02/18/2013 women in higher education

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 • $3.75 www.HispanicOutlook.com VOLUME 23 • NUMBER 10

Thriving atTexas A&M WPIC Global Forum Groundbreaking Latino Art

Also available in

Digital Format

2 H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K • 0 2 / 1 8 / 2 0 1 3

HIGHER EDUCATION

Editor-in-Chief – Suzanne López-Isa

Editor – Jason Paneque

News & Special Project Editor –

Mary Ann Cooper

Administrative Assistant & Subscription

Coordinator – Barbara Churchill

DC Congressional Correspondent –

Peggy Sands Orchowski

Contributing Editors –

Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Online ContributingWriters –

Gustavo A. Mellander

Art & Production Director –

Avedis Derbalian

Graphic Designer – Pete Oliveri

Sr.Advertising Sales Associate –

Angel M. Rodríguez

Advertising Sales Associate –

Cyndy Mitchell

Article ContributorsJamaal Abdul-Alim, Frank DiMaria,Marilyn Gilroy, Carolyn Gonzales,

Paul Hoogeveen, Mayra Olivares-Urueta,Miquela Rivera, Gary M. Stern

Editorial Office80 Route 4 East, Suite 203, Paramus, N.J. 07652

TEL (201) 587-8800 or (800) 549-8280FAX (201) 587-9105

“‘The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education’and ‘Hispanic Outlook’ are registered

trademarks of The Hispanic Outlook in HigherEducation Publishing Company, Inc.”

Letters to the EditorThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine ®

80 Route 4 East, Suite 203, Paramus, N.J. 07652

email: [email protected]

®

Editorial Board

Ricardo Fernández, President

Lehman College

Mildred García, President

California State University-Fullerton

Juán González,VP Student Affairs

University of Texas at Austin

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Educ. Consultant

Ventura County Community College District

Gustavo A. Mellander, Dean Emeritus

George Mason University

Loui Olivas,AssistantVP Academic Affairs

Arizona State University

Eduardo Padrón, President

Miami Dade College

Antonio Pérez, President

Borough of Manhattan Community College

María Vallejo, Provost

Palm Beach State College

Editorial PolicyThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national

magazine published 23 times a year. 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’ judg-

ment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the article, and the

potential interest to the readers ofThe 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 inter-

viewed 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 byThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine®.

Advertising SalesTEL (201) 587-8800 ext. 102/106

FAX (201) 587-9105

email: [email protected]

Want a Subscription?Visit: www.HispanicOutlook.com

or call toll free 1 (800) 549-8280 ext. 108

Postmaster: Please send all changes of address to:

The Hispanic Outlook,P.O.Box 68,Paramus,N.J. 07652

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a member of

and a sponsor of

Publisher – José López-Isa

VP & COO – Orlando López-Isa

0 2 / 1 8 / 2 0 1 3 • H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K 3


elcome to our yearly tribute to women in higher education, recognizing Latinas in education who are servingas outstanding role models and leaders in their communities. Just as we learned in the recent presidential race that youcan’t refer to “women in binders,” presenting one point of view in a “binder” as is so often done in the media doesn’t advance understandingor conversation. When it comes to solutions to most women’s issues, frankly, it’s complicated. Take the wage gap debate, for example. Groupssupporting the Paycheck Fairness Act say that statistics are on their side. Women earn significantly less money for performing the same tasksas men in the workplace. As The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in October 2012, nearly 50 years after the Equal Pay Act of 1963was enacted, women continue to earn less money than do men throughout their careers, and the gap is seen as soon as one year out ofcollege. They were referencing findings of a study conducted by the American Association of University Women examining the earnings offemale and male college graduates working full time in 2009, one year after they graduated. But other groups, most notably the InternationalWomen’s Forum, say statistics distort what’s really going on the marketplace. Their explanation of the paycheck gap sheds light on seldomdiscussed aspects of the gender dynamic in the workplace. In this issue, we air both sides in this hotly debated topic.

But there is no debate about the star power of the wonderful women on which we’ve put a spotlight in this issue. In particular,Hispanic women in leadership roles in academia, business, public service and the military thanks to the recruiting efforts going on atTexas A&M International University. There is no mistaking the fact that women are slowly becoming the driving force in highereducation. It is so much so that it’s changing “heterosexual relationship patterns.” The Centre for Demographic Studies of the UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona’s study concluded that the number of couples in which the woman with higher degrees than her male partneris growing steadily and surpassing women “uniting” with men with higher degrees. Brings a whole new meaning to women beingreferred to as the “better half,” doesn’t it? We think so. …

EsquinaEditorial

¡Adelante!Suzanne López-IsaEditor-in-Chief

W

WELCOME TOWELCOME TOTHE APP AGETHE APP AGE

When You Advertise In The Hispanic Outlook Magazine®

Your Exposure Is Universal

Downloaded for free on iTunes!


Venezuela is a beautiful and hospitable country. I was a news corre-spondent based in Caracas in 1967 when Venezuela commemoratedthe 400th anniversary of its founding, and I must have attended a

reception or black-tie ball every other week celebrating the event.Champagne and caviar, yea.

Venezuela has beautiful people including some of the most beautifulwomen in the world – winning six Miss World, six Miss Universe, six MissInternational and one Ms. Earth title.

It has a blessed landscape of sierras, vast plains and seashore and hasthe largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world. It is among theworld’s top 10 crude and oil producers. In 2010, another 40 percent incrude oil reserves was proven surpassing Saudi Arabia asthe country with the largest pool of this type.

The poverty rate at the turn of the century was cut inhalf, and extreme poverty fell from 70 percent to 25 per-cent. Venezuela was the envy of Latin America enjoyingthe highest standard of living in the region.

Now the party is over. The economy shrunk, echoingthe world recession but also caused by bad politics, gener-ous policies and, to some, dubious leadership. The econo-my went from 9 percent growth in 2007 to 2.9 percent in2009 and further down in 2010, labeling a recovery as“delayed and weak” by the International Monetary Fund.

The hangover has the stamp of a demagogic leader-ship and an overreaching, myopic foreign affairs policythat over a short span of time has plunged Venezuela intothe unaccustomed role of a heretic nation – still in itsoutmode nouveau riche character and with the outcastnation, Cuba, now as its best friend and welfare mistress.

Because of its generosity with oil riches toward select-ed nations and its penchant for pestering the foreign policyof that colossal to the north, the United States, it counts asbest friends, presidential colleagues, Bolivia’s Evo Morales,Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and,recently, Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

They all benefit from Venezuela’s largess. None morethan Raúl Castro’s Cuba, which has practically beenadopted by the Bolivarian nation and whose economyand social well-being depend on Venezuelan oil.

All made the pilgrimage to Havana to visit Venezuelanpresident Hugo Chávez, whose battle with cancer has beentreated by Cuban doctors for the past three years but whonow, according to reports, is on his deathbed there, if not already dead.

When he goes, it’s expected that much of Venezuela’s generosity by wayof Chávez’s government will also go, and the Cubans, who more than anyhave a crucial need for it, would be the biggest losers. Short on foreignresources, Cuba pays part of its energy bill with Venezuela though a bartersystem of Cuban doctors and nurses and other services for Venezuelanpetro products.

Chávez’s situation has created a constitutional crisis in Venezuela overwho rules the country, even if in a caretaker role.

The popular consensus is that Chávez’s critical illness makes himpassé, recognizing that he is no longer functional even if by some divine

intervention he overcomes his latest health crisis.Waiting in the wings are two pretenders to the presidency, Vice

President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly leader Diosdado Cabello,who must first confront some constitutional issues on succession.

The constitution, reworked by Chávez’s government in 2009, saysChávez should have been sworn in Jan. 10, and failing that, the vicepresident would assume power temporarily and hold an election within30 days.

The other option is the National Assembly declaring a permanentabsence, which it didn’t and which would have required the vice presidentto oversee an election within 30 days.

Separately, it could also declare a temporary absencein which case Maduro temporarily would become actingpresident.

Whichever, it leads to another opportunity by theopposition to gain the presidency, which would probablybe Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chávez in the 2008elections. Any candidate, however, would be hard-pressed to overcome the sympathy vote that a Chávezcohort would enjoy.

Chávez is history but not his legacy. His political suc-cess was driven by his strong charisma and politicalchutzpah, like attempting to overthrow the governmentand having failed and being jailed, then running forpresident and winning.

He modified the oath of office a bit by declaring, “Iswear before my people that upon this moribund consti-tution, I will drive forth the necessary democratic trans-formation so that the new Republic will have a MagnaCarta befitting these new times.”

The common folk loved him because by whatevermethods he improved the lives of many improvised peo-ple and made life a little fairer for them. The UnitedNations Economic Commission for Latin American saidthat the percentage of the population living under thepoverty line in Venezuela fell from 49.4 percent in 1999to 27.8 percent in 2010.

Chávez came from a lower-middle-class backgroundand ascended through the path most available to hissocial order, the military, and was further stigmatized byhis Afro-Indian roots in a country where class identity isstill an important distinction.

His biographers said that within a few years of his presidency he “hadalready earned his place in history as the president most loved and mostdespised by the Venezuelan people, the president who inspired the greatestzeal and the deepest revulsion at the same time.”

For a president heading a democracy and with Chávez’s energies andpersonality, it’s not a bad rap.

The Canonization – in Asterisk – of Hugo Chávez

KALEIDOSCOPE

LATINO

KALEIDOSCOPE

LATINO

Carlos D. Conde, award-winning journalist and commentator, for-mer Washington and foreign news correspondent, was an aide in theNixon White House and worked on the political campaigns of GeorgeBush Sr. To reply to this column, contact [email protected].

LATINO KALEIDOSCOPE by Carlos D. Conde


Page 8

Page 11

MAGAZINE®

CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

A Scientific Star Blossoms at San Francisco StateUniversity by Gary M. Stern

8

HispanicWomenThrive atTexas A&M Internationalby Marilyn Gilroy

WPIC – a Global Forum forWomen’sVoices inTheater by Paul Hoogeveen

UNM’s Barbara Rodríguez Disentangles Speechby Carolyn Gonzales

MaríaTéresaVélez –Tackling, Head On,Challenges Faced by Minority Students by Jamaal Abdul-Alim

Veronica Gonzales – Spreading theWord AboutUTPA by Frank DiMaria

11

14

17

18

20

Wage Gap forWomen: Both Sides of the Storyby Mary Ann Cooper

Mari Carmen Ramírez – Groundbreaker in LatinoArt by Michelle Adam

Yvette Donado and ETS: Promoting a Solid EarlyStart for Hispanic Students by Mary Ann Cooper

26

22

28

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


Page 22

Page 26

DEPARTMENTS

Cover photo: Emile dans les nuages; Samar Hamis, 1994

SScchhoollaarrss’’ CCoorrnneerr by Mayra Olivares-Urueta 16

The Canonization – in Asterisk – of Hugo Chávez

Latino Kaleidoscope by Carlos D. Conde

Book Review by Mary Ann Cooper

Passing the Torch

5

25

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss 25

PPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp...... by Miquela Rivera

Lessons Through Handwriting

Back Cover

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

HHiissppaanniiccss oonn tthhee MMoovvee 29

A Scientific Star Blossoms at

Mariel Vázquez, an associate professor of mathematics at SanFrancisco State University (Calif.), is a scientific star. In July 2012,President Barack Obama named Vázquez a recipient of the

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers based on herscientific research. She was one of 96 scientists to receive the award.

Vázquez, who is 41 years old, is a pioneer in the emerging field of DNAtopology, which applies pure math to the biological mysteries of DNA. SanFrancisco State University President Robert A. Corrigan said Vázquez“embodied the model of teacher/scholar that San Francisco State values sohighly.” Vázquez has been teaching at San Francisco State since 2005.

She was nominated for the Presidential Early Career Award by theNational Science Foundation. The award was based on innovative research.Vázquez’s award cited her “excellent interdisciplinary and internationalresearch at the interface of mathematics and biology, and for creativity anddedication to recruiting, training and mentoring, and helping studentsfrom underrepresented groups achieve their goals.”

Vázquez’s research has groundbreaking potential. She is investigatinghow DNA interacts with cells and affects radiation and cancer treatment.

San Francisco State University epitomizes a multicultural campus. Of its29,540 students who enrolled in fall 2012, 35 percent were Asian-American; 30 percent, White; 24 percent, Latino; and 6 percent, African-American. Over 4,200 students were majoring in science, though businessadministration and biology were the two most popular majors.

Born and raised in Mexico, Vázquez immigrated to the U.S. in 1995when she was 24 years old to earn a master’s degree and doctorate atFlorida State University. She learned English in Mexico and was alreadybilingual when she arrived in the U.S.

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine interviewedVázquez on how she came to specialize in DNA topology and became anaward-winning scientist.

The Hispanic Outlook: Some people might say that your earning aPresidential Award for Science defies the stereotype of immigrants. What’syour take?

Mariel Vázquez: I think it defies the view that most people have, but it’sreally hard to generalize about immigrants. Most immigrants are hard work-ers. It’s good to receive an award to show that people can do very good workand succeed even if the U.S. isn’t their native country. We’re a nation of mixedpeople and diverse ideas, and there’s plenty of talent among immigrants.

HO: What adjustments did you have to make when you moved to a newcountry and started at Florida State University?

Vázquez: I was already 24 years old and had gotten my undergraduatedegree in Mexico City. But this was the first time I was taking all my classesin English. I had to adapt to the Southern dialect of my professors. But Iadjusted quickly and earned my doctorate at Florida State.

HO: What influence did your parents have on your academic life?Vázquez: Both my father and grandfather were engineers. As a child, I

loved numbers and anything mathematical and geometrical. Having a fatherand grandfather who were engineers stimulated me and helped encourage mycuriosity. My mother spent a lot of time with my brother and me, and she wasan arts and literature lover. In my work, I combine mathematics with molecu-lar biology, which is also very geometrical, visual and three-dimensional.

HO: What drew you to mathematics?Vázquez: I always liked the patterns and numbers in mathematics. I

did well at math in elementary and middle school. Having parents whowere well-educated showed me not to fall into stereotypes that I couldn’taccomplish something. I felt free to explore math.

HO: You earned an undergraduate degree in math at the NationalUniversity of Mexico (NUM). How did that set the foundation for yourmathematical pursuit?

Vázquez: That was fantastic. NUM appears as one of the top 100ranked universities in the world. One of their specialties is in the pure sci-ences like mathematics. The environment for learning in the classroomand doing outside research was excellent. The education in Mexico is ahybrid between the American and European systems. When we study mathin Mexico, we do four years of only mathematics, but it’s not as rigid asEurope and is more flexible like in the U.S.

HO: You started as a mathematician and morphed into a research sci-

WOMEN/PROFILES


by Gary M. Stern

entist. How?Vázquez: In high school, I loved mathematics and molecular biology. I

wanted to apply mathematics to molecular biology. I tried to apply puremath into the study of knots and DNA. Hence, my knowledge of mathmerged with my knowledge of DNA.

HO: Describe the impact of being a research and teaching assistant inthe math department at Florida State University.

Vázquez: I had a research fellowship from my Ph.D. advisor DeWittSumners, a professor of mathematics at Florida State. He was the reason Ichose Florida State. He specialized in mixing pure mathematics and knottheory with the study of DNA. At that time, there were no interdisciplinaryprograms between math and biology in the U.S. Professor Sumners devel-oped a mathematic theory to understand DNA topology. He allowed me tofollow my passion and work on both mathematics and molecular biologysimultaneously.

HO: You served as a visiting scholar at University of California-Berkeley.What did you do there?

Vázquez: I spent five years at Berkeley as a postdoctoral fellow. Half ofmy time involved doing TNA topology research, workingwith Professor Rainer Sachs, whose specialty was inmathematical models for radiation biology. You takehuman cells and eradiate them with low-dose X-rays. Inessence, we used mathematics to determine how theDNA had been rearranged. It’s equivalent of finding theright radiation and dosage in cancer treatment. We’reexploring the effect of radiation on human cells anddetermining how cells are coping. These studies canhelp understand the instability of the cells.

HO: You were named an assistant professor of math-ematics at San Francisco State in August 2005. Describewhy the job appealed to you.

Vázquez: I like the academic track, teaching peo-ple, mentoring them and doing research. I teach a vari-ety of courses including one I developed in DNA topolo-gy with my colleague Javier Arsuaga, who also happensto be my husband. I spend about 20 percent of my timeteaching in the classroom, and 30 to 40 percent men-toring undergraduates and graduate students one onone, who are majoring in mathematics, molecular andcell biology, bioengineering. We also have an affiliationwith Berkeley, so I mentor their students too. My men-toring of students also involves doing research withthem. In fact, I spend about 20 percent of my time doingservice to the university and community, includingreviewing grants and talking on panels. All told, half ofmy time is spent doing research.

HO: Describe your undergraduate thesis on knot theory and DNA.Vázquez: Knot theory is part of mathematics that studies knots. A knot

is like your shoelace knot. You take a shoelace and tie the first part of itand then glue the ends of the shoelace together. Once you tape it together,you have a mathematical knot. If you don’t tape it, it can be untied. If youdon’t tie the knot, you just have a piece of string that can be untied. It func-tions like DNA.

HO: In what sense?Vázquez: DNA molecules sometimes are circular, like the chromosomes

of bacteria. Our DNA isn’t circular. The DNA of bacteria is circular, and everytime you have a circle, the circle can be knotted. It’s like taking your head-phone from your iPod and putting it in your backpack. Invariably, when youtake it out, it’ll be knotted. The same thing happens inside cells. If the DNAbecomes circular, in the process it may become knotted. This process maybe helped by larger proteins called enzymes. We’re trying to figure out howthe DNA became entangled using mathematics. The long-range implication iswe’re trying to figure how the DNA is sitting inside these viruses and howenzymes change the topology of DNA (topology involves how the DNA is sit-ting inside the three-dimensional space like a rubber band).


A Scientific Star Blossoms at

President Barack Obama addressing2011 Presidential Early Career Awardsfor Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)recipients in the East Room of the

White House, July 31, 2012 (Vázquez is in the front row, fifth from the right)

Official W

hite H

ouse Pho

to by Pete Sou

za

HO: What is the impact of knot theory in biology?Vázquez: Before cells divide, circular DNA is copied or replicated. It

forms two circles that are interlinked or interlaced. The cell is trying todivide into two cells. Each cell requires one circle, but the circles areinterlinked. One pulls to the left; and the other, to the right, but either cir-cle can break. Either cell can break or the two circles could migrate to thesame cell, leaving one cell with no DNA. But this is not good. You wanteach cell to have exactly one intact circle. Certain enzymes ensure that thishappens. Some anti-cancer and antibacterial drugs target the enzymes thatremove the DNA knots and links. If you try to understand the mechanics ofthese enzymes, you can design drugs that eliminate those enzymes. Bydoing that, the cancer or bacterial cells will die.

HO: What are your goals in conducting this research?Vázquez: I would like to standardize ways of studying the topology of

DNA. There’s been a lot of attention on DNA because of human genomeresearch. That attention has focused on the sequence and code of DNA.We’ve been moving toward trying to understand how DNA topology affectsthe cells.

HO: What has being named one of 96 recipients of this PresidentialEarly Career Award done for you?

Vázquez: It’s been fantastic recognition. It says that so many years ofhard work have paid off. It also carries a great sense of responsibility. I’vebeen interviewed by the media, and some people consider me a rolemodel. A huge responsibility comes with this award.

HO: What did President Obama say in his invocation?Vázquez: President Obama said, “I see some women here. We need

more. I see some African-American and Hispanic women. We need moreof them.”

HO:Why aren’t there more women and more Latino women in the sciences?Vázquez: Women are hard working, do very well in college, are inter-

ested in science, and then we lose them. Part of it stems from the naturaltime when women marry and have children and raise a family. In science,we need more family-friendly policies. We need graduate schools that sup-port women with families. Women also need to become more assertive,and I don’t mean aggressive. We need to train women science majors to begood public speakers and good managers. Latinos, in particular, need tobelieve they can do it and that anything is possible.

HO: Describe your personal life.Vázquez: My husband Javier Asuraga also teaches mathematics at San

Francisco State. We have two children: a 4-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl.I manage to juggle family and career. I do what I like and have a passionfor my work. But at home, we try not talk too much about DNA topology.

HO: Five years from today, what would you like to have accomplished?Vázquez: I’d like to have developed robust mathematical and compu-

tational tools to study the entanglement of DNA. I also aim to instill the lovefor math and science in children by bringing the excitement of theresearch to them.


Start Nowby advertising in

Diversifying Your InstitutionA Multicultural Faculty is the key to

Call our experienced sales staff at:

1.800.549.8280

DIVERSIFYING YOUR INST 2012.09.19

Hispanic Women Thrive atTexas A&M Internationalby Marilyn Gilroy

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has a remarkable trackrecord of cultivating Hispanic women for leadership roles in acade-mia, business, public service and the military. This past year, TAMIU

Hispanic female graduates, faculty members and students have been mak-ing news for their achievements, some of which are “firsts” in their respec-tive fields.

Located in Laredo, Texas, TAMIU enrolls approximately 7,200 full- andpart-time students, of which 4,000 are Hispanic females. Although thosenumbers are impressive, they are complemented by an equally impressiveenvironment that supports Hispanic female success. There are manyHispanic role models on the faculty who become mentors to female students,encouraging and empowering them to aim high and reach their goals.

As Karina Moreno Saldívar, a TAMIU graduate and immigrant fromMonterrey, Mexico, said recently, TAMIU can take students as far as theyare willing to go.

“TAMIU’s purpose and mission are very noble and admirable,” she said.“It fuels students like myself who are the first in their families to attend col-lege, and it does so in an individualized way that makes it possible not onlyto achieve that baccalaureate degree but to do the unimaginable.”

Last August, Moreno Saldívar became the first Hispanic woman to earna doctoral degree in public administration from Rutgers University-Newark, a program ranked as one of the best in the nation by U.S. News &World Report. She is now working as a faculty member at Kean University’sdepartment of public administration in Union, N.J.

Moreno Saldívar earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA)degree from TAMIU in 2008 while working a full-time job. She says thesupport of a faculty mentor, Dr. Peter Haruna, propelled her to pursue adoctoral degree.

“TAMIU’s MPA program is a quality program,” she said. “It is whatmotivated me to continue with my studies. I decided to apply to Ph.D. pro-grams after discussing this possibility with Dr. Haruna. He was alwaysaccessible by e-mail and phone and was incredibly helpful throughout myfirst year at Rutgers.”

When Moreno Saldívar was accepted to Rutgers in 2009, she was one ofonly six students admitted to the doctoral program in public administration.She finished her Ph.D. with a 4.0 GPA in three years with two publications inscholarly journals. Her doctoral dissertation studied the effect of Arizona’simmigration law on Latino political attitudes and behaviors. She is proud ofthe academic work that led to her most recent accomplishment.

“I was able to keep focused due to a combination of factors,” she said.“Knowing I was representing Latinas in higher education and knowing mydissertation research was giving a voice to a group that is often excludedor underrepresented were extremely powerful motivators.”

She also was inspired by her parents, Israel and Idalia Moreno.“My parents are two extremely brave people,” she said. “We are immi-

WOMEN/LEADERSHIP/ROLE MODELS


Dr. Claudia E. San Miguel

has been named the first

female Hispanic president of

the Southwestern Association

of Criminal Justice.

grants from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. I dedicated my dissertation tothem because they were brave enough to venture into something complete-ly new and unknown so that my younger siblings and I could have anopportunity at both a better education and a better life.”

In another TAMIU first, Dr. Claudia E. San Miguel, associate professorand director of Texas A&M International University College of Arts andSciences Criminal Justice Program, has been named the first femaleHispanic president of the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice(SWACJ), a criminal justice academic organization.

SWACJ is affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Itsmission is to promote scholarship in the field of criminal justice, provideopportunities to share research on a wide array of criminal justice-relatedtopics, and encourage communication among individual members, otherorganizations and associations of higher learning and agencies of the crim-inal justice system.

San Miguel exemplifies the TAMIU success story. She began her collegestudies in criminal justice at TAMIU and has just become a tenured mem-ber of the faculty. Her career goals took a turn when she enrolled inundergraduate courses.

“I wanted to study criminal justice because I was interested in policework as a way of making a difference in my community,” she said. “But

when I got here, I discovered I had a passion for higher education andteaching, so I decided to combine my two interests and go to the doctor-al program.”

While studying for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at TAMIU, SanMiguel also felt the support of faculty members who encouraged her toenroll in the Ph.D. program at Sam Houston State University.

“There were faculty members who kept in touch with me during mydoctoral program and let me know that a faculty position was opening atTAMIU and so that’s how I got here,” she said.

TAMIU is the largest undergraduate criminal justice program in thestate with more than 470 students; the majority of them are females. WhenSan Miguel surveys her students about their career goals, she gets a varietyof responses.

“Some want to do police work as a way of giving back to their commu-nities,” she said. “Others want to go to law school or work in social serviceagencies.”

Fortunately, the job market for criminal justice majors is very robust,and graduates have many opportunities, says San Miguel. Graduates alsocan take advantage of TAMIU’s master’s degree in criminal justice, a totallyonline program that is ideal for working adults.

Now that she has become president of SWACJ, San Miguel plans to focusher efforts on the organization’s yearly conference in which practitionersand researchers share the latest developments in the field. She also takesstudents to the conference because it is an important experience for them.

“I enjoy going to the conference because it provides me many opportu-nities to highlight the accomplishments of faculty and students in our pro-gram as well as the accomplishments of our university,” she said. “TAMIUis a fantastic place. It has been such a positive experience for me both as astudent and faculty member, and I try to pass that on to my own students.”

Leadership Opportunities in Sports, ROTC and Public ServiceAlthough these individual achievements are noteworthy, the team spirit

is alive and well among TAMIU Hispanic females. It is on display in the sixwomen’s athletic teams (as compared to only five men’s teams), whichinclude basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball and volleyball, alldominated by Hispanics.

TAMIU’s athletic director, Dr. Leonard Nardone, says many of thewomen receive scholarships and there is an institution-wide support net-work in place for these student athletes.

“We have a full-time academic advisor as well as designated staff in theregistrar and financial aid offices to help our new athletes,” he said.

The teams have been enjoying success and feature several outstandingperformers. The women’s softball team made it to postseason play for thepast four years in the Heartland Conference Tournament. One of the play-ers, Regina Morales, was a team leader in every offense category, accord-ing to Michael Blake, TAMIU sports information director. Morales’ statsinclude a .353 batting average, 54 hits, 26 runs, 10 home runs and 34 RBI– all team highs. She was also named to the 2012 Heartland ConferenceAll-Tournament team.

As for soccer, Blake said the 2012 team will go down as the bestwomen’s soccer team in TAMIU history.

“The Dustdevils [team name] set records for goals, assists and pointsin a single season,” he said.

The star of the team is Karina García, a freshman from Laredo, who ledthe team with six goals and a shooting percentage of .273.


Regina Morales was a team leader in every offensive category, according to Michael Blake, TAMIU sports information director.

“The head soccer coach said he had never seen a freshman playerwho has made such a difference in the overall performance of the team,”said Blake.

Hispanic women also find leadership opportunities as members of adifferent kind of “team,” that of the U.S. Army Reserve Officers TrainingCorps (ROTC) at TAMIU. ROTC is recognized as one of the nation’s bestprograms for men and women interested in a career in the military.Students who enroll in ROTC take an elective curriculum along with theirrequired college courses and receive a scholarship toward their tuition.Students are thus able to pursue the degree of their choice while preparingfor military service.

TAMIU reactivated its ROTC program in 2003 after a 30-year hiatus. Forthe past two years, the university has been named a top Military FriendlySchool by G.I. Jobs magazine. The program has seen a growth in enroll-ment, especially among women.

When Ana Tinajero joined the TAMIU ROTC as a freshman in 2009, shealready was familiar with its benefits.

“I was in the ROTC program all through high school, graduating as abattalion commander,” said Tinajero. “I think it’s great that more womenare joining the ROTC program on campus. Women have the same opportu-nities as men and are valued as equal members of the team.”

In a previous interview, Tinajero said she knew she wanted to serve

since 9/11, which occurred whenshe was in the fifth grade. Althoughit was not easy to meet the demandsof training, she is fully committed toher future in the military.

“If you’re on scholarship likeme, a national ROTC scholarshipwinner, I have committed to serveeight years for the U.S. Army, fouryears active duty and four years as areservist,” Tinajero explained.

Tinajero has now “commis-sioned out” of TAMIU and is servingas a second lieutenant in the U.S.Army.

For those Hispanic females whowant to render service in the publicsector, there is a first-rate opportu-nity to develop the required skills atone of nation’s best student leader-ship programs. Each year, sixTAMIU students are selected to par-ticipate in the Latino LeadershipInitiative (LLI) that brings togetherstudents from across the country fora weeklong program at HarvardUniversity.

While in Cambridge, Mass., theyparticipate in LLI classes on publicnarrative, community organizing,negotiation, moral leadership, inno-vation, arts and activism, and publicspeaking. LLI participants also have a

chance to build relationships with respected Latino mentors from the gov-ernment, nonprofit and business sectors. After their week at Harvard, stu-dents work in teams with faculty and administration from TAMIU to designand implement community service projects.

Five of the six students selected this past year were senior Hispanicwomen including Sarah Gómez, a business administration major whowants to obtain a graduate degree in international finance; AgarHernández, a psychology major whose goal is to study industrial/organiza-tional psychology in graduate school; Stephanie Hernández, a political sci-ence major who hopes to go to law school; Guadalupe “Lupita” Osoria, acommunication major who plans get a master’s degree in communicationdisorders; and Victoria “Tori” Rose Young, a communications major withplans to attend law school.


Each year, six TAMIU students are selected toparticipate in the Latino Leadership Initiative

(LLI) that brings together students fromacross the country for a weeklong program

at Harvard University.

by Paul Hoogeveen

Bringing together women college professors, dramatists, writers andsocial activists from 51 countries, the ninth international WomenPlaywrights International Convention (WPIC) was held in August at the

historic Södra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden. Hosted by Riksteatern,Sweden’s national theater organization, the event boasted scores of partici-pants presenting play readings, lectures, multimedia materials and workshopsfor a sector of the arts in which women remain largely underrepresented.

The 2012 conference focused on a theme of “the democratic stage.”The forum allowed women from disparate and sometimes opposing cul-tures to express and discuss their sociopolitical and gender-based viewsin an atmosphere that was at once energetic and vocal – and in whichparticipants displayed a willingness to make room for and engage inexpressing sometimes vastly differing viewpoints and ideologies withoutbecoming combative.

The 31 participants from the United States alone, comprising womeneducators, writers, actors and activists, represented a global breadth ofperspectives. Some of these dramatists were native-born; others emigratedfrom countries as diverse as Spain and Iran. For many, the conference wasmore than simply a chance to further the goals of women in theater; it wasalso an opportunity to discuss the ongoing oppression of women occurringin many parts of the world, including the United States.

Pakistani-born writer and teacher Farzana Moon, whose play OsamaThe Demented was read at the conference, put it this way: “Women fromall over the world got together to unfold the essence of ‘women oppres-sion’ still rampant in many parts of the world, and to address those issueswith the hope of righting the wrongs done to them.”

Women Playwrights International has been holding WPIC conferencesevery three years, 2012 being the 25th anniversary of the first conference.Its beginnings were humble, growing out of advocacy work done by stageveteran Kathleen Betsko Yale in the 1980s.

“I am, in a way, the mother of the conference,” Yale said of WPIC. “Theevent grew organically out of a book I published with a colleague calledInterviews with Contemporary Women Playwrights in 1986. It was the first-ever book of interviews specifically, entirely of women dramatists. Thereare many now, but I’m glad to say ours was the landmark production. Outof that initial book came the First Conference of International WomenPlaywrights at the State University of New York-Buffalo in 1988. ProfessorAnna Kay France of the university and I put together a large steering com-mittee, and together we worked for two years to present that first quitesuccessful conference. It is a triennial event, and the conference inStockholm in 2012 was the ninth international gathering and our quarter-century anniversary. I was so pleased to be there.”

According to WPI’s current president, Lene Therese Teigen, theStockholm gathering not only saw the largest number of countries everrepresented at a WPI conference – it also marked the first time that Africanand Middle Eastern countries were well-represented, both through speech-es and play readings. Not surprisingly, many of the plays presentedapproached themes associated with war and conflict, and the ways inwhich woman are particularly affected. While many of the plays presentedby U.S. participants dealt more with social aspects of oppression of women

– and even the oppression of women by women – plays by women fromMiddle Eastern countries often introduced far darker images. For example,the play Ana Hurra (I am Free), by Palestinian playwright Valantina AbuOqsa, presented a unique perspective of the complex dynamic that devel-ops between a Palestinian prisoner and her Israeli interrogator. (AnaHurra later saw limited production in the United States.)

The topic of women in a military setting also appeared in the work of sev-eral U.S. and Canadian participants – a timely subject given increasing publicanti-war sentiment, along with issues that many returning female veterans arenow facing. Dr. Sarah Cole, who is in the process of establishing a theaterprogram at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, presented a read-ing of her play Aftermath, which portrays the interplay among three womenveterans during a series of group therapy sessions at a VA clinic.

“It was a great thing professionally,” said Cole, “because I was able tohave my material heard by a wide and varied audience, and this gave meperspective on my own work that I may not have otherwise had. Somethings within plays translated wonderfully well, and some did not. I foundthat the base emotions or general experiences are something that, if han-dled well, can find common ground in many cultures. It reinforced per-sonally something that I knew, but is always nice to get confirmation for:we are more alike than different.”

Cole observed that vastly differing viewpoints on such difficult topicssometimes led to heated confrontations. She added that this was one of themore dynamic aspects of the conference’s theme of the democratic stage.One such confrontation involved Nidal Al Achkar, founder and director ofAl Medina Theatre in Beirut.

“One of the most poignant examples of two women trying – and perhapsfailing – to find a common ground was something I observed at lunch oneday,” Cole commented. “The keynote speaker from that morning was aLebanese woman named Nidal Al Achkar. She and another conference partici-pant were having a very, very serious conversation over the salad table aboutthe content of her speech, ‘The Arab Word.’ You can tell that they were upset,but each was trying to make a point. I think the keynote speaker was moresuccessful at understanding the other’s viewpoint, as she seemed calmer andwas offering her viewpoints in a much more level-headed manner.”

While growing the domestic and global presence of women’s perspec-tives in theater is a primary goal of WPI, some dramatists took the confer-ence as an opportunity to compare the cultural perceptions of theater inthe United States with that in other countries. One such participant wasBarbara Blatner, a multidisciplinary dramatist and musician currentlyteaching at Yeshiva University in New York City. Blatner presented her playYears of Sky, which portrays a biracial couple who witness John F.Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.

“My plays are pretty political in that they explore the intersection betweenpersonal and collective experience,” said Blatner. “I do not think that theUnited States uses the arts wisely as a tool for global and political discourse– theater in particular. I think other countries perhaps take theater very seri-ously; I’m thinking of the British Isles and Germany at this moment, becauseI do not know how theater is viewed in other countries, but I know thepotential is there and that theater can stimulate genuine and vital discourse.

WOMEN/CONFERENCES/CONVENTIONS


WWPPIICC –– aa GGlloobbaall FFoorruumm ffoorr Women’s Voices in Theater

For example, several weeks ago I attended in Brooklyn, N.Y., a play based onAugust Strindberg’s Miss Julie: it was called Mies Julie and was producedstunningly by a South African cast, who adapted the play into a commentaryon post-apartheid Black/White power relationships. I heard that in SouthAfrica, in response to this play, audiences sat silent, unable to speak, becauseof the power and immediacy of what they had just seen enacted onstage. Thisis what theater can do when it is taken seriously, when it is political and notpolemical, and produced at the high pitch of brilliant performance that Isaw in this production. I think theater can be something that causes riots,opens minds and hearts and moves us forward.”

Above and beyond sharing ideas on leveling the playing field forwomen playwrights, establishing new connections, and opening them-selves to ideas and issues from parts of the world that are often largelyclosed to them, one of the most positive sentiments about the conferenceexpressed by many of the U.S. participants was how globally collegial andpersonally enriching the event proved to be. Angelina Llongueras, aSpanish Catalan native now living in the United States, and whose profes-sional background includes work with such Hispanic film legends asAlmodóvar, typified this perspective.

“I am a ‘global’ citizen who is at present working in [the UnitedStates], but who has also worked in others – Mexico, The Netherlands,Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador,” said Llongueras. “I am a Catalan; thismeans I am very aware of linguistic and identity oppression. I have trav-eled extensively and am an internationalist at heart, so my theater dealswith events that would happen in the U.S., in Mexico, in Catalonia, inSpain. I am unavoidably global.”

Llongueras did not present a live play reading, but did present and dis-cuss a videotaped excerpt of a performance of her play Phoolan Is All of Us.

“I was happy to see that many women from India were present at thepresentation of my play, whose main character is Phoolan Devi, an Indianwoman who actually existed and was killed in 2001,” she continued. “Theplay was received with appreciation and respect, and the contextualizationof its creation and presentation process was highly valued.”

But aside from the positive reception of her own work, Llonguerasmost appreciated the ways in which some core universal concerns ofwomen were shared.

“I was especially fascinated at being given a glimpse of what many womenplaywrights in Arab countries are creating and their reasons for doing so. Thesimilarity in concerns about the systematic violence inflicted on children allover the world, while at the same time the diversity of reasons for the use ofthis violence – and how this comes out in these plays – was most enlighten-ing. Every time you have the lucky chance to be put in a context that allowsyou to mingle with lots of creative people who care about what is going on inthe world, and who want to find creative ways to do something about it, is veryenriching, and this fosters one’s own thought and creativity.”

A similar sentiment was offered by playwright and Ezzat Goushegir, whohad enjoyed success in Iran in the 1970s – even having two of her playsproduced by Iranian National Television and Ministry of Arts and Culture –before a crackdown on feminists, political activists and secular intellectu-als forced her into exile in the United States in 1986. Now based in

Chicago, Goushegir broughther own unique perspectiveto the conference via her playMy Name Is Inanna.

“The second period ofmy artistic life started in

the U.S., livingin exile, struggling as a singlemother and writing in English for different audi-ences,” Goushegir said of her views on her own work and her contributionto WPIC. “The new society inspired me to channel myself in finding ways tocommunicate with new audiences as well as enlighten them about the ori-gin of my mother country by writing numerous plays on Iranian womenand plays about my adopted country. Internationalism widens my perspec-tive about the whole world. I consider myself a citizen of the globe, and atthe same time a fourth-world woman playwright – a woman who belongsand at the same time is a stranger.”

Of course, an event as large and dynamic as WPIC, while largely posi-


WPIC – a Global Forum for WWoommeenn’’ss VVooiicceess iinn TThheeaatteerr

AAnnggeelliinnaa LLlloonngguueerraass

EEzzzzaattGGoouusshheeggiirr

SSaarraahh CCoollee

tive, can suffer from certain drawbacks. One common complaint (at leastamong U.S. members) was that because of the large number of play read-ings presented over the course of just one week, the small number ofRiksteatern actors sometimes appeared overburdened with too many rolesto read. Also, some members found it difficult to choose which presenta-tions to attend. Given the sheer number of playwrights represented, suchshortcomings were inevitable.

“A gathering of so many women from around the world must be a pow-erful experience for all who attended,” observed New York playwrightDonna Spector, who presented her play about homelessness in New York,Manhattan Transits. “The one weakness I can think of is that so manyplays are presented at the same time that we have to pick and choose

which ones to attend and we miss many great works.”But despite these minor issues, and regardless of – or perhaps even

because of – cultural differences of perspective both small and large, par-ticipants came away from the event with a renewed consensus that thepower of performing arts to reach beyond the mere reflection of society,and ultimately to affect social change on a national and even global level, isthe greatest intrinsic value of theater. And that is precisely what makes it allthe more important for women to achieve a stronger voice in theater.

Farzana Moon summed it up this way: “Theater is the only tool in thisbusy world which touches the heart of audience globally with its power ofwords and artistic rendition, and the only tool in political discourse whichdoesn’t divide, but unites.”


I have served as a volunteer assisting in a clinic as a translator and cultural broker for Spanish-speaking patients during their interactions with non-Latino and non-Spanish-speaking clinicians. Myexperiences as a translator made me question how patients without translators make their needsclear to their clinician.

In addition to the language, I learned about other important issues that arise during these cross-cultural interactions. I wondered why some Latino patients are so quiet during their visits with theclinicians. Why do they forget that they are in charge instead of the person in the white coat? Theyknew I was not a clinician, but why did they wait until they were alone with me to say that a treat-ment was not working or making them uncomfortable? It might be that they felt rude saying thingswere not working out, or they assumed the clinician knows best, when in actuality, the best treat-ment requires the input of the clinician and the patient. It might also be that they could relate to meon a cultural level and that created a trust they had not achieved with their clinician.

Latinos/as make up only 5.9 percent of the entire health care work force even though they makeup 15.4 percent of the U.S. population. Researchers argue that increased diversity in health care canincrease access to health care for underserved populations. Others also recognize that underrepre-sented students who complete health professions degrees are more likely to practice because theywant to give back to their communities by increasing health services for members of their own ethnic group. According to a 1996 survey of physi-cians in California, Latino/a physicians care for three times as many Latino/a patients than their non-Latino/a counterparts; they also care for manymore uninsured patients. Furthermore, research states that cultural congruence in health care improves patient satisfaction and can improve patienthealth outcomes.

As a doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas, I study practices that increase the number of Latinos/as in the health professions. Mygoals are to strengthen the Latino health professions pipeline, develop clear health professions career pathways, and inform and develop policy forboth higher education and the field of public health. Likewise, I want to help improve Latino/a health outcomes by increasing the number of Latinoclinicians.

As a 2012 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Graduate Student Fellow, I entered a familia of mentors and col-leagues who continue to provide guidance that advances my work as it responds to critical issues and carries clear implica-

tions for further research, theory, practice and policy. AAHHE provides a home in which my distinct research focus andnontraditional experiences are valued. This sense of belonging and comunidad is what is helping me persist

through my doctoral education and in academe. I look forward to serving and mentoring the AAHHE familiacoming through the pipeline. Los esperamos con los brazos abiertos y listos para trabajar.

BByy MMaayyrraa OOlliivvaarreess--UUrruueettaaHigher Education Program, University of North Texas, 2012 AAHHE Graduate Student Fellow

SScchhoollaarrss’’ CCoorrnneerr

Barbara RodríguezDisentangles Speech

by Carolyn Gonzales

Whenteaching, BarbaraRodríguez, associateprofessor of speech and

hearing sciences at the University of New Mexico(UNM), might mention to her class that she isfrom Española, N.M. “Students come up to meand say, ‘I’m from Española, too!’ or they mightsay they’re from Las Vegas, Taos or Mora. I thinkthey respond that way because it’s the first timethey’ve come across a faculty member fromhome,” she said.

She is one of eight siblings from a longtimenorthern New Mexico, southern Colorado family.“Six are still in Española, and one is inCalifornia,” she explains.

Like many students from Northern NewMexico, she set her sights early on attendingUNM. “I come from a long line of educators onmy mother’s side. My high school counselor toldme that there were jobs in accounting, so that’swhat I came to study,” she said. However, by herjunior year, she decided she wanted to workwith children in a nonclassroom setting, and sobegan her path to a career in speech-languagepathology.

Rodríguez earned both a bachelor’s andmaster’s degree in communication disordersfrom UNM before going to the University ofWashington for her Ph.D.

Her passion for the profession is palpable.She said that people view the scope of SLP prac-tice very narrowly. They know that speech-lan-guage pathologists work with children who havea lisp or a stuttering problem. But they don’tknow that SLPs assess and treat voice, speechand swallowing in adults with head and neckcancers.

“They don’t know that we help children whoare nonverbal to use augmentative and alterna-

tive communication devices. Nor do they under-stand the speech and language connection toreading,” she said.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) don’tjust work with children or adults with communi-cation disorders, either. “We work with thespouse or family of a patient with dementia tohelp them remember and use compensatingstrategies. For example, we might suggest thespouse put together a communication notebookwith photos of family members, places andobjects,” Rodríguez said.

Another way they help is for individualsundergoing gender reassignment. “If we have atransgender male transitioning to female, sheneeds to learn female speech patterns and non-verbal communication,” she said.

Rodríguez and her colleagues also work withinternational students, helping them reduce ormodify their accents to promote effective teach-ing. “We also work with people who have voicedisorders from misuse or overuse of their voic-es,” she said.

For students looking for a career track withopenings, speech-language pathology could be agood option. “New Mexico has a huge need rightnow. UNM, Eastern New Mexico University andNew Mexico State all graduate SLPs, but thereare still openings statewide,” she said, addingthat one must have a master’s to practice andthat UNM graduates about 20 per year. “Eachgraduate gets multiple job offers. People comelooking for them, from in state and out of state,”she said.

The Albuquerque Public Schools, hospitalsand state agencies are all clamoring for SLPs.There is also a tremendous need for bilingualSLPs,” Rodríguez said. She added that they alsoneed more Native American SLPs.

Rodríguez’s research – with colleagues inPennsylvania and Florida – involves developingtools to use to ascertain if English-languagelearners whose first language is Spanish havelegitimate speech disorders or if their speech istypical for speakers of a particular dialect. “Thetest we’re developing takes dialect intoaccount,” she said.

Carol Hammer, Rodríguez’s colleague atTemple University in Pennsylvania, is looking atdistinctive patterns among Puerto Rican Spanishspeakers. Lisa López, at the University of SouthFlorida, is looking at Cuban Spanish speakers,while Rodríguez looks at Mexican Spanishspeakers. The trio got a five-year grant from theNational Institutes of Health. They are close tohanding the test over to a publisher.

“We are looking to put the tool into the handsof SLPs to use with the kids they are assessing.The tool is designed to disentangle dialect fromdisorder. Often, something can sound likeimpairment where none exists,” she said. Forexample, Puerto Rican speakers might drop afinal “s” in Spanish as a normal speech pattern,but it might not be the norm in other varieties ofSpanish or in English, Rodríguez said.

Rodríguez taught a graduate research courselast semester and this semester teaches anundergraduate course on multicultural consid-erations in communication. “In that course, welook at cultural and sociological factors in thedelivery of effective speech-language pathologyservices,” she said.

WOMEN/FACULTY/MENTORING


MMaarrííaa TTéérreessaa VVéélleezz ooff

TTaacckklliinngg,, HHeeaadd OOnn,, CChhaalllleennggeess FFaacceedd bbyy MMiinnoorriittyy SSttuuddeennttssby Jamaal Abdul-Alim

Aslongtime associate dean of the Graduate College at the Universityof Arizona (UA), Dr. María Téresa Vélez has garnered quite a fewaccolades with her efforts to recruit and retain students for sci-

ence, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields from under-represented groups. But to truly appreciate Vélez’s work in this regard, itpays to look at more than just her curriculum vitae or her many honorsand awards.

Perhaps the best way to understand Vélez’s contribution to diversity inhigher education is to talk to some of the many former students she hashelped launch into STEM careers.

“I think I’m partly responsible for 500 Ph.D.s,” Vélez, who resides inTucson, Ariz., said during a recent interview with The Hispanic Outlook inHigher Education Magazine.

And those Ph.D.s are not hard to find.You can find them working in laboratories throughout the Southwest or

in classrooms at UA where they have followed Vélez’s footsteps to pursuecareers in the realm of academe.

They are individuals such as Dr. Julius Yellowhair, senior optical engi-neer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.

Yellowhair first met Vélez in 2003 when he began graduate school atUA. He ultimately earned a Ph.D. in optical sciences in 2007, an accom-plishment he says he owes to Vélez for connecting him with scholarshipmoney to get through school. But the most important form of assistancethat Vélez provided wasn’t monetary, Yellowhair said.

“The biggest resource Dr. Vélez provided was an environment of com-fort for Native American graduate students, some of whom were far awayfrom home and their communities,” Yellowhair said, recalling how Vélezoccasionally organized social gatherings for Native American students tohave camaraderie and networking opportunities.

“This was also when Vélez engaged us to talk about any issues that wemay be having,” Yellowhair recalled. “Dr. Vélez became a mother figurefor a lot of us.”

“Her approachable and caring nature made it possible for her to fit thisrole easily,” Yellowhair said. “Even though she was a very busy person, shealways made time for us.”

Dr. Karletta Chief, assistant professor in the Department of Soil, Water,and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona, recalled similarefforts by Vélez to mentor Native American students, such as herself.

“It’s important because, especially for Native American students, thereis not enough support for Native Americans to pursue higher education,and the challenges that they face are very different from other minorities,especially because Native Americans typically come from the reservations,which is a very different upbringing than others that might grow up in thecity or not the tribal areas,” Chief said. “And so mentoring is importantbecause the students can receive the guidance they need to successfully

maneuver through college and adjust to college culturally and academical-ly.”

Chief – who credits Vélez with supporting her decision to enter acad-eme – now serves as a vital link between Native American communitiesand higher education. Specifically, she works to bring relevant science toNative American communities in a culturally sensitive manner by providinghydrology expertise, transferring knowledge, assessing information needsand developing applied science projects, her university bio states.

Given Vélez’s role in helping to catapult students from diverse back-grounds to find success on campus and beyond, it’s a small wonder whyher work has been recognized and honored in so many different quarters.

Organizations that have given Vélez awards include the AmericanChemical Society and the Society for the Advancement ofChicanos/Hispanos and Native Americans in the Sciences (SACNAS).

Most recently, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering(NACME) bestowed its Diversity Vision Award upon Vélez.

“The basic reason we selected Dr. Vélez is because we believe she is anoutstanding individual who is dedicated to underrepresented minority stu-dents in the STEM fields of study,” said Brenda O. Krulik, director of strate-gic communications at NACME.

If you ask Vélez what lies behind her success, she is quick to give creditto others.

We are a team,” Vélez said. “I may lead the team, but I’m not doing thisby myself. I have the best team anybody could have.”

And it’s a team that is eager to see their leader recognized.“I have worked closely with Dr. Vélez for several years and stand in awe

of her vision and leadership when it comes to increasing the number ofunderrepresented students enrolled at UA,” Nura A. Dualeh, assistantdirector of the McNair Achievement Program at UA, wrote in a 2008 letterto nominate Vélez for the University of Arizona Honorary Alumni Award,which Vélez received.

“She has succeeded in obtaining millions of dollars in grant funding toassist students in their undergraduate and graduate education,” Dualehwrote. “Dr. Vélez enjoys a strong national and international reputationamongst graduate education administrators for her creative and impactfulleadership and her energetic promotion of graduate education for all stu-dents.

“Her innovative partnerships with institutions in Puerto Rico, Mexico,Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia are leading to summer research training oppor-tunities, undergraduate and graduate exchange programs, and the recruit-ment of top-notch international graduate students.”

Vélez is a strong believer in preparation. That’s the reason she createdthe Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium (UROC), a 10-week summer program that prepares underrepresented students by engag-ing them in original research as a means of helping to prepare them for

WOMEN/PROFILES


graduate school.“Nowadays, what graduate programs are looking for is students who as

undergraduates were able to do research,” Vélez explains of one of thepurposes behind the program, which is about to enter its 19th year.“Because Ph.D.s are about doing research. And to a certain extent, mas-ter’s can be about research a well.

“So if graduate programs know that the students have already had thatexperience, understands it and likes it, it increases the chances of finishingtheir graduate program.”

UROC involves a collaboration between various groups and programson the UA campus, including the McNair Achievement Program, MinorityHealth Disparities, Minority Access to Research Careers, Biosphere 2, theLatin American Group, the Hooked on Photonics Summer ResearchProgram and Integrated Optics for Undergraduates, according to adescription of the program on a UA website.

UROC participants are supported by federal grants or by their homeinstitutions. The program teaches students about graduate school admis-sions, provides training for the GRE and gives them the opportunity to pre-sent research on a poster.

While a firm believer in preparation on one hand, Vélez also believes inlooking at the big picture when it comes to determining who is graduate

school material. This is particularly important, she said, for students whohave only had access to substandard schools.

Vélez says it’s not about admitting unqualified applicants into graduateschool, but rather about looking at student qualifications in a more com-prehensive way.

“I have never ever recommended a student who I don’t believe is excel-lent and absolutely qualified,” Vélez said. “That does not mean that I don’tpoint out to a program how a particular student is outstanding in ways thatthey have not considered.

“So the definition of excellent and of being outstanding may be differ-ent,” Vélez said. “But I can convince people with the arguments.”

Her arguments include making the case to look beyond a student’s GREscore, which she said an emergent body of research has shown to be limit-ed in terms of its ability to predict graduate school success.

Indeed, the current ETS guide on how to use GRE scores says: Specialcare is required in interpreting the GRE scores of students who might havehad educational and cultural experiences somewhat different from those ofthe traditional majority.

“So I will tell programs: ‘Look at the student grades, look at theirresearch that they have already engaged in, in particular, look at the dis-tance he or she has traveled,’” Vélez said.

“[For] a Navajo kid who grew up on the reservation where they had noelectricity and no bathrooms, and has now obtained really good gradesand done research, why are we going to look at the GRE score if they don’tpredict anything except first-year grades?” Vélez said. “Once they hear that,they understand. Grades, research and distance traveled are much betterpredictors of success in graduate school, at least for minorities, than aGRE could ever be.”

Vélez said when she first started making these arguments, she “mayhave felt like a voice in the wilderness.”

“But more and more as research comes out supporting my position,and graduate programs, empirically they find [that GRE’s are limited], Ihave become more credible,” Vélez said. “And in fact, I can think of sever-al students I had to intervene in this way who ended up getting NSF gradu-ate fellowships, which is sort of the cream of the crop. But they have tosubmit a research plan, and that’s what they’re being judged by.”

Looking forward, Vélez spoke of what she sees as the biggest chal-lenges for students from underrepresented groups.

“The biggest challenge that I see in the coming year in terms of under-represented minorities getting into and through college, particularly inSTEM fields, is the exponential increase in tuition at all universities,” Vélezsaid. “Underrepresented minorities tend not to come from upper-middle-class families.

“We have many who do, but the vast majority do not come from upper-income families, and their income cannot afford their education.”

She noted how Pell Grants have “not kept up with” the cost of highereducation and would like to see the federal government create a Pell Grantprogram that covers more of a student’s higher education costs.

Vélez is a widow with two adult children, Mariel, 34, and Damian, 30.She said both have pursued careers as medical doctors in neuroscienceand neurology, respectively, at Stanford.

Asked what she does outside of work, Vélez said: “My whole life is con-sumed by work in higher education. That’s my hobby. That’s my passion.”


by Frank DiMaria

“Wenever know in life what doors are going to open for usor where life will take us. I never in my wildest dreamsthought that I would be working for a higher education

institution,” says Veronica Gonzales, vice president of university advance-ment at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). Gonzales, who tookover in July, oversees the office of development, responsible for funding atthe university, as well as the department of marketing and communica-tions, which comprises the offices of alumni relations, public affairs andStudio Twelve01, the university’s marketing office.

Her fist order of business after arriving on campus was to craft a strate-gic plan for the university. “We need to fund raise like we never havebefore. That has been a real challenge because of the area and the eco-nomic times,” says Gonzales. In less than a month, Gonzales implementeda plan for increasing alumni participation, marketing the university, creat-ing a brand and engaging with the community.

As part of her plan, Gonzales sought greater participation from UTPAalumni, which she calls the heart of the university. She started a programcalled Broncs at Work (UTPA’s mascot is Bucky the Bronc). This programfeatures photos and videos of UTPA alumni who work in the community. “It’sreally taking off. We have about 25 of them, and we have 30 more in theworks,” says Gonzales. This type of marketing is a “win-win,” she says,because it benefits UTPA, the alumni and the businesses for which they work.

UTPA student workers comb the area newspapers daily searching forstories featuring UTPA alumni. When a student finds one, UTPA sends apersonal letter to the alum thanking him or her for their hard good workin the community. Gonzales stays visible within the community, attendingRotary meetings and other events, and she asks her staff to do the same.“So we can network and really move the ball in marketing the university,”she says. “It’s public relations, and that’s what we have to do because overthe years Texas has funded universities less and less.”

Currently, only 29 percent of UTPA’s budget is funded by the state. Therest comes from tuition and private donors. Since many of its students arefrom families that struggle financially and rely heavily on financial aid,UTPA makes an effort to keep its tuition low. But grants within Texas werecut by $1 billion in the last legislative session. “To keep tuition low, wehave to rely on the generosity of donors,” says Gonzales.

For the most part, UTPA is a commuter school. Unfortunately, manywho live in and around the Rio Grande Valley take the university for grant-ed and view it as the school that one attends only after being rejected bythe larger universities. Gonzales hopes to change that view by broadeningthe school’s appeal geographically and spreading the word about itsimpressive rankings.

No other school in Texas awards more graduate degrees than UTPA,and it ranks No. 2 in awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics nationally.

“We are considered one of the top 100 best colleges for Hispanic students.Our business school is in the top 300 business schools, and our physicianassistant program ranks 38th out of 164 in the nation. We rank ahead ofCornell and Stanford and other prominent universities,” says Gonzales.

Students who graduate from UTPA and apply for medical school have a64 percent chance of being admitted, compared to 33 percent statewide.Ninety percent of UTPA students who attend its law school preparationinstitute are accepted into law school.

Gonzales knows a little about law schools. Before coming to UTPA, sheserved in the Texas House of Representatives for eight years while practicing lawas a partner at Kittleman, Thomas and Gonzales, LLP. She was born and raisedin San Marcos, Texas. Although her parents had little chance of attending col-lege, Gonzales considers them two of the smartest people she’s ever known. Hermother was born to a family of farmworkers. Her father always said he receivedhis education in the Army, joining right out of high school. Although bothstressed education, it was her mother who had the most ambitious plans forGonzales. While her father praised her for doing her best, her mother insistedon straight A’s. She encouraged her to be a doctor or a lawyer because either ofthose professions would pay the best. When Gonzales was 14, her parents wereinvolved in a traffic accident that left her mother dead and her father severelyinjured. This was a critical juncture in her life. “I remember thinking, ‘What amI going to do.’ You get into that mode that no one is there necessarily pushingyou; my dad was working all the time, and my mom was gone. But I always hadin my head her words about going to college,” says Gonzales.

When it came time to enroll in college, she chose to stay close to homewhere she could help her father to raise her younger brothers. Rather thanattending the University of Texas, she enrolled in Texas State, which at the time

WOMEN/PROFILES


Veronica Gonzales

– Spreading the

Word About UTPA

was known as Southwest Texas State University. She graduated cum laude in1986 with a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish and took a secretarialposition in a law firm. One of the lawyers at the firm recognized Gonzales’ tal-ent and encouraged her to attend law school. She did and earned her doctor-ate of jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991. Soonafter, she moved to McAllen and built a career as an attorney.

In 2004, the citizens of McAllen, Mission, Edinburg and Altonezenselected Gonzales to represent them in the Texas House of Representatives.She was the first female to represent District 41 and is considered a stand-out in her first legislative session in 2005. Her peers elected her secretaryof the state Democratic Caucus, and in that position, she passed the highestpercentage of bills of any democratic legislator in the Texas House thatyear. Her first-year success prompted the Mexican-American LegislativeCaucus to name her “Freshman of the Year.”

Gonzales gained the confidence of the speaker of the House, Joe Straus,who entered the House with her in 2005. Although in the minority party,she was named chairwoman of the Border and Intergovernmental AffairsCommittee, only one of 34 chairs out of 150 members. Straus recognizedher leadership on border and security issues, and later appointed her tothe National Conference of State Legislators’ Homeland Security andEmergency Preparedness Taskforce. Gonzales was thrilled to be dealingwith national concerns that directly affected her constituents. “One of thebig issues for us here in Texas has been security along the border. It’s beena tightrope to walk because on the one hand, we do, at least on this side ofthe border, feel secure. But the media attention has always focused on theviolence taking place on the other side of the border,” says Gonzales.

The role of the Border and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee andNational Conference of State Legislators’ Homeland Security andEmergency Preparedness Taskforce was to secure the border without sti-fling commerce. The committee and taskforce continued to support thosebusinesses already operating on the border while encouraging others torelocate to the area. Gov. Rick Perry, Gonzales says, supported initiativesfunding “boots on the ground,” those soldiers that keep peace. “We hadgood collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcementauthorities. I was fortunate to get to know all of them and work with themto assure that the types of initiatives that we were funding were going to besuccessful ones to keep our borders safe,” says Gonzales.

One initiative of which Gonzales is particularly proud is the one that cre-ated and implemented Joint Operating Intelligent Centers (JOICs), a collabo-rative effort between the state, local and federal agencies. They are the brainsof the law enforcement agencies, gathering and processing intelligence infor-mation. “These have increased the ability of Homeland Security to do its job.Whether its Homeland Security from a Texas standpoint or HomelandSecurity from a federal standpoint. The sharing of the information has beenreally helpful,” says Gonzales. Before her committee and taskforce createdJOICs, the various departments were territorial, often reluctant to shareinformation. With drug cartels gaining power and influence over the years,JOICs have proven instrumental in fighting border battles in Texas.

Gonzales represented 150,000 Texans living on or near the U.S.-Mexicoborder in Hidalgo county, one of the largest counties in Texas. More than85 percent of her constituents were Hispanic with income and educationlevels that varied wildly. Although Hidalgo is home to numerous financialand medical jobs, many of her constituents worked in the fields as farm-workers. By and large, her constituents were poor, with some familiesearning as little as $13,000 a year.

As though she were paving the way for her move into academe,Gonzales passed several pieces of legislation addressing education as astate representative. One increased access to education for underrepre-

sented individuals by allowing them to pay their tuition in payments. Theother allowed community colleges to waive tuition and fees for employeeswishing to continue their education. Even as a young girl, Gonzalesbelieved that education was the key to economic and personal growth. “Inorder for us not to be one of the poorer areas in the state, we have to giveevery incentive possible for people to go to school,” says Gonzales. WhenUTPA and South Texas contacted Rep. Gonzales looking for support to helpthe poorest of the poor to attend college, she was quick to act. “These twopieces of legislation were intended to get more students to be able to gobecause even today [at UTPA] over 70 percent of our students are onfinancial aid. We encourage our employees, our staff, to continue theireducation. [This legislation] was a way to get them to do so by helpingthem do that at a low cost or no cost,” says Gonzales.

Another piece of legislation that Gonzales is quick to take credit for is theHook’em amendment that she attached to another bill that is relevant today.Years ago, a female South Texas legislator wrote legislation that forced theUniversity of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M to accept all high school studentswho graduated in the top 10 percent of their class. UT-Austin challenged thistop 10 percent rule because its freshman class was being quite nearly filledby these students. “They didn’t have the ability to allow as many other stu-dents in as they could,” says Gonzales. The legislation was originally intendedto diversify UT-Austin and Texas A&M, both racially and geographically. “Somore of the smaller towns in Texas would have their students attend thoseschools and we’d see more Hispanics and African-Americans attend. Itworked. We were seeing an increase,” says Gonzales.

Gonzales’ Hook’em amendment lowered the percentage to eight, and shehad the votes for it in the House. But representatives were still concernedthat there might be challenges to the law and that a change in regions wouldcause the institution to use other factors in admission. Gonzales feared thatall the work she and her predecessors had done to level the playing fieldwould be lost. So Gonzales revamped the amendment to state that if regionschange and if colleges can no longer consider race, then they would revertback to the top 10 percent rule in a way to ensure diversity.

When Gonzales ended her eight years in the Texas House ofRepresentatives, she resumed practicing law full time with the firm atwhich she had worked since 1991. However she found that work unfulfill-ing and missed rubbing elbows with members of the community and thefeeling of making a difference. She attended a panel discussion at UTPAand was approached by representatives of the university about the vicepresident job. When she looked into the job, she found that it is exactlywhat she had been doing in her role in the House and at her law firm.Soon she was accepting the position she holds today.

Gonzales’ future plans for UTPA are ambitious to say the least. Currently,19,000 students attend UTPA. Gonzales wants to increase this number to30,000 and transform the Rio Grande Valley through education. Under herleadership, UTPA has partnered with companies in the health care, businessand education sectors within the community. Through a number of UTPAprograms, Rio Grande Valley students of all ages visit the university wherethey become more and more comfortable with higher education in generaland the university specifically. “It’s not whether they will go to college, it’swhen they will go and where they will go,” says Gonzales.

UTPA hosts health care summits where health care professionals discussthe improvement of health care and the university’s role, given that the RioGrande Valley has one of the highest diabetes rates in the nation. In thebusiness world, UTPA partners to train employees in customer service, partmarketing and part community service “The idea is that if we have a strongrelationship with our community, we are really going to see advances bothfor the university and where we are as a community,” say Gonzales.


Mari Carmen Ramírez had just returned from Colombia where shehad served as the distinguished lecturer at a museum and culturalcenter. It might seem a far distance for her to go from her home in

Houston, Texas, yet the breadth and depth of her work has transformedher into a well-known name in the art world throughout the Americas.

In Colombia, she spoke to a subject she knows well: Latin Americanand Latino art. This mid-50s, spiked-hair curator of Latin American art anddirector of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA) atthe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) has been breaking new groundfor Latin American and Latino art and artists for the past 20-plus years, andthe results of her hard work are finally showing.

Last year, she launched the ICAA’s digital archive on Latino and LatinAmerican art (Documents of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art: ADigital Archive and Publications Project) – seemingly the first of its kind inbreadth and depth. By Internet, anyone can now access information onLatino and Latin American art – 3,500 documents are currently visibleonline, with 10,000 more being uploaded – and the true Latino contribu-tions to modern art can finally be seen. So many journalists from acrossthe globe marked this historic event that the center was able to produce a300-page book on clippings and articles about this momentous occasion.

Ramírez’s work has not only helped scholars and researchers accessinformation on Latin American and Latino modern art rarely seen in thepast, but has also brought its artists into the everyday fabric of modern artin museums throughout the world – and especially in Houston. The realityshe has established is a far cry, though, from the art world she studiedwhen she was a graduate student at the University of Chicago in the 1980s.

“There was no one teaching Latin American art in the U.S. The informa-tion was there, but no one to teach it,” said Ramírez. “I built my own bibli-ography of Latin American art and had to carve my own way. It was a prettylonely endeavor.”

Recognizing the absence of scholarship and teachings in modern art ofLatin America – and the need to move far beyond the limited view that thisart was only made up of Mexican muralists, Frida Kahlo and a mere hand-ful of other artists – Ramírez began paving the way for Latin American artto move from the fringes to the center of the modern art world.

Ramírez has been able to do so because she herself knows what it’s liketo come from the fringes, while brokering two worlds. She was raised in amiddle-class family in Puerto Rico, a place she describes as colony of theU.S. to this day. Her parents sent her to a bilingual Catholic school run byAmerican nuns because they understood the importance of learningEnglish. They also raised her with nationalistic values, stressing the impor-tance of Puerto Rican values and history.

“I don’t consider myself American because of my strong nationalisticvalues, but I’ve learned the notion of straddling two cultures,” she said.

Ramírez was strongly influenced by intellectuals and artists in her fami-ly, yet never learned much Puerto Rican history or culture in school (thefocus was on American history and culture). She came to see that even inPuerto Rico the culture was officially marginalized – to such a degree thatlater, when she worked as director of the Museo de Antropología, Historiay Arte de La Universidad de Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, she was the first toput together a retrospective of a Puerto Rican artist.

“Before no museum had ever presented an exhibition like that,” shesaid. “They had mostly Spanish, European and American art, but this wasthe first retrospective of a Puerto Rican artist.”

The work she began at the museum in Puerto Rico – and her graduate

WOMEN/PROFILES


Mari CarmenRamírez –

Groundbreaker

in Latino Artby Michelle Adam

studies – set the tone for what Ramírez would do in her life. In 1988,shortly after obtaining her Ph.D., she was appointed the first curator ofLatin American art in the United States, at the Jack S. Blanton Museum ofArt at the University of Texas-Austin. She also became an adjunct lecturerin the Department of Art and Art History there.

During her 12 years at Blanton, Ramírez organized various shows thatwere recognized by many in the field, and produced written works thatchallenged the cultural hegemony of the United States on the modern artmovement. In a New York Times article from March 23, 2008, she wasquoted as saying, “It is important to stress that Latin American art is part ofthe West, it is not hanging out there as neo-Aztec or neo-Mayan culture.”

The MFAH curator was instrumental in changing these views, but it tookhard work and time to do so. “When I started out in the field, LatinAmerican art was extremely marginalized. A handful of people focused onthis, and it was an uphill battle. I remember when I started at the Blanton,we offered our exhibitions to other museums, and they would say ‘no.’Nobody knew anything about these artists,” she said. “You had to travel tothese countries and work hard to get this art. And then there were a lot ofprejudices. So people like me have had this missionary zeal to promotethese artists against all odds.”

Latin American art had been in a constant dialogue with American andEuropean art, but it didn’t fit neatly into the art categories invented in theU.S. and Europe 20 to 30 years ago, explained Ramírez. Latin Americanartists took modern art ideas, turned them upside-down, and producedsomething new – like the Uruguayan artist Joaquín Torres García and hiswork, which combines a style similar to the Dutch painter Piet Mondrianwith pictographs.

During her last year at Blanton, Ramírez embarked on a huge under-taking. With her husband, Héctor Olea, a Mexican poet and translator, shecurated the “Heterotopias” exhibition at the Reina Sofia museum inMadrid in 2000. The show, which would later create a huge stir in the U.S.,highlighted conceptual and minimalist art from Latin America rarely seenbefore. It challenged the very limited notion that all Latin American mod-ern art boils down to the Mexican muralists and Frida Kahlo.

Artists like Jesús Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Díez from Venezuela,Léon Ferrari from Argentina, and Rio de Janeiro artists Hélio Oiticica andLyfgia Clark were some of many Latin American artists represented inSpain, and later at the MFAH, when the show, under a new name, “InvertedUtopias,” made its debut in the U.S. While some artists’ names werealready familiar, many of the Latin American artists were seen for the firsttime. Their works ranged from steel-wire hangings and calligraphic draw-ings to left-wing sculptures and much more.

Ramírez left Blanton shortly after completing the Spanish exhibition,and was soon offered a position by Peter Marzio, the MFAH director at thetime, to curate Latin American art. Before moving to Houston in May 2001,though, Ramírez convinced Marzio to create a research center on LatinAmerican artists that she would also run.

“I had spent 12 years before that at the University of Texas and wasconscious of the fact that people here lack the inside perspective of LatinAmerican art and Latin America as a whole. So I knew you couldn’t start aprogram without a research component. I argued for the establishment ofa research center, and it was enthusiastically accepted,” she said. “The keyto all was research and education. You have to expose people to whatartists were thinking, so people understand where the ideas come from.”

Ramírez was thus invited to establish a curatorial department for Latin

American Art and direct the new International Center for the Arts of theAmericas at MFAH. “Peter was a great visionary and had it very clear fromas early as the 1980s the role that Latino art would play in this country,”she said.

The new curator embarked on her journey at the MFAH with severalmandates: to build a collection of modern and contemporary LatinAmerican and Latino art; to create exhibitions that are all heavily research-based; and to develop the ICAA and its archive.

To date, 10-plus years later, Ramírez has done exactly that and more.She has built the Latin American collection from almost nothing to morethan 550 works (the museum began with some Latin American photogra-phy and works on paper in other departments, but had nothing in terms ofpaintings, sculptures, videos and installation).

Since Ramírez began, MFAH has also had more than a dozen majorresearch-based exhibitions of Latin American art. “We spend three to five


years researching the artist and movement and organizing the material. Formany Latin American artists, they have not archived or organized theirwork,” said Ramírez. “We work to restore works and put together cata-logues that we reference. For many artists, this is their first referenceguide. We position these artists inside the narrative of 20th-century art.”

The most noteworthy exhibition to this date was “Inverted Utopias:Avant-Garde Art in Latin America,” a continuation of “Heterotopias” inSpain, in the summer of 2004. It was considered a blockbuster exhibit thatnot only challenged the notion of modern art in the U.S., but also broughtrecognition and acceptance of many Latin American artists to the U.S. artmarket. The show was named “Best Thematic Museum Show Nationally” inthe U.S. by the International Association of Art Critics.

Within a year of the 2004 event, Ramírez’s contributions were soonrecognized. She became the recipient of the Award for CuratorialExcellence by the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, and Timemagazine named her one of “The 25 Most Influential Hispanics inAmerica.”

But Ramírez’s work was far from over. She also spearheaded the ICAA,the International Center for the Arts of the Americas. “This is the only cen-ter of its kind in the world that is dedicated to the research and promotionof Latino art. I believe there is no initiative of this kind, where a center likethis is linked to a museum,” she said.

Through the center, the curator first gathered scholars, curators andeducators from the Americas to determine how to approach research ofLatin American art. “Everyone’s concern was about the issue of archivesand the fact that, up until this point, Latin American art had no funding,”she said. “In the case of any archives on Latin American art, there wasnothing. Documents were under grandmother’s beds and hidden in clos-ets. These groups wanted to preserve these memories.”

Recognizing the importance of documenting and archiving informationon Latin American art, these groups set out to gather documents and storiesfrom across the Americas. And technology was on their side – they were ableto scan all materials and upload them ultimately to the Internet. “By January

2012, we had been working for eight years behind the scenes. It had been sodifficult to give people a sense of what we were doing. It wasn’t until welaunched the database that this became a reality,” said Ramírez. “This wasthe first archive like this with all of its interactive functions. The receptionwas amazing, and I was amazed at the impact it had and how far it extended.It had a large impact in the U.S. and Latin America and Europe.”

Although only 3,500 documents had been uploaded to the currentarchival site at the time of the launch, ICAA and its research groups arecontinuing to upload more than 10,000 more documents in the next years.For now, however, the site has become a strong arm for academics to usewith their students to further research on Latin American art, and has com-plemented MFAH’s niche as a leader in Latin American art.

“The combination of these three factors (research, investment in a col-lection and exhibitions) sets us apart from other museums. Most are dedi-cated to building a collection and doing exhibitions, but none of them havea hardcore research component to them. And no other museum hasinvested financially as much as we have in the area of Latin American art.”

With MFAH’s great commitment and Ramírez’s unrelenting passion forLatin American Art, the museum and its curator have made a bold mark inthe world of modern art. Museums throughout the U.S. and beyond havebegun showing works by Latin American artists unfamiliar to the public adecade ago, and the value of these artists’ works have grown by $100,000or more during the same time period.

MFAH’s work is far from over, though. The museum is prepared to cre-ate a third building for its 20th Century Art and Latin American Art collec-tion, and its Latin American art collection will soon be permanently dis-played – no U.S. museum has yet to do the same. The ICAA archives willalso continue to grow and reach further audiences.

“I’ve never been closer to what I’ve wanted to do than I am now,” saidRamírez. “It’s been a tough climb, and I owe the work I’ve done to thereception I’ve had here in Houston. It’s been an amazing ride these past10-11 years.”



Ina world where even good news is ques-tioned and dissected for negative spin,it’s not surprising that there are some

analysts who question the wisdom of driving upenrollment at colleges and universities in theUnited States. Critics of this push to increaseaccess to higher education say that there is noevidence that sending otherwise disinclined stu-dents to college will translate into a smarterand more successful population.

This book seeks to address the ripple effectthat the higher education of a first-generationcollege student has on the student’s family andsubsequent generations of that family. The authors do this by examininggenerations of student families to find out how higher education improvesthe lives of the student and the student’s family as well as the student’sdescendants. And their conclusions are not based in conjecture. They arebased on their own dataset using a national database of research as a con-trol comparison. Written in terms that professional researchers and schol-ars as well as those not well-versed in higher education issues can readilyunderstand, Passing the Torch addresses the steady expansion of collegeenrollment rates over the last generation. It has been heralded as a majorstep toward reducing chronic economic disparities.

Unlike previous research into the benefits of higher education, Passingthe Torch follows the educational achievements of three generations over 30years. The book focuses on a cohort of women who entered City University ofNew York (CUNY) between 1970 and 1972, when the university beganaccepting all graduates of New York City high schools and increasing its rep-resentation of poor and minority students. The authors conducted surveyswith these women to determine how the opportunity to pursue higher educa-tion affected not only their long-term educational attainments and family well-being, but also how it affected their children’s educational achievements.Comparing the record of the CUNY alumnae to peers nationwide, the authorsrecorded data that showed when women from underprivileged backgroundsgo to college, their children are more likely to succeed in school and earncollege degrees themselves. Mothers with a college degree are more likely toexpect their children to go to college, to have extensive discussions with theirchildren, and to be involved in their children’s schools. All of these parentingbehaviors appear to create a breeding ground for higher test scores and col-lege enrollment rates among their children. In addition, college-educatedwomen are more likely to raise their children in stable two-parent house-holds and to earn higher incomes; both factors have been demonstratedto increase children’s educational success. As the first study to indi-cate that increasing access to college among today’s disadvan-taged students can reduce educational gaps in thenext generation, Passing the Torch makes a pow-erful argument in favor of college for all.

Reviewed by Mary Ann Cooper

Passing the Torch: Does HigherEducation for the DisadvantagedPay Off Across the Generations?by Paul Attewell, David Lavin and Tania Levey2009. 268 pgs. ISBN: 978-0871540386. $17.95. Russell SageFoundation, (212) 750-6000. www.russellsage.org.

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss

Atlantic Loyalties: Americans in Spanish West Florida,1785-1810

By Andrew McMichael

This book is a study of the factors that affected the loyaltiesof non-Spaniards living under Spanish rule on the southernfrontier. The Spanish borderlands systems of slavery and landownership used a system of land distribution and governmentpatronage to foster loyalty and kept the peace for a while. Theauthor focuses on the Baton Rouge district of Spanish West

Florida from 1785 through 1810, analyzing why resident Anglo-Americans,who had maintained a high degree of loyalty to the Spanish Crown through1809, rebelled in 1810. The author draws on Spanish, French and Anglorecords to paint the picture of life in those times.

2008. 256 pgs. ISBN: 978-0820330235. $24.95. paper. TheUniversity of Georgia Press, (800) 266-5842. www.ugapress.org.

Border Citizens: The Making of Indians, Mexicans, andAnglos in Arizona

By Eric V. Meeks

South-central Arizona is home to many ethnic groups,including Mexican-Americans, Mexican immigrants and semi-Hispanicized indigenous groups such as Yaquis and TohonoO’odham. Kinship and cultural ties between these diversegroups were altered, and ethnic boundaries were deepened bythe influx of Euro-Americans, the development of an industrial

economy and incorporation into the U.S. nation-state. The author exploreshow ethnic Mexican and Native American communities struggled to definetheir own identities as Arizona began to take its place in the national econo-my of the United States, primarily through mining and industrial agriculture.

2007. 342 pgs. ISBN: 978-0292716995. $30.00. paper. University ofTexas Press, (800) 252 3206. www.utexaspress.com.

Ugly Stories of the Peruvian Agrarian Reform(Latin America Otherwise)

By Enrique Mayer

The author reveals the human drama behind the radicalagrarian reform that came about in Peru during the final 30years of the 20th century. It began in 1969, when the left-leaning military government implemented a drastic pro-gram of land expropriation. Seized lands were turned intoworker-managed cooperatives. The author interviewed ex-

landlords, land expropriators, politicians, government bureaucrats, intel-lectuals, peasant leaders, activists, ranchers, members of farming fami-lies and others. Weaving their recollections with his own commentary, heoffers a series of dramatic narratives about this chaotic time in Peru.

2009. 328 pgs. ISBN: 978-0822344698. $24.95. paper. DukeUniversity Press Books, (919) 688-5134. www.dukeupress.edu.

WOMEN/RACE/GENDER ISSUES


Wage Gap for Women: Both Sides of the Storyby Mary Ann Cooper

Somearguments seem like no-brainers. Equal pay for equalwork seems to be one of those arguments. How couldanyone be opposed to such a democratic concept?

And in a year where one political party is being accused – justly or unjustly –of waging a war on women, the equal pay for equal work battle cry is espe-cially resonant with working women in America. But like every other debatewe are having these days in our polarized nation, the issue is complicated.

Here are the main arguments that support and refute the equal pay forequal work argument:

The Center for American Progress (CAP) uses hardstatistics to make its case. It says women who work fulltime year round continue to earn only about 77 per-cent of what men earn. The gap between the medianwage for a man and that of a woman in 2010 was$10,784 per year. The gender wage gap gets largerwith age and builds up over time. For young women atthe beginning of their careers – between the ages of 25to 29 – the annual wage gap is about $1,700. But forwomen in the final five years of their careers beforeretirement, the wage gap grows to a whopping$14,352. Over a 40-year career, the average womanwill lose $431,000 to the gender wage gap.

The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) acknowl-edges that women do make less income than men, butdon’t view this as discriminatory and hits back at lib-erals for inflating this issue.

When the Paycheck Fairness Act was being debated,Sabrina Schaeffer, executive director of Independent Women’s Forum, issuedthis statement: “Democrats, who frame the issue as a ‘War on Women,’should be embarrassed by this story not only because it hints at possible sex-ism, but also because it reveals the absurdity of the debate over the ‘wage gap’and the Paycheck Fairness Act. These ‘raw’ salaries tell us nothing about thequalifications, educational background or work-life preferences of any ofthese individuals.”

The IWF has its own statistics to promote its argument. They say theaverage full-time female worker spends 7.81 hours per day on the job, ver-sus the 8.3 hours for the average full-time working male. Men make up 55percent of workers averaging more than 35 hours a week. In 2007, 25percent of men working full-time jobs worked 41 or more hours a week,compared to 14 percent of full-time women. Men were found to be morelikely to work in dirty or dangerous conditions, and sustained the over-whelming majority of workplace injuries and deaths. It is reasonable thatthese additional risks often warrant higher salaries, concludes the IWF.

CAP says that opponents to equal pay for equal work are using these statisticsto confuse the issue. Arguably, people working longer hours or in dangerous orunsavory conditions should be compensated more than those working less andin safer conditions, but the Paycheck Fairness Act is about EQUAL pay for EQUAL

work. Differences in hours logged or working conditions have nothing to do withthe basic premise of equal pay for equal work. IWF’s point, however, is that dif-ferences in working conditions and hours on the job can skew the same statisticsthat proponents of new legislation use to make their argument.

CAP also points to the fact that women are now earning the majority ofcollege degrees, but that has done nothing to mitigate the pay gap betweenthe sexes. The American Association of University Women found that col-lege-educated women begin their careers earning 5 percent less than their

male peers – even when they went to the sameschools, had the same GPA, were hired for the samejobs and had the same marital status and family make-up in terms of the parenting of children. After 10 yearson the job, the wage gap expands to 12 percent, evenwhen women don’t miss a beat competing with theirmale counterparts at the same job.

The IWF points out that college women tend tomajor in less lucrative professions and fields of studybecause, according to survey research conducted byBasit Zafar in 2009 for the Federal Reserve Bank ofNew York, women often consider issues like parentalapproval and enjoyment of future work when choos-ing a major, while their male colleagues are moreconcerned with salaries and status.

The Federal Reserve report seems to show the uni-versality of the societal differences between men andwomen when it comes to education, since CAP’scrunched numbers show the gender wage gap exists

for all women, regardless of race or ethnicity. White women earn 21.9 per-cent less than White men; Black women earn 10.2 percent less than Blackmen; Latinas earn 8.7 percent less than Latino men; and Asian-Americanwomen earn 20.3 percent less than Asian-American men. They say thewage gap is smaller for African-American and Hispanic women primarilybecause wages for people of color tend to be lower overall.

The IWF explains that when women take a leave of absence for weeks,months or even years to rear their own children or care for a family mem-ber, it stunts their earnings potential because men in the same jobs areracking up more experience during their absences. Kay Hymowitz, a fellowat the Manhattan Institute, wrote in the Wall Street Journal in April 2012,“One study by the American Association for University Women looked atwomen who graduated from college in 1992-93 and found that 23% ofthose who had become mothers were out of the workforce in 2003; anoth-er 17% were working part-time. Fewer than 2% of fathers fell into thosecategories. Another study, of M.B.A. graduates from Chicago’s BoothSchool, discovered that only half of women with children were workingfull-time 10 years after graduation, compared with 95% of men.”Hymowitz went on to cite more of the New York Federal Reserve reportstating that, “‘opting-out’ by midcareer college-educated wives, especially

those with wealthy husbands, has been increasing over the past 20 years.”Still, that doesn’t explain the fact that single women face an even larger,

on average, gender wage gap than married women. Single women typicallyearn less than married women – 21.2 percent less. They also earn only 57cents for every dollar married men earn. There is also a wage gap betweenmothers and women without children. This “mother’s wage penalty”reduces a mother’s pay by about 7 percent per child.

Critics of the equal pay for equal work legislation say that this gap can veryoften be explained. Part of the reason women earn less than men is related to thefact that they are more likely to work in so-called pink-collar jobs, which offerlow wages. The top 10 occupations for women include secretaries and adminis-trative assistants, cashiers, retail salespersons and waitresses. These types of jobstend to pay less than those in male-dominated industries and professions.

But proponents say that only about a quarter of the wage gap is due tooccupational differences, and about 10 percent of the gap is due to the factthat women are more likely than men to leave the paid labor force to pro-vide family care. And while there could be a national dialogue about whywomen are always expected to assume the role of caregiver while men arenot expected to put their career on hold to perform similar functions, itdoesn’t negate the impact it has on wages and career paths.

Critics of new legislation like the IWF say that pay discrimination isalready illegal in the U.S. Both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII ofthe Civil Rights Act of 1964 make pay discrimination illegal, and womencan and do sue their employers when they feel they have been wronged.The IWF points out that about 12 percent of job-discrimination plaintiffs

win their case. It explains that new measures could actually be detrimentalto women. For example, proposals to create rigid compensation guidelinesfor women and men would lead to less flexibility and more compliancecosts, which would depress job and promotion prospects for all.

Proponents argue that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – which helpswomen and minorities who have been discriminated against by restartingthe clock on the statute of limitations with each discriminatory paycheck –was a step forward, but it fails to get to the root of the problem. ThePaycheck Fairness Act, however, would empower women by outlawingworkplace policies that make disclosing one’s salary to co-workers a causefor being fired and would provide negotiation training for women and girls.

The Historical Perspective on Paycheck EqualityThe American Association of University Women (AAUW) has as its mis-

sion to empower women and girls through advocacy, education, philan-thropy and research. Its nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has morethan 150,000 members and supporters across the United States, as wellas 1,000 local branches and 700 college and university partners. SinceAAUW’s founding in 1881, its members have examined and taken posi-tions on the fundamental issues of the day – educational, social, econom-ic and political.

The AAUW lists these events – going back nearly a century – that werehistorical milestones in the fight for paycheck equality:

1. During World War I, women were first guaranteed pay equity in theform of regulations enforced by the War Labor Board of 1918. The board’sequal pay policy required manufacturers, who put women on the payrollwhile male employees were serving in the military, to pay those women thesame wages that were paid to the men.

2. During World War II, a large number of American women took jobs(most for the first time) outside the home. Many of these women workedin the war industries, and in 1942 the National War Labor Board urgedemployers to make “adjustments which [would] equalize wage or salaryrates paid to females with the rates paid to males for comparable qualityand quantity of work on the same or similar operations.”

3. The first bill prohibiting pay discrimination against women wascalled the “Women’s Equal Pay Act of 1945” and was introduced by Sens.Pepper and Morse on June 21, 1945. The bill was not passed. Bills wereintroduced every year but were not passed because they called for equalpay for comparable work. “Comparable work” is the theory of providingequal compensation for different jobs in the same organization or com-munity based on a comparison of the intrinsic worth and/or difficulty ofthe job.

4. Until the early 1960s, advertisements for job listings were separatedby sex. Almost all of the higher-level jobs were for men, and some ads forthe exact same job would offer different pay for men and women.

5. In 1963, women earned 58.9 percent of the wages men earned,according to the U.S. Women’s Bureau and the National Committee on PayEquity. On June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act (EPA)into law to become effective on June 11, 1964. With the EPA, it becameillegal to pay women lower wages than men based solely on their sex.

6. In 2009, President Obama signs into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair PayRestoration Act as the first piece of legislation in his presidency. It gaveemployees greater rights in challenging employer payment practices.

7. Despite the passage of the EPA over 40 years ago, women still do notearn equal wages. In 2010, women earned 77 percent of men’s wages,which is only an improvement of a penny a year since 1963 according tothe U.S. Census Bureau.


Lilly Ledbetter

Yvette Donado andETS: Promoting aSolid Early Startfor Hispanic Studentsby Mary Ann Cooper

Chosen as one of Hispanic Business magazine’s “Top 50 Influentials for2012,” Yvette Donado is an outstanding role model for Latinas trying tobreak through the corporate glass ceiling. But there is so much more to

her than that. As chief administrative officer and senior vice president of peo-ple, process and communications at Educational Testing Service (ETS),Donado wears many hats. But all her duties come down to one common goalthat she has pursued her entire life. That goal is to be, as she says, that “gran-ito de arena” (grain of sand) that joins community, educators, parents andorganizations to make a mountain that can move mountains of resistance tothe ascendance of Hispanics in schools, the marketplace and society.

Donado grew up in New York City, after her parents moved there fromPuerto Rico. She and her four sisters witnessed, firsthand, how low expec-tations could stifle ambition and success in Latinos. She recently admittedthat when she began her career, she had to disabuse people from assumingthat as a woman and a Latina she was not up to the task at hand. Instead offeeling discouraged, Donado set about changing minds. She worked hardto win over her co-workers’ respect by overachieving and succeeding inwhatever she put her hand and mind to.

Part of Donado’s strength comes from her father, who was uncompro-mising in his belief that the workplace should be a healthy environment,where everyone was treated with respect and dignity. She told Latina Stylemagazine in December of 2012 that his example was a life lesson for her.“Of course I did not understand what I was learning at the time, but it wasvery powerful that he had non negotiable requirements of what was accept-able behavior. There was something about his sense of justice that stayedwith me. And I know that somewhere I got this thing about treating peoplewith respect and that there needs to be fairness and justice.”

Donado earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Queens College inNew York and a diploma in human resources studies from New YorkUniversity. She also received a certificate in strategic human resources man-agement and an executive MBA (AMP) from Harvard University. She complet-ed the Executive Development Program at Wharton Business School and tookclasses at Cornell/Boston University in labor relations and conflict resolution.

Before joining ETS, Donado was senior vice president/director ofhuman resources at Donovan Data Systems Inc., a leading provider of soft-ware services for the worldwide advertising industry. Prior to that, shejoined Donovan Data Systems in 1975 and began her career there by serv-ing as corporate vice president, director of personnel, and manager of thefirm’s New York headquarters.

Now at ETS, Donado supervises a staff of more than 500 employees.And in that capacity, she has focused like a laser beam on the needs of thenation’s English-language learners (ELLs). Of the more than five millionELLs in this country, 80 percent are Hispanic. So it’s not a surprise to herthat Hispanic dropout rates continue to be high, even though they are edg-

ing downward in recent years.To Donado, starting as early as possible to reverse the attitudes and diffi-

culties that perpetuate high Hispanic dropout rates is the key to success. Andwhen it comes to starting early, Donado is a firm believer that local effortsare an important part of the efforts of ETS in addressing this problem.

She issued a statement recently that read in part, “Assuring our globalcompetitiveness is a goal no one can argue with. Turning around our com-parative decline in educational attainment depends greatly on local com-mitment. And when I think ‘local,’ I often think of San Antonio, whereEducational Testing Service (ETS) has its K-12 division headquarters. Soeducation in San Antonio, especially at the Pre-K-12 levels, is of keen inter-est to me personally and to ETS.”

Donado insists that nursery schoolchildren’s academic success in lateryears depends upon intervention by companies like ETS, community organi-zations and the family. “Research shows that parental engagement – in achild’s Pre-K years – is pivotal for a strong start in school. Oregon andColorado, among other states, have researched Pre-K education and its pre-dictive value for educational attainment in the lower grades. They have initiat-ed programs to strengthen early education,” she explains. “In a 2010 report,the Anna E. Casey Foundation said: ‘Reading proficiency by the end of thirdgrade can be a make-or-break benchmark in a child’s educational develop-ment.’ It also said that in 2008, ‘16% of children in the United States lived in ahousehold where the head of household was not a high school graduate.’”

Donado points to an ETS report in 2008, The Family: America’sSmallest School, to make her point that learning begins in the home. Shesays, “Socioeconomic levels affect the home learning environment. Theconclusion is inescapable: Parents and the home must be conducive toearly education. Too many families, however, are at or below the povertylevel. The youngsters for whom we must assure a solid early start are ourfuture work force, and are tomorrow’s instruments for global competitive-ness. Providing the right learning environment for them at home and asolid early start in school is everyone’s job.”

In the final analysis, Donado is determined to be that “granito dearena,” knowing full well that grains of sand can be irritants as well as thefoundation for building a mountain. But it should be noted that were it notfor irritating grains of sand that find their way into an oyster shell, therewould be no pearls in the world. She is determined to be one of the cata-lyst grains of sand for change. “We’ve got to engage the parent,” she toldLatina Style in that same interview. “We’ve got to figure out why kids areabsent so much. What is going on with the absenteeism? What is it with theschool that makes it unappealing to our youth? The reason I feel so privi-leged to be part of this organization at this moment is because I reallythink we’re at a tipping point with this nation. I hope we can all worktogether to make things better.”

WOMEN/PROFILES



Ambriz-Galaviz Becomes Presidentof Merritt College

Dr. José M. Ortiz, chancellor of the PeraltaCommunity College District (Calif.), recentlynamed Dr. NormaAmbriz-Galaviz (pic-tured) the new presi-dent of MerrittCollege, calling her an“ a c c o m p l i s h e da d m i n i s t r a t o r . ”Ambriz-Galaviz hasserved since 2008 asvice president ofinstruction for Mission College of the WestValley Mission Community College District.She was employed for 17 years at ChabotCollege and also worked at Cabrillo andHartnell Community colleges, holding variousacademic and student services positions.Ambriz-Galaviz has an associate degree inadministration of justice from HartnellCollege, a bachelor’s in criminal justiceadministration and master’s in counselingfrom San Diego State University and a doctor-ate in education-organizational leadershipfrom the University of La Verne.

UALR Names Toro-Ramos NewProvost

Zulma Toro-Ramos became the newprovost and vice chancellor for academicaffairs at the Universityof Arkansas-LittleRock (UALR) inJanuary. Toro-Ramoshad been dean of theCollege of Engineeringat Wichita StateUniversity, where shealso had served asdirector of the Centerfor Innovation and Enterprise Engagement.She has an undergraduate degree in industri-al engineering from the University of PuertoRico, a master’s in industrial and operationsengineering from the University of Michiganand a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute ofTechnology.

UCR’s López Named Tomás RiveraChair

Tiffany Ana López, a professor of theater atthe University of California-Riverside (UCR),recently became thesecond scholar tohold the Tomás RiveraChair in the College ofHumanities, Arts andSocial Sciences atUCR, succeeding JuanFelipe Herrera, whohad held the positionsince 2005. Lópezjoined the UCR English department in 1995 asthe university’s first specialist in Chicana/o lit-erature. Her current research focuses onissues of trauma and violence and the waysthat theater, literature and art provideavenues for personal healing, communitybuilding and social change. She has a bache-lor’s degree from California State University-Sacramento and a master’s and Ph.D. fromthe University of California-Santa Barbara.

Núñez Presented with“Transforming Lives Award”

Elsa M. Núñez, president of EasternConnecticut State University, received the2012 TransformingLives Award fromHartford-based FamilyLife Education duringits 25th anniversarygala in November. Inaccepting the award,Núñez said: “Whensomeone in a PuertoRican family, anAfrican-American family, or an inner-city stu-dent from a low-income family is the firstfamily member to attend college, it not onlytransforms one life. ... Graduating from col-lege tells a student, ‘Yes you can.’ It tells hisor her family, ‘We are strong.’ It tells anentire neighborhood, ‘We can succeed.’ It islike a pebble tossed into still water – it rip-ples and ripples and ripples, until it reachesall shores.”

Regueiro Honored by SouthFlorida Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce

The South Florida Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce (SFHCC) in November honoredMaría Cristina Regueiro,Florida National Univer-sity’s (FNU) president,with the EducationLeader of the YearAward. Chamber Presi-dent Liliam M. Lópezand Chairman SantiagoQuintana Jr. presentedthe award to Regueiroat the Hispanic chamber’s 18th AnnualSunshine Awards. “María Cristina is a vital pres-ence in the community and has become aninfluential figure in education,” said López.“This award recognized Mrs. Regueiro’s excep-tional commitment to higher education andcontributions to the community.”

Rodríguez Nieto Discusses HerExperiences Covering Crime inCiudad Juárez, Mexico

Investigative reporter Sandra RodríguezNieto examined how Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,became one of themost dangerous citiesin the world, during arecent presentationat California StateUniversity-Northridge.Rodríguez Nieto talkedabout her book LaFábrica Del Crimen,(The Factory ofCrime). Rodríguez Nieto has worked as aninvestigative reporter in Ciudad Juárez since2003 for the daily newspaper El Diario deJuárez.

HHIISSPPAANNIICCSS OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVEEHHIISSPPAANNIICCSS OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVEE

Photo © Jo

sé N

aranjo


TheUniversity of South Florida System is a high-impact,global research system dedicated to student success. TheUSF System includes three institutions: USF Tampa; USF

St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. The institutions are separatelyaccredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association ofColleges and Schools. All institutions have distinct missions and strategicplans. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annualbudget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USFis a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

Administrative and Executive Positions:Director of Financial Management (University College)

Sr. Director of Development-Gift Planning (Advancement)Sr. Director of Development-COB (Advancement)

Regional Chancellor (St. Petersburg Campus)Sr. Director Academic Learning Design & Technology (University College)

Director of Counseling Center (Student Affairs)Director of Development (Advancement)

Director of the Center for Student Involvement (Student Affairs)Director of Quality Enhancement-Academic Success (St. Petersburg Campus)

Faculty Positions:College of Arts and Sciences College of EducationAssistant Professor (8) Assistant/AssociateProfessor (1)Assistant/Associate Professor (3) Assistant Professor (3)Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (1) Dean (1)Associate Professor/Professor (1)

College of Business College of EngineeringAssistant Professor (3) Open Rank (Full Professor) (4)Associate/Full Professor (2) Assistant Professor (3)Assistant/Associate Professor (2) Open Rank (Full/Associate/Assistant) (2)

College of Arts St. Petersburg CampusAssistant Professor (2) Assistant Professor (3)Director & Professor (1) Assistant/AssociateProfessor (1)

College of Public Health Sarasota CampusAssistant Professor (2) Assistant Professor (2)Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

College of Medicine College of NursingAssistant/Associate Professor (8) Nursing Faculty (2)Assistant Professor (11) Assistant/AssociateProfessor (1)Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (4)

Mental Health Law & Policy Coll. of Behavioral and Comm. SciencesAssistant Professor (2) Professor (1)Professor (1) Assistant Professor (2)

Associate/Full Professor (1)

Behavioral SciencesAssistant Professor (1)Associate Professor/Full Professor (1)

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

Associate Vice President for Human ResourcesLocated near Manhattan, New Jersey City University, an urban institution of distinction in the State of New Jersey enrolling over 8300 undergraduate and graduate students, invites nominations and applications for the position of Associate Vice President for Human Resources, a newly created position. NJCU is seeking a strategic, accomplished HR generalist, dedicated to working in a vibrant, mission-driven, and culturally diverse institution, to lead its Human Resources department.

Reporting to the President, the new Associate Vice President will be the chief human resources of�cer for the institution and will be responsible for designing and implementing leading-edge human resources services for the University, which employs 770 full- and part-time faculty and 670 staff. As a member of senior staff, the AVP for Human Resources will serve as a strategic advisor on human capital issues, the development of policies and procedures, and culture and climate initiatives on campus. The Associate Vice President for Human Resources will oversee the areas of Recruitment and Staf�ng, Employee Relations, Compensation and Records, Bene�ts, Payroll ($84 million), HRIS, and Performance Management and Training. The Associate Vice President for Human Resources will work collaboratively with administrative and academic departments across campus. Through effective and proactive HR policy and operations, the Associate Vice President for Human Resources is responsible for developing practices and programs that support the University’s mission and position NJCU to attract and retain a highly quali�ed, diverse workforce.

The successful candidate will have at least ten years of progressively responsible experience as a human resources generalist in higher education or a related industry with a successful record in change management; proven strategic leadership experience in the areas of organizational effectiveness, labor relations, and performance management; comprehensive knowledge of employment and labor laws, and a record of implementing process and systems improvements as well as HR best practices. A bachelor’s degree is required; master’s degree in a related �eld is highly preferred. Advanced training or PHR/SPHR certi�cation is highly desirable.

Inquiries, nominations, and applications (cover letter and resume) can be directed, in con�dence, to:

Paula Hurley Fazli, Partner, Sage Search Partners; [email protected]; 617-964-0406.

EOE


Anticipated Faculty Positions2013-2014

Kean, a comprehensive New Jersey state university, iscommitted to excellence and access and to developing,maintaining and strengthening interactive ties with thecommunity. Kean University takes pride in itscontinuing effort to build a multicultural professionalcommunity to serve a richly diversified studentpopulation of almost 16,000. The University sits onthree adjoining campus sites covering 180 acres, twomiles from Newark Liberty International Airport andthirty minutes from NewYork City.

All open faculty positions are ten-month, full-time,tenure-track assignments at the rank of AssistantProfessor, effective September 1, 2013 unlessotherwise indicated. Teaching assignments and relatedresponsibilities may include day, evening, weekend andonline courses. Courses are taught at the Union campusbut some positions may include assignments at OceanCounty College in Toms River, New Jersey or otherlocations.

All faculty are expected to demonstrate a commitmentto teaching excellence and an on-going program ofresearch and publication or creative and performanceactivity. Participation in curriculum development,student advisement and service at the departmental/school, college and university level is also required.Interest or experience in using advanced instructionaltechnologies to improve the teaching/learning processis highly desirable. All positions are subject toavailability of funds, due to financial exigencies.

College of Business and Public ManagementSchool of Accounting and Finance: Accounting

College of EducationDepartment of Special Education and Literacy:

Autism Spectrum DisordersDepartment of Physical Education, Recreation and

Health: Athletic Training

College of Natural, Applied and Health SciencesDepartment of Computer Science

College of Visual and Performing ArtsRobert Busch School of Design (Three Positions):Motion Graphics and Animation; Interactive Design;

Interactive Advertising and Brand Strategist

Nathan Weiss Graduate CollegeDepartment of Advanced Studies in

Psychology/Psy.D.

Application, Salary and Benefits Informationon All Positions

For detailed job descriptions and application information,please visit: http://www.kean.edu/KU/Faculty-Positions.Review of applications will begin immediately andcontinue until position is filled. Salary is competitiveand commensurate with qualifications and experience.Comprehensive benefits program included. Contingenton Budgetary Approval and Appropriated Funding.

Kean University is an EOE/AA Institution


EDUCATION MEANSA BETTER FUTURE.

Visit utb.edu today to learn more.

We thank the women at UTB who are setting the example and preparing future leaders.

You, too, can make a difference.

i fde setting the ewho ar

ank the we thW

l dfxample g the e

BTomen at Uw

man ctoo, ou, YYou,

eparing frd pan

e.y to learn moraay to learn mor.edu todVisit utb

ence.differaeak

ers.e leadrutuf

New Approaches to Morphogenesis: Live Imaging and Quantitative Modeling

July 22 ! August 24, 2013

For information and to apply visit:www.kitp.ucsb.edu/qbio

Application deadline: February 28, 2013

Santa Barbara Advanced School of Quantitative Biology

2013 Summer Research Course @ UCSBPresented by KITP & CNSI

dUij

dt= kDiFj(1 +

Uij)− Uij(1 +Uji)

AaSanta Barbarof Quantitative Biology

RS

ed School dvancAative Biology

@ UCSBh C B

oaches tApprweNmaging and Quantitative MLive I

uAAugust 24, 2013y 22 ully 22 J

oor information and tF

esearummer RResear2013 Sed by KITPresentP

orphogenesis: o MMorphogenesis: s tingodelQuantitative MModel

ugust 24, 2013

isito appl

se @ UCSBourch Car& CNSIKITP

g

B

oor information and tF.kitp.ucsb.eduwwww.kitp.ucsb.edu/

ication deadlApply 28, 2013uarebrFFebr

dUij

dt=

ij)−

y visito apply

Vice President of Academic Affairshttp://www.kckcc.edu/

Kansas City Kansas Community College is committed to excellence in highereducation. The college’s mission is to provide higher education and lifelong learningto the varied communities, primarily in its service area of Wyandotte andLeavenworth counties of Northeast Kansas. The Vice President of Academic Affairsserves as the Chief Academic Officer of the College and reports directly to theCollege President.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer of the College,provides college wide leadership to develop and implement academic programs andservices designed to promote student success. S/he will assume the responsibilities ofthe President during her absence and represent the institution at national and statemeetings. As the academic leader of the college, the Vice President for AcademicAffairs articulates an academic vision and works collaboratively with 7 deans, 3directors and approximately 450 full- and part-time faculty.

Formore information about this College and to view the full Job Posting listed underEmployment Opportunities, please click this link: http://www.kckcc.edu/ or contact:

John SteineckeSearch Services [email protected] | 202.775.4468(w) | 202-384.6539(m)

Narcisa A. Polonio, Ed.D.Executive Vice President for Board [email protected] | 202.276.1983

Target Date: March 1, 2013

Director, School of Science, Engineering and Technology

Penn State Harrisburg invites nominations and applications for the position, Director,School of Science, Engineering and Technology. Reporting to the SeniorAssociate DeanforAcademicAffairs, the Director will provide leadership and promote excellence in ad-ministering academic and budgetary oversight for the interdisciplinary School. The Di-rector will set the standard for intellectual engagement and maintain and promote highquality teaching, research, scholarship and service and have demonstrated experience inthe tenure and promotion process. The Director will guide the strategic vision and pro-vide operational leadership by creating a learning community that supports and ad-vances the School's faculty and academic programs and identifies and capitalizes onopportunities for external funding. The successful candidate will demonstrate leadershipin the enhancement of undergraduate and graduate education; as well as defining thestandards of excellence in diversity, recruitment, development and retention of its diversefaculty to advance the mission of the School. The successful candidate will be an ac-complished scholar in one of the disciplines of the School and must be eligible for ap-pointment at the senior rank with tenure. Anticipated starting date is July 1, 2013.

Please visit the College website at http://harrisburg.psu.edu/jobs/director-school-science-engineering-and-technology to see a detailed description of the announcement.

Please submit a letter of application, curriculum vita, and the names, addresses, andphone numbers of five references to: Chair, Director of School of SET Search Com-mittee, c/o Mrs. Dorothy J. Guy, Director of Human Resources, Box HHE 38646,777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4898. Review ofapplications/nominations will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity,and the diversity of its workforce.


“CULTURALCOMPETENCE...”

Welcoming

Community

Diversity

Regard

Respect

Inclusion

Sensitivity

Awareness

Listening

Experiences Oakton Community College is an equal opportunity employer.

Oakton Community Collegeemploys individuals whorespect, are eager to learnabout, and have a willingnessto accept the many ways ofviewing the world.Oakton serves the nearnorthern suburbs of Chicagowith campuses in DesPlaines and Skokie.Individuals with acommitment to workingin a culturally competentenvironment and who reflectthe increasing diversity ofOakton’s student body andcommunity are sought forthe following opening:

The full consideration deadline is March 3, 2013.

To learn more about thisposition and complete an

application, visit our Web site at:

www.oakton.eduClick on “employment”

• Directorof WorkforceDevelopment and Corporate Training

Welcoming

“CULTURALTURALLCOMPETENC

ALCE...”

Community

Diversity

Regard

R t

p yrespect, are eager to learnabout, and have a willingnessto accept the many ways ofviewing the world.Oakton serves the nearnorthern suburbs of Chicagowith campuses in DesPlaines and Skokie.Individuals with a

to learnwillingnessy ways of

d.e nearof ChicagoDes

ie.a

Respect

Inclusion

commitment to workingin a culturally competentenvironment and who reflectthe increasing diversity ofOakton’s student body andcommunity are sought forthe following opening:

• rtoceriDofforkorrkWWorffo

workingmpetent

who reflectersity ofbody andught forning:

ecorSensitivity

AwarenessThe full consideration

deadline is March 3, 2013.

To learn more about thisposition and complete an


offorkorrkWWorffompoleelvDeevporod CnagininraTTra

deration ch 3, 2013.

about thismplete anr Web site at:

ecortnemetaro

Listening

Experiences Oakton Community College is an equal opportunity employer.


www.oakton.eduClick on “employment”

ty College is ty employer.

r Web site at:

on.eduoyment”


The Patterson Center for Health Professions identifies studentsand supports alumni pursuing careers in the health professionsto provide them with ongoing academic and career advising;preparation for graduate and professional school applications;internships, shadowing, and mentoring experiences; andopportunities for additional study at affiliated educationalinstitutions and organizations. The Director of the PattersonCenter leads the Center’s efforts in providing educationalopportunities for students and in collaborating with otherprograms, both within and beyond the College. The Directoridentifies and facilitates the development of new programs,courses, events, experiences and affiliations available tostudents interested in the health care professions. The Directorcoordinates the Center’s efforts with other College centers,academic departments, and offices. The Director maintainsand expands relationships with both individuals in health carefields and affiliated schools, programs, institutions, andorganizations. It is desirable for the Director to teach one classa year, in either the traditional undergraduate or the adultprograms. The Director is an administrator with faculty rank,who reports to the SeniorVice President forAcademicAffairsand Dean of the Faculty.Qualifications:An earned doctoratein a field related to the health sciences, experience with and/ora strong understanding of higher education administration,advising of students, and teaching, experience with and/or astrong understanding of a broad spectrum of health careprofessions, strong leadership, management, communication,networking, and collaboration skills and energy and skill inpromoting the Center to a wide variety of individuals andorganizations. Apply online at www.elmhurst.edu.

Elmhurst College, an equal opportunity employer,seeks candidates with demonstrated ability to contribute

positively to a multicultural campus community.Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Director, Patterson Centerfor the Health Professions

Assistant Vice President for InstitutionalResearch, Planning and Assessment

California StateUniversity, Bakersfield is seeking an individualto oversee institutional data collection and management and tocoordinate strategic planning and assessment activities. Theperson will facilitate the use of institutional data in campus-wide planning and decision-making. The individual willmonitor progress toward achieving institutional goals, andcompliance with CSU, federal, state, and other agencies’mandates and regulations. This position will coordinateuniversity strategic planning efforts, and provide leadership forthe evaluation and assessment of educational effectiveness andinstitutional-related outcomes.

The AVP will oversee the design and conduct of timelyresearch studies in areas related to the institution’s strategicobjectives and student learning outcomes, and will workwith units in developing a “culture of evidence” includingappropriate measures and indicators for assessment. Theindividual will be responsible for the operation of the IRPAOffice which will provide data to external agencies andcampus constituencies on topics such as studentrecruitment, retention, and graduation; faculty, staff, andstudent satisfaction; enrollment planning; campusdiversity; faculty workload; and institutional effectiveness.

For complete advertisement, application instructions, anddetailed job description for this position, please visit ourwebpage at http://www.csub.edu/provost/MPPSearches.shtml

California State University, Bakersfield is committed toEqual Employment Opportunity. Applicants will beconsidered without regard to gender, race, age, color, religion,national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information,marital status, disability or covered veteran status.


Vice President For Learning(Chief Academic Officer) (#01427)Salary Range: $87,195 - $145,329Best Consideration Apply Date: April 4, 2013Provide vision and leadership to all Learning programs within a student-centered, Learning College environment. Administer and provide oversight to all areas within the Learning Division to include Academic and Professional Studies, Academic Operations and Extended Learning, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Continuing Education and Workforce Development. As the Chief Academic Officer of the College, provide oversight of quality and effectiveness of learning including all new and existing curricula and provide leadership in the development of external partnerships that advance the College’s mission. Collaborate with other vice presidents to support the learning college philosophy. Demonstrated success in management of fiscal and academic affairs and professional/support staff in a college or university setting is desired. College teaching experience is required and community college teaching experience is preferred. The individual in this position reports to the President.

Vice President For Learning Support(Chief Student Affairs Officer) (#01428)Salary Range: $87,195 - $145,329Best Consideration Apply Date: April 4, 2013Provide vision and leadership for all administrative units and programs to support students in a student-centered, Learning College environment. As the Chief Student Affairs Officer of the College, provide oversight for quality and effectiveness for learning support and student success initiatives throughout the College and provide leadership in the development of external partnerships that advance the College’s mission and student success. Administer, manage, and lead all departments reporting to the Vice President for Learning Support. Collaborate with other vice presidents to support the learning college philosophy. Demonstrated success in management of fiscal affairs, student development programs, and professional/support staff in a college or university setting is desired. The individual in this position reports to the President.

Minimum Qualifications for each position:

experience in supervision of personnel and administration of programs in higher education. Proven ability to deal effectively, cooperatively, and tactfully with faculty, staff, administrators, students, business/industry, governmental and community representatives.

Join our 1,000-member team of outstanding full- and part-time employees. Be part of a noble cause on one of the most beautiful, growing campuses in Maryland. Love where you work and live—Frederick is a gem of a community about an hour outside of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Thank you for your interest!

To find out more about this exciting opportunity, visit http://jobs.frederick.edu for more details and instructions on how to apply. Additional assistance regarding

applying online may be requested by contacting 301.846.2622. Start date not later than July 1, 2013.

FCC, an equal opportunity employer, values campus diversity in students and staff and strongly encourages members from historically under-represented groups to apply.

DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LETTERS,ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CalPoly Pomona) invites nominations and applications forthe position of Dean of the College of Letters, Arts, andSocial Sciences. The Dean reports to the Provost and VicePresident for Academic Affairs. One of the majorresponsibilities of the Dean is fundraising anddevelopment work in the College, as State fundingdeclines. Additional core responsibilities are to stimulateexcellence in teaching, research, and scholarship andcreative activities; to direct faculty and staff recruitment,development, and evaluation; to support initiatives thatpromote diversity and collaboration within the College,and further the mission of the University; to manage fiscaland personnel components of the College; to oversee theCollege’s efforts in strategic planning, enrollmentmanagement, program review, and accreditation; todevelop partnerships with the surrounding communityand represent the College to external constituents.

Candidates must possess at least four years ofadministrative experience as department chair, associatedean, dean, or equivalent; professional activity consistentwith a senior faculty appointment; administrativeexperience and experience managing a budget;experience or understanding of strategic planning andexternal fund raising; a collaborative style of leadershipand a commitment to shared, transparent governance in auniversity setting; a commitment to excellence inteaching, service, and research/creative activities asmanifested in the College’s diverse disciplines; strongwritten and oral communication skills; and anappreciation and respect for diversity and for working ina multi-cultural, and multi-lingual environment.

Cal Poly Pomona, one of 23 campuses in The CaliforniaState University system, is located 25 miles east ofdowntown LosAngeles. The beautiful and historic 1400-acre campus, once the Arabian horse ranch of cerealmagnate, W.K. Kellogg, has an ethnically diverse studentpopulation of 21,000 students enrolled in 62undergraduate majors and 19 master’s degree programs.Additional information about the University may befound online at http://www.csupomona.edu/.

First consideration will be given to completed applicationpackages received no later than February 20, 2013. Acompleted application package will consist of: (1) a letterof interest in the position including a statement addressingthe candidate’s experience in regards to the position’squalifications; (2) a current curriculum vitae; and (3)names and contact information of at least 5 references.Finalists will be required to complete a Universityemployment application. Additional information may berequested. Send completed applications electronically to:

Search Committee, Dean of the College of Letters,Arts, and Social Sciences

C/o Laura E. Valdez, Search CoordinatorInternational Center

Cal Poly Pomona University(909) 869-3267

Email: [email protected]

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona is anEqual Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.Complete and full information, including the duties, andrequired and preferred qualifications for this position maybe found online at http://www.csupomona.edu/~jobs/dated/employ%202013/DEAN%20of%20CLASS.html

CAL POLY POMONA


POSITIONSCALIFORNIACal Poly Pomona 37California State University, Bakersfield 35University of California, Santa Barbara 33FLORIDAUniversity of South Florida 31University of West Florida 39ILLINOISElmhurst College 35Oakton Community College 34University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 34KANSASKansas City Kansas Community College 33MARYLANDFrederick Community College 37NEW JERSEYKean University 32New Jersey City University 31Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Newark 35NEW YORKSUNY/Onondaga Community College 38OHIOCollege of Wooster 32PENNSYLVANIAPenn State Harrisburg 33TEXASUniversity of Houston 32WASHINGTONWashington State University 38

INSTITUTIONALUniversity of Texas at Brownsville TX 33

*To see all our “Employment and other Opportunities,”including all Web Postings, visit our website at www.HispanicOutlook.com

A D V E R T I S I N G I N D E X

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Position (FNP or PMHNP)Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington, College of NursingThis full-time position will be at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank

depending on qualifications.

Responsibilites: 1) teaching undergraduate, master and/or doctoral students; 2)advising undergraduate and graduate students; 3) participating in research team-building by complementing or augmenting current areas of faculty research; 4)maintaining an ongoing program of research; 5) publishing and presentingresearch findings, 6) serving on master’s and doctoral committees; 7) providingservice to the university community and profession of nursing.

Required Qualifications: 1) A doctoral degree in nursing or related discipline bydate of hire; 2) Clinical expertise and eligibility for licensure in Washington State;3) Eligible for certification as an ARNP (FNP or PMHNP) in Washington State;4) Demonstrated ability to design and conduct studies addressing salient nursingand health care issues congruent with College of Nursing research foci; and5) Demonstrated commitment to diversity and the reduction of health disparities

Preferred Qualifications: 1) Expertise in teaching and advising undergraduate,masters, and/or doctoral students; 2) Expertise with technology assistededucation modalities; 3) Expertise working with diverse populations and/orstudents.

To apply, to go www.wsujobs.com search WSU Vancouver. Applicants willsubmit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and contact information for fourreferences. Find out more www.nursing.wsu.edu.

WSU is an EO/AA Educator and Employer.

The Hispanic Outlook

Is Also A

www.hispanicoutlook.com

DigitalMagazine!

Check us out!

FACULTY VACANCIES2013 - 2014 Academic Year

Onondaga Community College invites qualified professionals with a strong commitment to community college teachingto apply for the positions listed below. We offer a supportive environment that emphasizes the importance of holisticstudent development demonstrated in part through faculty-student interaction both in and outside of the classroom. Strongcandidates will offer demonstrated success in:

• Curriculum development • Use of technology to enhance learning• Outcomes assessment • Working with diverse populations of students,• Academic advisement especially underrepresented students

Faculty OpportunitiesINTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY ANATOMY& PHYSIOLOGYPHYSICAL SCIENCE/METEOROLOGY COMMUNICATIONSELECTRICAL ENG TECHNOLOGY ENGLISHHUMAN SERVICES MATHEMATICSMUSIC/ VOICE READINGSOCIOLOGY

Minimum Qualifications include:Master's degree in the content area or closely related field from an accredited collegeor university and college teaching experience, preferably at the community college level. Visit our web site atwww.sunyocc.edu for specific position discipline requirements along with other related information about the applicationprocess, Onondaga Community College and the Syracuse community.

To Apply: Please see https://sunyocc.peopleadmin.com/ for instructions on how to apply.

Please include within your cover letter how you have introduced technology within the classroom to enhance learning, inclusiveteaching pedagogies/approaches you use, and your experience in teaching from a multiethnic and multicultural perspective.

Application Review: Begins immediately and continues until appointments are made.

* All appointments are subject to budgetary approval.

A committed and diverse faculty is our most important resource.We invite applications from women, people of color, individualswith a disability, veterans and others who would enrich our diversity. OCC...an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer.


SAVE THESE DATES& RESERVE YOUR SPACE

ISSUE DATE THEME ISSUE AD DEADLINE

• March 18 Community College Issue Feb. 27

• April 1 Graduate Schools Issue March 13

• April 15 March 27

• April 29 April 10

• May 13 Colleges for Hispanics April 24

• May 27 May. 8

• June 17 Health Professions Issue June 5

• July 15 July 2

• Aug. 5 Arts Issue July 24

• Aug. 26 Aug. 14

• Sept. 9 Aug. 28

• Sept. 23 Back to School Issue – Sept. 11

Volume 23 Editorial Index

Call Hispanic Outlook advertising representatives at1-800-549-8280, ext. 102 / 106

or e-mail your ads [email protected]

2013 Publication Dates& Ad Deadlines

Visit our Web site for all your advertising possibilities

www.HispanicOutlook.com

Colleges for Hispanics

H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K • 0 2 / 1 8 / 2 0 1 3

P.O. Box 68 Paramus, NJ 07652-0068

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Thegrowing trend of eliminating penmanship classes fromelementary school curricula deserves much considera-tion, for there is more to handwriting than copying letters.

It affects all students, including Latinos, in many respects, now and inthe long run.

Handwriting class helps young children develop fine motor skillsand eye-hand coordination. Some children now, though, do not knowhow to hold a pencil or pen properly. With their hand cramped andtheir wrist tight, they struggle to make the letters legible and uniform.Keyboarding might be easier, but the other lessons learned in penman-ship class will be lost.

I always wondered why my Catholic schoolteachers made a big dealout of penmanship. Thirty minutes a day we practiced our handwriting.Using “control paper” with multigraduated lines, we wrote capital let-ters, then lowercase. Discrete letters came first, later connected to formcomplete words. I didn’t directly question why the worry if my upstrokeson cursive “f” letters weren’t high enough or down strokes on my “p”characters weren’t low enough; I corrected my errors and tried to per-fect the craft. Now I know penmanship class was about more than hand-writing for its own sake. It was about developing discipline, commitmentand personal style.

Handwriting, like one’s manner of speaking and dressing, reflectspersonal style. While few of us have a John Hancock-like signature,everyone conveys a bit of who they are by how they write with a pen. Itried a few flourishes or style changes and even dabbled in chickenscratch over the years, but always returned to my basic script – uniquelymy own. I now appreciate that legible, neat handwriting is a sign of self-respect and pride. Names and ideas are unique and meaningful; clearhandwriting punctuates that.

Penmanship, though, is also about the care we take with words andhow we present ourselves. Choosing words carefully – whether writtenor spoken – increases the chances of being heard. Through theirchoice, crafting and presentation, the world knows who we are.

Then there’s discipline. The red correction marks on those penman-ship worksheets showed me exactly where I needed and was expected toimprove. And there was only one way to achieve it: practice, practice,practice. I was hardly a scribe-in-training, but the teachers obviously

knew that mastery of a skill and com-petence in any endeavor require disci-pline. We might have practiced the let-ter “Q” (my favorite letter) for twodays, but after that time it was in pretty good shape on the page.Penmanship class helped me hone my patience through daily, dedicatedpractice.

Practice and feedback work nicely together, too, when you’re try-ing to master something complex. Playing golf, planning a confer-ence, driving, caring for children, using a computer, cooking a mealor writing an essay become easier with practice. And the better youcan do something (especially when people tell you so), the better youfeel about yourself.

Penmanship class also provided lessons about commitment, like “Dothings right the first time.” It wasn’t that mistakes weren’t allowed inpenmanship class; it was that they could be costly. The elementaryschoolteachers did not permit us to cross out errors in our work, so wehad to rewrite the entire page if we botched it. Tough? Yes, but I learnedto take my work seriously, plan ahead, concentrate and dedicate ampletime for success. Some things in life like raising children, performingsurgery or trying a case in court do not allow a “do-over,” so the hoursof handwriting and costly mistakes requiring rewriting taught someessential life lessons for saving time, money and frustration.

Beyond dotting “i’s” and crossing “t’s” in script, attention to detailmattered. It still does, at work and home. Despite being occasionallyteased or labeled because of it, I anticipate problems and addressdetails that can make something ordinary, extraordinary. It makes a dif-ference in getting recognized and selected for doing well, and it certain-ly felt good.

My rewards for satisfactory cursive were acknowledgement from myteacher and a gold-edged holy card – an icon of a saint with a shortbiography or prayer printed on the back. I kept my stack of holy cardsbound by a rubber band in a special corner of my desk. The teacher’spraise and those holy cards taught me the wisdom of making goodchoices. I thought I was just working on my longhand. Now I realizeLatino students deserve to be working on their handwriting, too.

LESSONS THROUGH HANDWRITINGPPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp......

Miquela Rivera, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologistwith years of clinical, early childhood and consulta-tive experience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.