October 8, 2020

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has announced seven honorees will be recognized for their contributions to improving opportunities for college students. The awardees will be honored during HACU’s 34th Annual Conference “Championing Hispanic Higher Education: Fostering Excellence and Social Justice,” taking place virtually, October 26-28, 2020.

Two distinguished individuals will be inducted into HACU's Hall of Champions, which recognizes those who embody the mission of the Association through exemplary efforts “To Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education.”

"We are honored to induct two exceptional leaders to HACU’s Hall of Champions,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “Chancellor Joe Garcia of the Colorado Community College System has made a great impact in Colorado through his efforts to advance equitable outcomes in education and the workforce for Hispanic students and minority and underserved communities, and Chancellor Timothy White of California State University has had a record of extraordinary service to higher education, diversity, inclusion and success both at the state and federal level.”

The induction will take place virtually during the Opening Plenary of the Annual Conference. Other awards will be presented at the International Plenary and the Town Hall events.

“HACU is proud to recognize Congressman Will Hurd for advocating on behalf of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Molson Coors, Ford Motor Company Fund, the National Science Foundation and The University of Arizona, for their contributions to Hispanic higher education and their dedication to HACU’s mission,” said Flores.

The 2020 HACU Hall of Champions inductees:

Joe Garcia, J.D., chancellor of the Colorado Community College System leads Colorado’s largest system of higher education, which serves 137,000 students annually at 13 colleges and 39 locations across the state. He has demonstrated leadership and commitment to advancing higher education initiatives and access through various roles in both the public sector and in higher education.

Timothy P. White, Ph.D., chancellor of the California State University leads the largest and most ethnically and economically diverse system of four-year public higher education in the U.S. He is a champion of inclusive excellence and student achievement and is a proponent of bringing individualized education to scale through the expansion of evidence-based practices. Chancellor White retires at the end of this year after serving as CSU chancellor since 2012.

The 2020 HACU Awards to be presented: 

Exemplary Policy/Advocacy Leadership Award in recognition of exemplary leadership and support of HACU’s policy priorities, The Honorable Will Hurd, United States House of Representatives. Congressman Hurd is one of the Co-Chair of the Congressional Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus, which creates opportunities for members of Congress and staff to engage in a dialogue about the development of policies in support of HSIs and additional resources and legislative opportunities for HSIs. Congressman Hurd retires from Congress at the end of this term after serving in the House of Representatives since 2015.

Outstanding HACU Philanthropic Partner for outstanding leadership and support of HACU’s mission from a philanthropic partner, Ford Motor Company Fund. Since 2011, the Ford Motor Company Fund has partnered with HACU to offer college students grants, internships, and scholarships. Most recently, the Ford College Mobility COVID-19 Grants were created to assist students adversely affected by the pandemic.

Outstanding HACU-Member Institution in recognition of excellence in support of HACU’s mission, The University of Arizona. For 25 years, The University of Arizona has been an active member institution. In early 2020, they hosted the HACU Ascending Leaders Forum at their campus. The university has also been working with HACU to create a research intensive, R1 HSI Consortium.

Outstanding HACU Public Sector Partner for outstanding leadership and support of HACU’s mission from a federal partner, the National Science Foundation. For the past 24 years, HACU and the National Science Foundation have partnered to offer internships to over 300 students. Along with the internships, NSF provides in-house mentoring between employees and interns and provides opportunities for the interns to create further networks in their professional fields. HACU and the NSF entered into a new three-year partnership cycle in the summer of 2020.

Outstanding HACU Private Sector Partner for outstanding leadership and support of HACU’s mission from a corporate partner, Molson Coors. For over 16 years, Molson Coors has been a corporate partner of the Association. Most recently, Molson Coors has made it possible to expand the HACU ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute to over 500 undergraduate students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico and has offered scholarship opportunities for students to attend. Molson Coors has also provided academic scholarships.

Click here for a PDF of the honorees.