Community College in California; Rodolfo Arévalo, president of Eastern Washington University in Washington; Ricardo R. Fernández, president of Lehman College of The City University of New York; William V. Flores, president of the University of Houston; Mildred García, president of California State University at Fullerton; Alexander González, president of California State University at Sacramento; Ricardo Romo, president of University of Texas at San Antonio; and Francisco G. Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas system.

These individuals were chosen among approximately 175 Latino heads of institutions affiliated with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and from those known to the volume editors. They represent 3.8 percent of Latino leaders from an estimated total of 5,000 leaders of institutions in higher education. They also were selected from a group of leaders that tend to be concentrated in two-year institutions, especially in the Southwestern states, and exist in low numbers at four-year regional institutions, and even more so at doctorate-granting schools. And while books have been written about heads of institutions of higher education, scholarship on Latino leaders is almost non-existent.

“This is the first book written by our Latino presidents. This is the first book that captures the experience of Latino presidents in their own words. As Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr. (of the Hispanic Research Center at Arizona State University) said, ‘es único,’” said Martínez. “We have not been proactive over the years in capturing the intellectual biographies of the members of our

intelligencia. And now with this, we have a lot of community magazines calling us.”

When Martínez thinks back to powerful influence that Rivera had as a Latino leader in his life, he recognizes that it’s high time a book exists that documents the lives of powerful Latino leaders in higher education. “We have to open up the doors of higher education so that Latinos can improve as intellectuals and be able to lead institutions in a way that will benefit different populations of this country,” he said. “Since there has been a very limited amount of preparation in terms of one generation following the next as leaders, we thought it would be important to capture the experience of these leaders, share how they navigated these systems, and let them give advice as leaders of institutions.”

Each of the 11 stories in this volume is unique, yet all college leaders shared the importance of their families in helping them get through the hard times, and in emphasizing learning and educational achievement. “Some had greater challenges than others but all of them demonstrated perseverance and the determination to overcome challenges.

Some may have been told that they were not college material, but this made them more determined to succeed. Others experienced a lack of a welcoming environment in their respective units, but they were able to overcome that and succeed,” said Martínez. “They all pointed back to their families, though, and the importance of their families helping them in terms of values and navigating the periods of hardships.”

In terms of how each of these heads of institutions rose to positions of leadership, many seemed to be prepared to lead at the opportune time that a particular role at an institution needed to be filled, and someone believed in them.

Important qualities that helped them succeed were those of being a good listener, and being seen as fair and able to represent different groups. Knowing themselves and achieving a doctorate also helped in their upward mobility.

Having overcome hurdles in institutions where Latinos and underrepresented groups are often held to higher stan-

dards seems to have prepared these leaders to run institutions with a unique approach. “Their perspective is one in

which they understand that all people have potential and can learn. They don’t entertain the view that we find so common in institutions, like that of Latinos or women not being able to do math,” said Martínez. “By virtue of being members of an ethnic minority they recognize that we are all part of the human race and bring our talents to the human potential. These leaders want to create learning environments where all can thrive.”

While this 277-page volume carries unique stories –from that of one presi-

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dent who was a farmworker and experienced the challenges of an inconsistent migrant education to the son of a physician who grew up with college as an expectation – each account provides a younger generation with hope in their own future possibilities, and shows how these institutional heads all value education and want to create environments in which students can learn and succeed.

“I hope young people will understand that our leaders understand repression, and that they have had to navigate waters can restrain them, yet they are still trying to create a better society through the institutions they are running,” said Martínez. “These leaders have been willing to persevere and overcome challenges in order to improve institutions for the benefit of all.”

As those who have shared their stories in Latino College Presidents have demonstrated, Latino leaders are here to give back to their community and to higher education at large, and this book provides another step in inspiring new generations of leaders to do the same.

Already, Martínez and León have given discourses on this book at universities and community organizations throughout the country, and colleagues plan to use this work in their classrooms.

“It’s time for this. We now have a generation of Latino leaders who have stories to tell and there are younger emergent leaders who can benefit from their experiences,” Martínez concluded.

“This book accomplishes this.”

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CSAs for Low-Income FINANCE

Families Jump-Start Savings for College

H

by Jamaal Abdul-Alim

igher education could become more attainable for lowincome families in Albuquerque, N.M., thanks to a new initiative that is part of a national trend of programs designed to help the families put away money for college.

Through a pilot phase of the initiative, about 220 children in zip code 87105 – one of the poorest areas in Albuquerque – will be given an initial $150 to $200 for Children’s Savings Accounts, or CSAs. Up to $200 will be matched annually until the children reach college age, and caretakers and students may also be able to earn $100 per year in incentive payments for meeting certain goals, such as good school attendance, according to a description of the program provided by Prosperity Works, an asset-building organization that is overseeing the program.

If all goes as planned, the children of participating families will have between $6,000 and $10,000 saved for college by the time they graduate from high school, program officials say.

“We believe this initial investment could help families thinking about putting a little bit, whatever we can afford, to start planning for our children’s education,” said Adrián Pedroza, executive director at the Partnership for Community Action, one of several agencies that are helping Prosperity Works implement the program, known as Collective Impact.

Collective Impact is part of a growing national trend of programs designed to provide families of lesser economic means with a mechanism to help finance their children’s higher education.

For instance, the San Francisco mayor’s office runs the Kindergarten to College Program, which makes college savings accounts seeded with $50 available to every kindergartner in the San Francisco school district. And in recent years, Congress has considered the America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education Act, or the ASPIRE Act, which would essentially make CSAs universal for every newborn in the United States.

Some experts say CSAs will help low-income families realize their higher education dreams – and that the reasons transcend the amount of financial resources at a family’s disposal.

“I think it goes beyond the money,” said Deborah A. Santiago, chief operating officer and director of research at Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based research 14

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and policy organization that seeks to make college more accessible to Latino students.

“The ability to have college savings is good, but it’s what it signifies for the family – that college is a possibility and that they have a role to play in supporting it,” Santiago said of CSAs. “And I think if they’re investing, even if it’s small amounts of money, it permeates what they need to do to support it so that early investment does send a monetary but powerful message that they will support their child going to college.

“The earlier it starts the more powerful it is,” she said.

Benjamin H. Harris, policy director, The Hamilton Project, a Brookings Institution initiative that seeks evidence based approaches to public investments, said while CSAs sound good in theory, there is little evidence that CSAs make a difference.

“You look at the research and what tends to happen is if you offer someone an account and offer someone free money, they tend to take it but they don’t end up taking advantage of the match,” Harris said, explaining that CSAs don’t really encourage families to save more for college.

As an example, he cited a recent Journal of Policy Analysis and Management paper titled “Do Child Development Accounts Promote Account Holding, Saving, and Asset Accumulation for Children’s Future? Evidence from a Statewide Randomized Experiment.” That study found that the difference between families that were offered a $1,000 college savings account and those who were not was $1,040 – suggesting that families had only put away an extra $40 as a result of the accounts.

“Are they a good way to save more money? Probably not,” Harris said. “Do they change children’s perspective? The evidence isn’t great but we need more study.”

Although CSAs get mixed reviews, Pedroza said the college savings initiative is crucial for Hispanic families. He cited a survey from the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center that shows 89 percent of Hispanics say college is important to success in life but that only 48 percent say they actually plan to get a college degree. CSAs, he said, could help bridge the gap.

However, the same survey raises questions about how far CSAs will go in encouraging and enabling more Hispanic stu-

dents to enroll in college.

For instance, The Pew Hispanic Center survey found the primary reason for the gap between the high value Hispanics place on education versus their plans to actually finish college appears to emanate from “financial pressure to support a family.”

“Nearly three-quarters of all 16- to 25-year-old survey respondents who cut their education short during or right after high school say they did so because they had to support their family,” the Pew Hispanic Center states.

CSAs could help reverse the trend, said William Elliott III, a social welfare professor and the co-author of “Building Expectations, Delivering Results: Asset-Based Financial Aid and the Future of Higher Education.”

The report found, among other things, that a low- to moderate-income or black child who has school savings of $1 to $499 before reaching the age of college enrollment is about three times more likely to enroll in college than a black child with no savings account.

Elliott said while research specific to Hispanic and Latino students is “underdeveloped,” he saw no reason to suspect that things would be different for Hispanic children inasmuch as they are also low-income.

“There seems to be reason to suggest that if Hispanic students are part of a CSA programs they would experience higher expectations for college, their parents would also have higher expectations, and that they will be more likely to attend and complete college than their counterparts without savings,” Elliott said.

Beyond questions about the effectiveness of CSAs, there are also practical questions associated with their usefulness.

For instance, do CSAs have a negative impact when determining a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC), on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?

According to Melinda Lewis, policy director at the Assets and Education Development Initiative at the University of Kansas, a CSA could impact an individual’s EFC, but not by very much.

“There is reason to believe that the gains from this asset accumulation would outweigh the potential effects on aid eligibility,” Lewis said.

Another potential issue is whether and how CSAs can be set up for children from families where one or both parents are undocumented, or if the children are undocumented themselves.

“Here, the financial industry considerations are likely far less complicated than any public contributions or match,” Lewis said. “In either case, the parents' immigration status should not matter, since the child would be the intended beneficiary.”

She noted that many financial institutions have developed regulations that allow them to open accounts, including interest-bearing accounts, for individuals without lawful immigration status, using IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs).

“If children do not have ITINs, their parents can apply for them on their behalf, since they are dependents, even if they do not have a personal tax liability,” Lewis said.

“The ability to have college

savings is good, but it’s what it signifies for the family – that college is a possibility and that they have a role to play in supporting it.”

Deborah A. Santiago, chief operating officer, Excelencia in Education However, if the children are undocumented themselves, then receiving a public initial deposit or match “could be a problem” since most public benefits are prohibited for undocumented immigrants.

Be that as it may, Lewis said, there is room for states, counties and school districts to designate the match or contribution as a “scholarship or incentive” instead of a “benefit.”

That way, she said, the entities could still offer CSAs to undocumented children and stay within the confines of the law.

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Puente Program Helps Community College Students Transfer to UC-Riverside

PROGRAMS

For

by Gary M. Stern

many community college students, transferring into a four-year college is filled with anxiety, doubt and stumbling blocks. It’s difficult for many two-year college students to find an adviser because counseling offices often are understaffed. In addition, the requirements of each four-year college vary and obtaining enough financial aid can be tricky. That’s why the University of California, Riverside (UCR) collaborated with the nonprofit Puente Project to form the Riverside Puente Connections Program in 2008.

The thrust of the Riverside Puente program, says Ricardo Vargas, UCR’s assistant director of transfer recruitment who runs the program, is preparing community college students to meet the admission requirements of four-year colleges. “It provides academic, peer and financial guidance to students to ensure transferring to a four-year institution,” said Vargas.

Students participate in a 10-day residential conference that consists of seminars to prepare them to transfer and succeed.

In 2014, 60 students will participate in the summer workshop. To be accepted, students must be currently enrolled in one of California’s 112 community colleges, be a second-level Puente student, have a minimum 2.8 GPA, and write an essay about why they’re a good fit for the program. This year

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approximately 200 students applied for the 60 slots.

About 80 percent of the students participating at UC Riverside’s Puente program are first-generation Latinos, but the number of students from other ethnic backgrounds, including Asian-American, is on the upswing.

In fact, Latinos and Asian-American students are the largest groups attending UCR. Of its 18,530 undergraduates enrolled in fall 2012, 35 percent were Asians, 32 percent Latino, 17 percent white and 7 percent African-American. In fact, 60 percent earn a bachelor’s degree within four years and another 30 percent within five years.

Riverside Puente Connection also coordinates directly with community colleges. Karolia Macías, an admissions counselor at UCR, says its counselors make face to face campus excursions, visit transfer centers, meet with faculty and students on campus and communicate via Facebook.

“For first generation students, transferring can be overwhelming. We saw there was a core of students ready to take the next leap who were missing out,” Vargas says. Some students thought University of California colleges were too rigorous, some presumed they couldn’t afford it, some worried about immigration status. All these issues are addressed in the summer workshop.

Vargas attributes the key obstacles to first-generation students transferring to “lack of guidance, lack of encouragement, and a cultural background where the father often doesn’t want their child to leave the local area to attend college in Riverside, Berkeley or Davis.”

In the past, the Puente Project, which launched in 1981, collaborated with 61 community colleges in California. But UC Riverside wanted to improve its four-year transfer rates and reached out to Puente Project to tailor a program, explains Catherine Martínez, mentor training coordinator at the Puente Project, based at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2014, Puente is exploring possible expansion and collaboration with New York and Washington, D.C. community colleges.

The key focus of the Puente Riverside Connections program is the 10-day summer workshop that students attend. “Students need to see the reason why it’s important to continue (their college education). They need the nuts and bolts of how to do it and navigate it,” said Martínez.

Exposure to mentors, who stem from similar backgrounds and have succeeded, also plays a critical role. By the time students complete the workshop they learn what it takes to transfer and improve their “critical thinking and problem-solving and leadership skills.”

Speakers at the most recent UC Riverside conference included Rusty Bailey, mayor of Riverside, Ron Loveridge, former mayor of Riverside, Congressman Raúl Ruiz and State Assemblyman Manuel Pérez.

The financial aid workshop also plays a major role in enabling students to transfer, Macías says. It informs students of UC Riverside’s Blue and Gold Opportunity plan, where families earning under $80,000 receive full financial assistance to pay for tuition and fees. Many community colleges expect that four-year colleges in the UC system are too expensive and rule them out, and this misconception needs to be corrected, she says.

Macías speaks from personal experience since she participated in the Puente Program when she attended Southwest College, a community college in San Diego. “UC colleges weren’t on my radar screen. I thought they were more challenging. The Puente program completely changed my mind,” she says. She applied to UC Riverside, gained acceptance, graduated from the college and is now dedicated to helping other first-generation students succeed.

In addition to improving writing skills and learning what four-year college want from community college students, Vargas says the program teaches discipline. Students are held

accountable for their actions. But it also improves their communication skills, networking capabilities, and “ability to accept others outside of their community,” he says.

Once Puente community college students complete the summer workshop, they continue to gain assistance. They are offered support services such as transfer outreach programs and academic resource centers. Macías says they are sent reminders about when applications are due to four-year col-

Karolia Macias and Ricardo Vargas

leges and are assigned an admissions counselor to help with the transition.

About half of the students participating in the Puente summer workshops are accepted into UC Riverside. Many apply to other four-year colleges in the California college system, which is fine with Vargas and Macías. “We encourage them to apply to other colleges. If not Riverside, Berkeley or Davis or another college is fine,” Macías asserts.

Monica Searcy, a sophomore at two-year Moreno Valley College, participated in the 10-day workshop in 2012.

According to UC Riverside’s background material, she said spending 10 days away from home felt “like an eternity.” But she added that she “learned to be a leader and get involved with her community.”

Puente Program goes beyond teaching writing skills or how to fill out a four-year college application. “We want students to be advocates for their own education. It means they need to speak up for receiving services, getting more tutoring, more counseling,” Macías says. “Puente’s goal is to prepare students for the next level: acceptance into a four-year college.”

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REPORTS

The Economic Story of Higher Education: Stratification and Inequities

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by Angela Provitera McGlynn ecent political discourse has used the airline industry as a metaphor for America’s class structure. We have firstclass passengers with all the privileges it entails, including but not restricted to, boarding the plane early, eating very good meals, and having cocktails, and then we have business class, followed by upgraded seats in coach, followed by passengers in the lowest economy class, sandwiched in spaces with little room for any comfort at all. And of course, these lowly economy-class passengers are able to afford the price of a ticket so they are still above those left on the ground.

One would hope that higher education would not look like a microcosm of the rest of society but unfortunately the research paints a similar picture.

The topic of inequality in America is beginning to be discussed, particularly since the economic recession of 2008.

With the recent quote from President Obama about “inequality being the challenge of our times,” a look at higher education reveals a very similar type socioeconomic stratification as seen in our national landscape.

The rungs of that economic ladder begin with students and where they attend college: the more selective the college, and this often correlates with higher tuition and fees, the higher are graduation rates.

Let’s start with a look at the annual increase in inflationadjusted average published tuition and fees at public two-year colleges (the bottom of the rung in higher education). Tuition increases in this sector actually declined from a 10.2 percent increase in the 2009-10 academic year to 5.4 percent in 201011. They declined to 4.6 percent in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The 2013-14 academic year increase was just 1.5 percent.

Community colleges managed to decrease their tuition hikes for students. A 2013 report from the Century Foundation, Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream, noted that: “In 2009, community colleges spent $9,300 per student on educational resources, virtually unchanged from 1999 once 18

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inflation was taken into account. Public research universities spent $16,700, up 11 percent from 1999, and private research universities spent $41,000, an increase of 31 percent.”

Students are, however, at the mercy of institutions which offer them hope of advancing themselves in numerous ways, and clearly low-income students are at a huge disadvantage.

The Century Foundation report found that wealthy students outnumber poor students at the most selective four-year institutions by a ratio of 14 to 1.

Community colleges educate twice as many low-income students as high-income students but in the decade from 1999 to 2009, community college funding increased by $1 per student while funding at private research universities increased almost $14,000 per student. Community colleges are vastly underfunded especially given the task of educating many underprepared students.

Looking at tuition changes in dollars and cents from the 2003-04 academic year to the 2013-14 academic year at fouryear institutions and then separating those institutions into public and private, here is the data: In 2003-04, the annual tuition, room and board charges for private nonprofit fouryear institutions was $24,071 and for public four-year institutions, costs were $13,336. By contrast, public two-year colleges charged on the average $2,425.

Jump ahead to the 2013-14 academic year, and tuition and fees for students at private four-year colleges now average $30,094 per year, $18,391 for students at public four-year colleges, and $3264 for students at two-year public colleges.

This tuition data can be found in the Trends in Higher Education series by the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center in a publication entitled, “Tuition and Fee and Room and Board Charges over time, 2003-2004 through 2013-2014.”

The next economically stratified area one rung up from students would be the teaching faculty in higher education. The first dramatic trend we see is the increase of adjuncts (part-time faculty members) teaching at colleges and universities. The most recent published data by the National Center for Education Statistics notes that the number of full-time faculty in degreegranting institutions increased by 42 percent from fall 1991 to fall 2011. The increase in the use of part-time faculty increased 162 percent over the same time period. During that time, the percentages of faculty who were part-time increased from 35 percent to 50 percent. Many institutions today have considerably higher percentages of part-time faculty compared with full-time faculty.

The inequities involved in the full-time versus part-time faculty issue are multifaceted. Colleges employ part-time faculty so they can pay them a pittance of what full-time faculty earn and most often, offer them no benefits. Although part-time faculty are often excellent and dedicated teachers, students are short-

changed in terms of their access to them since very often, adjuncts are running from college to college teaching courses here and there in order to support themselves. This is an area of inequity that obviously deserves more attention than it is getting.

Faculty salaries reflect the sector in higher education where one is employed ranging from two-year community colleges to public four-year colleges to private colleges and then to top-of the-rung elite private institutions. The higher the rung on the educational ladder, the greater are faculty salaries.

The gap between private and public colleges in faculty salaries is significant. In the American Association of University Professors’ (AAUP) report, “Here’s the News: The Annual Report on the Economic status of the Profession 2012-2013,” authors John Curtis and Saranna Thornton say that a full professor at a private, non-religious doctoral university earns on average more than $40,000 a year than a full professor at a public four-year institution.

In fact, the average salary of an assistant professor at a private, independent doctoral university earns more than the average full professor at public four-year BA and MA institutions and certainly more than a full professor at a community college. The gap is growing between salaries at public and private colleges and universities; AAUP notes the “salary disadvantage” for public college faculty members.

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), the recognized authority on compensation surveys for higher education, released the findings of its 2012-2013 Faculty in Higher Education Salary Survey by Discipline, Rank and Tenure Status in Four-Year Colleges and Universities. Their results show that over the years, increases in salaries for faculty typically do better than inflation for private college faculty (median salary increase about 2.4 percent in 2012) and less than inflation for public college faculty members (median salary increase 1.9 percent for 2012).

CUPA-HR also noted the extreme variations of salaries based on discipline with the highest paid disciplines being legal professions and studies, engineering, and business, management, marketing, and related support services.

Salary discrepancies are most apparent when comparing elite private institutions with the rest of the pack. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that a full professor at the University of Chicago earned $203,600 for the 2012-13 academic year. Almost identical salaries are given to full professors at Harvard University, and this is a far cry above the median for full professors at less elite institutions.

It is fairly common for institutions to call students the heart and soul of the institution. Mission and Goal statements are full of language pointing to students and their success as the reason d’être for their existence. In most graduation ceremonies, faculty turn to students for a kind of mutual congratulations, and the gesture is meant to pay homage to the faculty who are also often referred to as the heart of the institution.

However, the people who run the institutions from the college president to the multiple vice presidents, the deans, department chairpersons, and other administrators and professional staff, again, depending on what rung of the ladder he or she is on, are typically more highly paid than faculty, and they greatly outnumber typical college full-time faculties.

% Distribution of 2012-13 Survey Respondents by Affiliation

Public 47%

Private Religious 24%

Private Non-Religious 29%

Source: Administrators in Higher Education Salary Survey For the 2012-2013 Academic Year, CUPA-HR, Spring, 2013, p.7.

The CUPA-HR Administrators in Higher Education Salary Survey For the 2012-2013 Academic Year showed the same socioeconomic demarcations as found for faculty. Private college administrators’ salary raises from 2011-12 to 2012-13 increased more than public college administrators across the board, with top executives’ median salary increases at private institutions averaging 2.5 percent versus one percent for public college top executives.

This CUPA-HR report also discusses executive benefits – perks such as housing, car allowances, club memberships, deferred compensation programs, and performance-based opportunities. The report lists the percentages of people getting these benefits across seven top executive positions: CEO/president of a college system, CEO/president/chancellor of a single institution or campus within a system, executive vice president/vice chancellor, chief academic affairs officer/provost, chief business officer, chief athletic administrator, and chief development/advancement officer.

Of course adding to the inequality, when an administrator gets a salary increase of 2 percent and a faculty member gets a similar increase, we must consider the much higher base salary the administrator earns so the dollars and cents increase is actually quite disproportionate.

Other inequities are found across both private and public institutions and among faculty and administrators, as for example, women are typically paid less than men in higher education. Minorities, particularly Latinos and blacks who are greatly underrepresented in academia, typically earn less money in both private and public colleges.

Higher education, thought by many to transcend the nation’s “great divide,” seems to simply mirror the national picture.

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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TARGETING HIGHER EDUCATION

Implementing Common Core State Standards

The

by Gustavo A. Mellander George Washington University hosts the Center on Education Policy (CEP), self-described as “a national independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools.” To remain unbiased and scholarly, the center has sought nearly all of its funding from charitable foundations. Among other projects they have been monitoring public education and the proposed national Common Core changes for over three years.

Since most Hispanic children go to public schools, any reforms as well as their successes – or failures – will affect those students quite directly.

A word about our educational history History matters. It affects the present and the future. In this country the nation’s educational and political establishments have long supported ingrained educational independence and harbored a distrust of government. Suspicion of state and national influence in local education decisions has always been part of America’s reality. Local boards have jealously protected their turf.

One should not forget that the federal government was not compellingly involved in nationwide education policy decisions until 1957. There were a few attempts earlier but local opposition, read distrust, weakened these efforts. But in 1957 all that changed. That year the nation was stunned by the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik. Fearful that we as a nation were falling behind the Soviets, Washington mobilized to recast higher education and quickly thereafter K through 12 education.

Powerful forces were opposed to such “interference.”

Education had always been a local matter, a fiercely protected prerogative in every state. Massive federal support and influence came about when education was wedded to national defense. It went like this: to protect the country, to counter the Soviets, the nation had to improve its education, so for the first time, The National Defense Act included funds for education.

A flood of funds flowed to universities and students. One had to have a vivid imagination, or a vested interest, to support some of the programs. The connecting line between national defense and those disciplines was wobbly and at times indecipherable. Sanskrit, ancient religious studies and

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many other esoteric topics all received federal funding. Many a student struggled through odd and demanding disciplines.

Those who survived discovered upon graduation that many were unable to find related employment. I won’t go into detail about the scores of students who completed graduate work with federal fellowships at revered universities where they majored in Swahili and other abstruse studies. They were trained for jobs that did not exist.

All of this does not mean that federal assistance to education was useless or misdirected. Quite the contrary, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, benefitted and do so to this day.

Historically, our nation’s public education system has served as a foundation and bulwark for democracy. Native born children and immigrants benefitted and became active, informed partners in crafting our democratic system. CEP is committed to public education and proclaims to help “citizens make sense of the conflicting opinions and perceptions about public education and create the conditions that will lead to better public schools.”

That is a worthy goal and parenthetically, I assume, they want to offer the same opportunities to non-citizens as well.

Common Core State Standards The center has been monitoring the implementation of the nation’s Common Core State Standards (CCSS) since their inception some four years ago.

Most states are in a crucial phase of implementing the core standards. What they are? In short, they are guidelines which specify the knowledge and skills that students in grades kindergarten through 12 should acquire in mathematics and

English language arts (ELA) to be prepared for college and meaningful careers. Clearly the program is of interest to Hispanics for it will affect their students. Succeed or fail it will impact their future.

As of a year ago, July 2013, 45 states and the District of Columbia had adopted specific voluntary, state-developed standards in both subjects. Minnesota only adopted the CCSS in ELA. Much time and effort has been invested. Steps to assess progress are scheduled for the 2014-15 school year.

So time has almost run out for states to ensure that teachers and students are prepared before tests measuring students’ mastery of the standards begin.

Many states have decided to connect their accountability systems, including consequences for schools and districts, to performance on those assessments. It could be a rocky process for some states.

Teachers and principals will be directly affected as well.

Many states are developing educator evaluation systems that will hold these professionals accountable for their students’ mastery of the CCSS. Students will be expected to pass rigorous academic tests.

Since many colleges are considering using CCSS- assessment scores to make decisions about such issues as to which students need remedial courses, scores will have consequences.

Not wanting to wait until the results are in, and in an effort to learn more about states’ strategies, policies, and challenges in implementing the CCSS, the Center on Education Policy conducted a comprehensive survey of deputy superintendents of education or their designees in February through May of 2013. Forty states responded, including 39 that had adopted the CCSS in both math and ELA and one that had adopted the standards in ELA only.

The survey findings represent the views of a majority of the adopting states. It was agreed to keep the responses confidential to encourage frank answers.

The report discusses state views of the rigor of the CCSS, their impact on learning, and necessary changes in curriculum and instruction. Other issues addressed included:

They acknowledge preparing students to meet more rigorous standards will require important shifts in curriculum and instruction.

All of the adopting states view the CCSS in math and ELA to be more rigorous than their previous state standards. They also believe the CCSS will lead to improved student skills. In addition, the adopting states recognize and accept the fact that implementing the Common Core will require substantial changes in curriculum and instruction in their state.

States are carrying out a variety of activities to help prepare teachers, principals, and students for the Common Core.

Specifically, states are “engaged in CCSS-related professional development activities for teachers and principals; informational meetings with various stakeholders; activities to prepare districts and schools for the CCSS-aligned assessments; and technical assistance related to the standards.”

Many states have collaborated in these efforts and, as a result it is reported they have realized economies of scale and increased state education agency expertise.

Furthermore, a majority of survey respondents report their state already has begun teaching CCSS aligned curricula. But it must also be reported that in nine states, the process did not even begin until this 2013-14 school year. Some will begin even later.

Although most adopting states support the CCSS and have initiated activities to implement them, many lack adequate resources to effectively carry out all CCSS-related activities.

Thirty-four states reported that adequate resources are a major (22 states) or minor (12) challenge to CCSS implementation.

It is not yet known whether SEAs will have the fiscal capacity to maintain and implement the standards. Depressingly, less than a quarter of the SEAs report having adequate staff expertise, staffing levels, and resources to implement various aspects of the CCSS. That general lack of capacity, combined with concerns about adequate funding, might create greater implementation challenges as the adopting states move closer to administering the CCSS-aligned assessments during the key 2014- 15 school year.

“state timelines for teaching curricula aligned to the CCSS; state activities to implement the CCSS, including collaborative efforts with other states and the impact of state funding Current realities cuts; implementation challenges; and the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to carry out CCSS related activities.”

It is almost universally agreed that if Common Core is going to succeed, many key players must be committed and on the That’s a tremendous set of goals and, I am sure, they repre- same page. Governors, state legislators, and state boards of sent hundreds of thousands of hours of work by thousands of education members need to provide solid support and teachers and administrators. One shudders at their workload. resources to implement the standards. These state leaders also need to oversee staffing and operating budgets for their SEA to Bottom line ensure it has adequate staff and expertise to support CCSS-related activities. But of course, many leaders and lay persons have The survey report neatly ends by listing a number of con- different opinions about how state resources should be spent. clusions. To begin with, supporters of the Common Core are Matters might get more complicated in 2014 since there confident that the proposed standards will raise the bar for are 36 gubernatorial elections on tap. Political realities might student learning. complicate the ability of SEAs to provide leadership for the

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Common Core. Supporters of the Common Core outside of state government – such as nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, the business sector, and philanthropic organizations –could help states by providing assistance and support for CCSS implementation activities.

For example, some states need free and seamless access to proven CCSS professional development models for teachers and principals. Other states could benefit from being able to direct districts and schools to experienced individuals for information about CCSS-aligned curricula and related materials.

Some SEAs might welcome efforts to expand their capacity to implement the Common Core, either through direct grants from charitable organizations or through efforts to coordinate and share expertise and staffing across states.

Critics abound Many find it hard to be optimistic. They have seen similar attempts many times before. The educational landscape is vast and ever so different by design and by years of accretion. Change will not come easy even if well-meaning people work hard.

Can we really be sure that we are on the right track for such a large variety of goals? Failure among just a few of them could doom the final outcome. They are all interconnected.

Yet, what’s the alternative? Do nothing? Nibble around the edges of this monumental problem? Most thinking persons

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agree the problem of substandard education must be addressed in its entirety, not piecemeal, not in selected areas of the country if it is to be radically changed.

The first step, and I wonder if it has been fully implemented, is to convince all involved that the goals, math and English proficiency, are worthy and more to the point, essential for children’s education.

Necessary for them to succeed, not only in school and college, but in their lives. Has that case been made to their parents? Reforms can’t just be embraced by elite professionals such as teachers, administrators and policymakers.

And what about the ever present gulf of suspicion between the general public and those far away bureaucrats that are ensconced in state capitals or Washington?

If all diverse constituencies are not fully on board, the prospect of succeeding is bleak. Sorry but true. Look at the graveyard of good ideas that never had a chance to succeed.

But I for one remain optimistic, for pessimism never yields good results. It’s a tough battle, as noted earlier a lot of vested interests, a history of opposition to nationwide standards, and a disillusioned community with public education will be significant stumbling blocks.

But what’s the alternative?

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Commitment Multicultural Digital Job Search Top 100 immigration committees representation Reports health Educational Latino’s Latina’s administrators Leadership Difference Branding Website Minorities Opportunity Twitter Organizations Rankings Faculty Enrollment Community Colleges Book Reviews equality students Heritage Interesting Reads Campus Headlines Arts Facebook recruitment

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niversity of South Florida System is a high-impact, global research system dedicated to student success. The USF System includes three institutions: USF; USF St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. The institutions are separately accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All institutions have distinct missions and their own detailed strategic plans. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.

Administrative and Executive Positions: Director of Economic Development Director of Institutional Research (St. Petersburg Campus) Director of Events Regional Chancellor (Sarasota/Manatee) Assistant Vice President (Career Services) Regional Assoc. Vice Chancellor (St. Petersburg)

News Director (WUSF-FM) Psychologists (2)

Faculty Positions: College of Medicine College of Public Health Full, Associate, Assistant Professor (Pharmacy) Postdoctoral Scholar Research Assistant Professor (General Surgery) Assistant Professor (Vascular Surgery) College of the Arts- School of Music (Gastroenterology/Esophagology) Assistant Professor (Piano) Assistant Professor (General OB/GYN) Assistant Professor (Cardiology) College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor (Dermatology) Visiting Instructor (English) Associate/Full Professor (Senior Faculty Biostatistician) Instructor (Women & Gender Studies) Hospitalists-Assistant Professor (Internal Medicine) Instructor (Art & Media) Asst/Assoc/Full Professor (Endocrinologist) Visiting Instructor (School of Public Affairs) Dean (Honors College) Research Associate Assistant Professor (Physical Volcanology) Assistant Professor (Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine) Assistant Professor (Theory & Community Journalism) Assistant/Associate Professor (Pharmacy) Instructor/Assistant Director (Humanities Institute) Director (Continuing Education) College of Engineering

Faculty Coordinator (E-Learning/Instructor-Sarasota Campus) Assistant Professor (Information Technology-Sarasota Campus)

Instructor (Mechanical Engineering)

Instructor, Assistant Professor (Computer Sci & Engineering)

Assistant Professor, Education (St. Petersburg Campus) (2) Instructor, Management (St. Petersburg Campus) Assistant/Associate Professor, Accounting (St. Petersburg Campus)

For a job description on the above listed positions including department, disciple and deadline dates: (1) visit our Careers@USF Web site at https://employment.usf.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp; or (2) contact The Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, (813) 974-4373; or (3) call USF job line at 813.974.2879.

USF is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution, committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment. www.usf.edu • 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620

MCC, a dynamic institution with state-of-the-art facilities, outstanding educational programs, and a strong commitment to diversity, is seeking candidates to fill an anticipated opening for:

Instructor of Criminal Justice

For a copy of the vacancy announcement, including minimum qualifications and application deadline, please visit our Web site at www.mcc.commnet.edu. Please send letter of intent, resume, transcripts, email address and the names of three references to: Holly Foetsch, Interim Director of Human Resources; Manchester Community College; Great Path, MS #2; P.O. Box 1046, Manchester, CT 06045-1046 Or e-mail the required application information noted above to the Department of Human Resources: c/o GenInfoHumanResources@mcc.commnet.edu EOE/AA/M/F

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WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Administrator, Staff & Faculty Positions Westchester Community College is committed to hiring innovative administrators, faculty members, and staff. Women, minorities and those dedicated to diversity and multiculturalism are strongly encouraged to apply. Full-time positions include excellent benefits. Hiring subject to availability of funds.

Administrators and Staff • Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), Yonkers (search reopened) • Office Assistant (Word Processing-Spanish Speaking), EOC • Program Coordinator (Network Systems) • Senior Tutors (hourly position, EOC) • TASC Test Coordinator (hourly position, EOC) • TASC Examiner (hourly position, EOC) • Technical Assistant for Allied Health (hourly position, EOC) Full-time Faculty Instructor-level positions start in the Fall 2014. Requires Masters plus one-year related experience, unless otherwise indicated on website.

• Chemistry (search reopened) • Digital Film • Emergency Medical Service • Fashion Design (also serves as Curriculum Chair) • Librarian Part-time Faculty Adjuncts at Educational Opportunity Center, Yonkers. Requires Masters and oneyear related experience unless otherwise indicated on website.

• Career Readiness, EMT, ESOL, Nursing For details, visit www.sunywcc.edu/jobs. Applications accepted until positions are filled. Resumes to Human Resources, Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY 10595; fax 914-606-7838; email Word documents to humanresources@sunywcc.edu. Please indicate position of interest on envelope or in email “subject” field. AA/EOE.

Faculty Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction

The Faculty Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction is responsible for the development, implementation, and supervision of a peer led supplemental instruction (SI) program in biological sciences. This project is anticipated to run through 2019. This position will be responsible for working with faculty to identify and select SI leaders, provide training and consultative services to faculty, train and provide assistance to SI leaders, monitor the quality of SI sessions, arrange for logistical support, and evaluate the SI program.

Minimum requirements: • Master’s degree in a lab science field from a regionally accredited university (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, etc.).

• Experience in the administration, supervision, and/or budgetary management of academic support centers or supplemental instruction programs at an institution of higher education.

• Experience in successfully planning, executing and evaluating new programs and initiatives.

• Two (2) years post-secondary teaching experience in the lab sciences

Preferred requirements: • Master’s degree in biology from a regionally accredited university preferred • Two (2) years’ experience coordinating supplemental instruction, tutoring or similar academic support programs or services at an institute of higher learning.

• Community college teaching experience in the lab sciences • Experience with assessment of student learning outcomes • Experience with proven programmatic methods in overcoming barriers to academic success.

GTCC is strongly committed to diversity and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, particularly minorities & faculty under-represented in higher education.

Visit our website www.gtcc.edu to apply and view the complete job description.

GUILFORD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FACULTY SEARCHES

Rutgers-Camden is the southern campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. It is located in a dynamic urban area, just across the Delaware River from downtown Philadelphia. The campus includes undergraduate and graduate Arts and Sciences programs, a School of Business, a School of Law, and a School of Nursing.

Mathematical Science Full-time Instructor Non-Tenure Track

Political Science Assistant Professor Subfield: American Government, Urban Politics and Policy

For specific information about any of these positions, including qualifications and deadlines, see our website at http://fas.camden.rutgers.edu/faculty-research/fas-job-searches.

Rutgers University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

The University and our departments seek to attract an active, culturally diverse faculty and staff of the highest caliber. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, Rutgers University is the recipient of a National Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award to increase the participation of women in academic science and engineering careers.

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American University College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology

The Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University invites applications for a full-time, term faculty position as the Director of Biology Teaching Laboratories to begin August 1, 2014. A PhD in Biology or a closely related field, 3 years post-doctoral research experience, and 3 years teaching experience are required. Strong management and organization skills must be demonstrated. Proficiency in developing laboratory pedagogy and membership in relevant professional associations is desirable.

The successful candidate will directly supervise faculty and graduate students who teach the lab sections for the introductory Biology courses and be responsible for the safety, quality, and rigor of the student performance in those lab sections. The candidate should have strong writing skills in terms of creating lab exercises and submitting relevant grants. Additional duties may also be assigned by the Biology Chair.

Send letter of application addressing relevant teaching interests and experience, C.V., and three letters of reference to: Dr. David Carlini, Chair, Search Committee; Department of Biology; American University, Hurst Hall, Rm. 101, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW; Washington, DC 20016. Send electronic submissions to biology@american.edu (electronic submissions strongly encouraged). Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

American University is an American University is an Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status. American University is a tobacco and smoke free campus.

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Priming the Pump...

CALLING ALL ROLE MODELS Miquela Rivera, PhD, is a licensed psychologist with years of clinical, early childhood and consultative experience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

Many

“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character face of trouble, then come to keep you there.” – John Wooden closer to home and talk about people they know who have Latino students can tell you who tops the lost or failed and yet continmusic charts, which actors received ued despite defeat. It might be a modern Babe Ruth – or it Oscars and the star athletes for major could be a parent who completed college while raising a football and basketball teams. Hero worship is natural, so family and holding a job. Ask the students about integrity – we need to encourage students to look beyond the whoopla, how many people on their most-admired list tell the truth examine the effort required to stay on top and note the signs and follow through on what they say they will do? With scanof character the stars demonstrate. A closer look may cause dals reported by the media, students can name famous some Hispanic students to revise their list. celebrities who have been discovered to lie or cheat. For Through friendly conversation any adult can ask Latino stu- students who have had many promises broken, the question dents who they admire and why. Important questions beyond of integrity might ring most true. When it comes to their own which awards were received, which designer brands were lives, students will often admit that if a person is not good worn or how much money someone earned need to be asked. on their word, they probably are not good for much else Keep your opinions out of it, ask the reasons for their choices (though they still may think that the glamour shown by and then listen carefully. What you hear Latino students say media is exciting, so help them distinguish the two!) about character will likely fall into the categories determined Ask the young Latino how his superstar shows humanity.

by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman in their work Does the hero help others? Speak up for those who can’t on human strengths and virtues. The categories are universal help themselves? Is their idol kind and generous, seeing the though the examples can be unique and personally relevant. similarities rather than the differences between people?

Start with looking for wisdom and knowledge. Is the per- Does the person they regard highly seek justice for others son the student admires curious, creative and open to life- through leadership and good citizenship? Again, ask who in long learning? Some Latino students may focus on celebri- his personal experience has shown those traits. Comparing ties surrounded by paparazzi and drama and not know real life examples to famous media personalities may help about what celebrities do outside the spotlight. Some students judge a distant hero more accurately.

Hispanic students, though, might find themselves talking Encourage Hispanic students to examine the people they about a loved one who has made wise choices and learned most admire in terms of prudence, modesty, moderation and much, regardless of circumstance. Whether it is a rap or good judgment. If these ideal people show restraint and humilhip-hop star spouting off or Tio Patricio heading off a family ity, they probably are insightful about their own shortcomings argument, Hispanic students can learn about people and use and are more grounded than those who lose control. (And those lessons to make wise choices. since the ones without control are usually more notorious than Search for examples of courage. Latinos can find exam- famous, help Latino students distinguish between the two). ples of bravery among those who have served their country, Finally, Hispanic students should scrutinize those they for Hispanics are most heavily represented in the military, admire for signs of gratitude, spirituality and appreciation including casualties. But look closer than a foreign battle- for what is good. If the heroes lack those elements of grace, field. Who has stood in the face of adversity or ridicule and chances are they are arrogant, self-absorbed or unworthy of stuck with their beliefs? Ask Latino students to find and the attention and credibility young people give them. Young share examples of how their heroes have persevered in the Latinos can then decide who really is awesome after all.

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