HACU Milestones
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HACU Advocacy Milestones
1986 – 1999
- 1986 – HACU, the nation’s first and only organized voice for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), is founded in San Antonio, Texas
- 1987 – HACU begins its first full year of operation with 18 charter members
- 1988 – First formal meetings with Congress and the White House
- 1989 – First bill to target federal funds to HSIs is introduced in Congress
- 1990 – HACU signs first Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the USDA, DOI and OPM
- 1991 – HACU opens government relations office in Washington, D.C.
- 1992 – Higher Education Act (HEA) amendments recognize HSIs and authorize funds under Title III. The HACU National Internship Program (HNIP) is launched
- 1993 – HACU research ranges from student financial aid to state higher education funding policies
- 1994 – HACU expands federal partnerships to provide new program support to HSIs
- 1995 – HSIs receive first $12 million appropriation under Title III of the HEA
- 1996 – NASA awards HACU a $1 million annual grant for Proyecto Access, for high school STEM preparation
- 1997 – HSI program in USDA authorized (and funded) under Title VIII of the Farm Bill
- 1998 – HACU wins separate Title V for HSIs with increased funding in HEA reauthorization
- 1999 – Title V funding increases from $12 million to $28 million. Alliance for Equity in Higher Education formed to represent major MSI groups
2000 – 2010
- 2000 – Title V funding increases to $42.3 million
- 2001 – HACU celebrates a record $68.5 million Title V appropriation to HSIs
- 2002 – HACU and its allies win passage of the Border Commuter Student Act
- 2003 – Partnership with U.S. Department of Defense translates into additional research and funding opportunities for HSIs
- 2003 – Funding increases for Title V and HSI programs in USDA and HUD
- 2004 – HACU pushes HSI graduate program, elimination of burdensome Title V provisions and increase of Title V funding. Leadership groups formed with U.S. Department of Education, USDA, and DoD
- 2004 – NSF funding to support Research Experience for Undergraduate opportunities at Science and Technology Centers
- 2005 – Annual federal support for HSIs tops $111 million. Grant opportunities for HSIs included in Energy Bill
- 2005 – HACU opens its first regional office in Sacramento, California
- 2006 – Title V wait-out and 50% assurance eliminated
- 2007 – College Cost Reduction and Access Act allocates $200 million to HSIs for STEM education and partnerships and the America COMPETES Act directs NSF to create an HSI program
- 2008 – HEA reauthorization creates HSI graduate program and raises funding level for Title V. Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities defined in Farm Bill and five new programs authorized to support them.
- 2008 – HACU’s “Platform Issues and Recommendations for Presidential Candidates in 2008” draws candidate response on Hispanic education issues
- 2009 – Title V appropriations increase to $117 million, plus $22 million for graduate program
- 2010 – HACU forms the Act on the DREAM Coalition of 25 national organizations pushing for the DREAM Act. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act mandates $1 billion to HSIs for articulation and STEM education efforts over ten years
2011 – 2024
- 2011 – Twenty-five year tally: $1.7 billion in appropriations for HSIs (with an additional $1 billion committed through 2010)
- 2012 – HACU’s “Platform Issues and Recommendations for Presidential Candidates in 2012” invites responses from candidates to Hispanic higher education issues
- 2016 – HACU’s “Platform Issues and Recommendations for Presidential Candidates in 2016” invites response from candidates to Hispanic higher education issues
- 2016 – HACU celebrates 30 years, 107.8 million Title V, Part A, 9.7 million TV, Part B; 93.2 million Title III HSI STEM Articulation program, 9.2 million USDA HSI program
- 2016 – HACU launches Local Engagement Initiative and HACU Advocacy Center website
- 2017 – Congress enacts funding for a National Science Foundation program focused on Hispanic-Serving Institutions
- 2017 – HACU works with members of Congress to launch a Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus in the House of Representatives
- 2018 – The National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program issues first research awards for 31 projects totaling approximately $45 million
- 2018 – HACU receives CPPHE Excellence in Public Policy Higher Education Award
- 2019 – HERE Act legislation introduced to support collaborations between HSIs and HSSDs
- 2019 – FUTURE Act signed into law permanently restoring mandatory funding to HSIs under Title III, Part F
- 2021 – HACU works with members of Congress to launch a Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus in the Senate
- 2021 – HACU releases “Federal Underfunding and Infrastructure Needs of HSIs in the Age of COVID-19” report in the absence of a GAO Report and calls for equitable and critical federal support for Hispanic-Serving Institutions
- 2024 – Executive Order establishing a President’s Board of Advisors for Hispanic-Serving Institutions
- 2024 – HACU opens Mid-Western Regional Office in Chicago, Illinois
- 2024 – GAO Report – Federal Study on HSI needs for Facility and Digital Infrastructure is completed
Founded to represent Hispanic-Serving Institutions and build support for the students they serve, HACU stays true to its mission while evolving to meet a changing society.
HACU Programs Milestones
1987 – 1999
- 1987 – Hispanic Student Success program, from Pew Charitable Trusts, Ford Foundation
- 1988 – HACU partners with ETS on student financial aid symposium
- 1991 – General Motors launches HACU/GM Engineering Excellence Award
- 1991 – HACU Scholarship Program launched
- 1992 – HACU National Internship Program (HNIP) is launched
- 1994 – FEDIX/MOLIS builds HSI capacity for federal grants
- 1996 – First International Conference
- 1996 – NASA funds Proyecto Access to promote high school student STEM preparation
- 1998 – Early College Awareness program funded by St. Paul Cos.
- 1999 – Alliance for Equity in Higher Education formed to represent major MSI groups
- 1999 – Career Power funded by DOL/ETA promotes workforce training
- 1999 – Alliance for Equity in Higher Education launched in partnership with NAFEO (HBCUs) and AIHEC (TCUs)
- 1999 – HACU-ETS Policy Fellows Advanced Networking for MSIs
2001 - 2010
- 2001 – DHHS Professions Capacity Building Project launches
- 2001 – First Student Leadership Development Fair
- 2001 – Navy and EPA summer faculty research opportunities
- 2002 – Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows Program
- 2002 – HACU/Freddie Mac Financial Literacy Program
- 2002 – Latino Higher Education Leadership Institute
- 2003 – HACU organizes Office of International Affairs
- 2004 – HACU Alumni Association formed
- 2005 – Annual federal support for HSIs tops $111 million. Grant opportunities for HSIs included in Energy Bill. HACU opens its first regional office in Sacramento, California
- 2005 – HACU partners with Southwest Airlines on ¡Lánzate! Travel Award Program
- 2005 – Partnership with Laureate International launches first study abroad scholarship efforts
- 2006 – Hispanic Higher Education Research Collaborative launches; funding from ETS and later Lumina Foundation
- 2006 – SEED program launches, becomes ProTalento Latino Résumé Database in 2010
- 2008 – HACU partners with GAP Inc. on the Design Your Future/Diseña Tu Futuro competition
- 2008 – HACU partners with Central City Productions on Hispanic College QuizTV show
- 2009 – HACU and HITN launch College Admissions 411
- 2009 – HACU on the Road outreach
- 2009 – American Legacy Foundation study
- 2010 – Walmart MSI Student Success
2011 – 2019
- 2011 – Twenty-five year tally: $3.8 million in scholarships, and over 9000 interns
- 2011 – HACU Hall of Champions launched with induction of Dr. Antonio Rigual
- 2012 – Walmart Foundation funds “AIHEC, HACU, NAFEO Student Success Collaborative” to promote replication of best practices in student retention and graduation
- 2012 – 20th anniversary of HACU National Internship Program
- 2012 – First Annual Deans’ Forum added as post-conference event to Annual Conference
- 2013 – International outreach to El Salvador
- 2013 – First California HSI Summit at Annual Conference
- 2013 – HACU STEM Task Force launched
- 2014 – International outreach to Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain. HACU coordinates U.S. university visits by Central American higher education delegation
- 2014 – HACU STEM Summits launched at Cal State Fullerton and UT Arlington
- 2014 – HACU awarded Independent Charities Seal of Excellence
- 2015 – First PreK-12/Higher Education Collaboration Symposium precedes Annual Conference
- 2015 – HACU and ecoAmerica’s Solution Generation partner to launch the Climate Leadership Award
- 2016 – HACU joins three organizations on a new NSF funded project “Germinating Transformative Climate Change Research through Diversity”
- 2016 – HACU hosts “U.S., Cuba & Latin America Higher Education Collaboration Symposium” in Mexico
- 2017 – New HACU Trustee Affiliate membership category established, hosts inaugural Trustees’ Forum at 31st Annual Conference
- 2018 – HACU’s student track, offered in conjunction with the annual conference, renamed the HACU ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute
- 2018 – New partnership with Google created opportunities for students to participate in Hispanic Student Leadership Summits
- 2018 – HACU launches inaugural Leader-In-Residence Program for college students to serve as a campus resource for the Association’s student programs
- 2019 – HACU Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo is launched
2020 - 2024
- 2020 – HACU holds 34th Annual Conference and exhibit fair and pre- and post-conference events virtually due to COVID-19
- 2020 – HACU offers grants to college students needing emergency relief in partnership with Ford Motor Company Fund
- 2021 – HACU launches ProTalento job board platform
- 2022 – HACU launches Grow with Google Hispanic-Serving Institution Career Readiness Program to train students through a series of grant-funded workshops at HSI campuses
- 2022 – HACU launches new Global Faculty Exchange through the ProTalento job board
- 2023 – HACU partners with Dominion Energy Partners to develop Hispanic leaders for the energy industry with the Summer Bridge Program
- 2023 – HACU launches Enlace Mid-Level Leadership program
- 2023 – HACU holds Inaugural Women’s Leadership Symposium
- 2024 – HACU announces inaugural VOLARÉ Institute institutional cohort
HACU evolves for a changing society, offering programs to strengthen our institutions for
long-term success as part of its commitment to its mission.
HACU Partnerships Milestones
1990 - 1999
- 1990 – HACU signs first Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the USDA, DOI and OPM
- 1994 – HACU expands federal partnerships to provide new program support to HSIs MOU signed with Bureau of Land Management**
- 1995 – MOU signed with Office of the Comptroller of the Currency***
- 1996 – NASA awards HACU a $1 million annual grant for Proyecto Access, for high school STEM preparation
- 1996 – MOU signed with Department of the Treasury***
- 1997 – MOU signed with the National Institutes of Health***
- 1999 – MOU signed with U.S. Small Business Administration**
- 1999 – MOU signed with U.S. Army Cadet Command**
2000 – 2010
- 2000 – MOU signed with with U.S. Department of Education.
- 2003 – Partnership with U.S. Department of Defense translates into additional research and funding opportunities for HSIs
- 2003 – MOU signed with Department of Defense***
- 2004 – Leadership groups formed with U.S. Department of Education, USDA, and DoD
- 2004 – MOU signed with the Department of Education***
- 2006 – MOU signed with Secretaria for Educacion del Estado de Jalisco, Mexico**
- 2008 – MOU signed with the Library of Congress***
- 2010 – HACU forms the Act on the DREAM Coalition of 25 national organizations pushing for the DREAM Act
- 2010 – MOU signed with Peace Corps**
- 2010 – MOU signed with the CIA**
- 2010 – MOU signed with the U.S. Coast Guard***
- 2010 – MOU signed with the U.S. Army Accessions Command***
2011 - 2019
- 2012 – MOU signed with Department of the Interior**
- 2013 – MOU signed with Federation of Private Mexican Institutions of Higher Education**
- 2014 – MOU signed with AARP**
- 2014 – MOU signed with Department of State of Puerto Rico**
- 2014 – MOU signed with EcoAmerica**
- 2014 – MOU signed with Instituto de Justicia Alternativa Del Estado de Jalisco**
- 2015 – MOU signed with Complete College America**
- 2016 – MOU signed with Higher Education Recruitment Consortium**
- 2016 – MOU signed with Love in a Big World**
- 2016 – MOU signed with Asociacion Mexicana de Facultades y Escuelas de Medicina**
- 2016 – MOU signed with Instituto de Administracion Publica del Estado de Jalisco**
- 2019 – MOU signed with U.S. Food and Drug Administration**
- 2019 – MOU signed with Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers**
2020 - 2024
- 2020 – MOU signed with Instituto de Administracion Publica del Estado de Jalisco**
- 2021 – MOU signed with USDA*
- 2021 – MOU signed with Department of Homeland Security**
- 2022 – HACU and USDA partner on the Agricultural Export Market Challenge
- 2022 – MOU signed with Export-Import Bank of the U.S.*
- 2022 – MOU signed with Department of State*
- 2022 – MOU signed with Department of Labor*
- 2022 – MOU signed with Hispanics in Energy*
- 2023 – MOU signed with FBI*
- 2023 – MOU signed with Secret Service*
- 2023 – MOU signed with Department of Energy*
- 2023 – MOU signed with USAID*
- 2023 – MOU signed with EPA*
- 2024 – MOU signed with Embassy in Mexico*
- 2024 – MOU signed with Department of Commerce*
- 2024 – MOU signed with Department of State of Puerto Rico*
- 2024 – MOU signed with DHHS*
- 2024 – MOU signed with Office of Personnel Management*
- 2024 – MOU signed with U.S. Veteran Affairs*
* Active
** Completed
*** No end date
The competitive demands of a global hightech economy increasingly require college degrees; Hispanic under-representation in higher education requires a nationwide collaboration.
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