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Metro eyes Hispanic future, funding
Federal program would bring needed money to growing campus
By David Cardenas
dcarden5@mscd.edu

Photo by Tyler Walton • twalton2@mscd.edu President Stephen Jordan spoke to guests about the role that Metro has in becoming a Hispanic Serving Institute at the Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professor luncheon honoring filmmaker Loudres Portillo.

Metro faculty and staff gathered for a town hall meeting April 19 in the Tivoli Turnhalle to discuss the Hispanic Serving Initiative, which guarantees grant money for schools that have a Hispanic population of 25 percent or more.

Metro’s current Hispanic population is 12.5 percent, and the school plans on reaching 25 percent in the next 10 years, Metro spokeswoman Cathy Lucas said.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in addition to the population requirements, a Hispanic-serving institution is also nonprofit and 50 percent of its Hispanic population must live in low-income households.

“Once we achieve a 25 percent Latino population, this designation opens up a world of possibilities,” Metro President Stephen Jordan said during the meeting. Grant monies could go to a number of different activities such as faculty development, renovation of instructional facilities and various student support services, he said.

Assistant finance professor Juan Dempere, who researched the benefits to Metro of becoming a HSI, found that in 2005 the U.S. Department of Education gave $96 million to Hispanic-serving schools, and of that, Colorado institutions received $1.4 million.

Colorado has six HISs: CCD, Trinidad State Junior College, Pueblo Community College, Otero Junior College, Adams State College and Colorado State University at Pueblo.

“The total dollar amount that has been distributed under the (HSI) program is around a half of a billion dollars,” Dempere said. “This is just one source of money … but we’re talking about several millions of dollars each year.”

However, the overall graduation rate over a six-year span at Metro is 20 percent, while the graduation rate of Hispanic students is 18 percent, said Judy Diaz Bonacquist, associate vice president of enrollment management.

"These aren’t stellar numbers by any measure, but what it does give indication to know is that we’ve got some room for improvement,” Bonacquist said. “With making some changes we can increase the graduation of all our students and obtain HSI status.”

Initial investment costs in the program have not been determined yet, Dempere said.

“The first step is to nominate members to integrate the Hispanic Serving Institution Task Force,” Dempere said. “Once appointed, these members will work on strategic plans for several areas including public relationships, retention and recruitment, professional development, campus climate, etc.”

Concerns regarding the initiative were raised at the meeting, specifically that becoming a largely Hispanic institute would detract from the importance of other communities on campus, such as the black community.

Jordan tried to allay these concerns.

“In truth, what the HSI says is that student body needs to reflect the population of our region,” he said. “If that is true, we will continue to recruit African-American students as well as Hispanic students.”