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1

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

Vol. 2 No. 2 HBLI is funded in par t by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Spring 2000

By: Sylvia Peregrino, HBLI Fellow, Arizona State University

Sylvia Peregrino HBLI Felllow at ASU

Editor’s Note: The U.S. Commission onCivil Rights voted 6-2 (first week in April)to approve a ten page statement which isa harsh critique of policies in California,Texas, and Florida that replaced affirma-tive action with admission to public uni-versities for the top graduates in everyhigh school in the state. The statementindicates that programs’ success in bring-ing minorities to campuses relies on thesegregation of high schools, and that theydo nothing to diversify graduate and pro-fessional schools. The state plans ”maysucceed as an effective public relationsstrategy… but they are no substitute forstrong race-conscious affirmative actionin higher education.”

Introduction

California and Texas have served asnatural experiments in demonstratingwhat happens to university admissionswhen affirmative action policies areeliminated. In 1995 affirmative actionwas banned in Texas after AttorneyGeneral Morales interpreted the 5th

Circuit Court’s Hopwood v Texas de-cision as eliminating affirmative actionnot only at the University of Texas LawSchool but as banning all affirmativeaction programs including: admissions,hiring, and financial aid (Richardson,1997). African American and Latino/a legislators in Texas responded withthe ten percent plan (Healy, 1997),which grants Texas high school gradu-ates in the top ten percent of theirgraduating class automatic admissioninto Texas public universities. Califor-nia is following an apparently similarroute with the adoption of the four per-cent plan in 1999 (Healy, 1999). How-ever, upon careful examination, one caninterpret California’s four percent planas a symbolic policy, which will do littleto improve the representation of

Latinos, Blacks, or Native Americanstudents in the University of California(UC) system.

UC System Governance StructureAccording to the Regents of Univer-sity of California web site, the re-gents “have full powers of organiza-tion and governance.” Former Gov-ernor Pete Wilson appointed WardConnerly, a staunch advocate ofeliminating “racial preferences.”Wilson’s appointment was a strate-gic move. Connerly’s skin color andown humble origins provided a pow-erful symbol in the crusade againstaffirmative action. Connerly becamethe Regent’s Clarence Thomas, theblack face of a conservative agenda.

Historical ContextWilson issued executive order W124-95 “to end preferential treatment andto promote individual opportunitybased on merit” on June 1, 1995. OnJuly 20, 1995, the California Regentsadopted SP1—Policy Ensuring EqualTreatment-Admissions—a newpolicy that ended affirmative actionat the UC system.

The regents adopted this policy ona 14-10 vote, with one abstention(Regent’s Briefing, 1995). The adoptedpolicy states: “the University of Cali-fornia shall not use race, religion,sex, color, ethnicity, or national ori-gin as criteria for admission to theuniversity or to any program ofstudy.” This was a departure from the1988 policy which stated: “Mindful ofits mission as a public institution, theUniversity of California … seeks toenroll, on each of its campuses stu-dent body that, beyond meeting theUniversity’s eligibility requirements,

demonstrates high academicachievement or exceptional per-sonal talent, and that encompassesthe broad diversity of cultural, ra-cial, geographic, and socio-eco-nomic backgrounds characteristicof California” (UC Office of thePresident, 1996).

The regents justified the adoptionof SP1 “because individual membersof all California’s diverse raceshave the intelligence and capacityto succeed at the University of Cali-fornia, this policy will achieve a UCpopulation that reflects this state’sdiversity through preparation andempowerment of all students in thisstate to succeed rather than througha system of artificial preferences”(UC Office of the President, 1996).

Following the momentum ofWilson’s executive order and SP1, thedeceptively termed “California CivilRights Initiative,” or Proposition 209,was championed by UC Regent andChairman Connerly. Connerly raised$600,000 to promote the initiative(Zelnick, 1996). Fifty-five percent of

See Peor es Nada on page 4

AdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelanteAdelantePeor es Nada (It’s Better than Nothing): University of California’s Four Percent Plan

H B L IH i s p a n i c B o r d e rLeader sh ip Ins t i tu te

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2

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

Executive Director’s Corner

Leonard A. Valverde

tion budgets and programs. All these areas are vital services that our communi-ties can benefit from. Equally important, Congressional representatives debateand pass on policy matters that have direct impact on us, such as education andimmigration.

Over time there are events that are strategically significant. The Census 2000is one of these. By each of us making a small effort to help our communities getcounted, we can make a sizeable contribution. So please talk with as many per-sons and groups as possible to promote participation in the count. We haveknown for some time that our communities have traditionally been undercounted.As the 21st Century begins, these undercounts are getting greater and at a timewhen the numbers are gaining more importance. So we need to make an effort toclose the gap between the growing numbers and getting an accurate count.

HBLI is stressing the importance of getting communities leaders involved inpromoting the Census 2000 by speaking to school board members, HBLI fellows,National Advisory Panel members, and HBLI scholars as well as to the greaterHBLI network that receives our newsletter. Besides getting a population count,general census descriptive data will provide public servants, educators, andresearchers a better understanding of who America is and the situation of vari-ous subgroups. With such information, researchers can argue forcefully for bet-ter programs, policy makers can mount a relevant policy agenda and public em-ployees can implement better practices.

So don’t just be counted, do what you can to get others to be counted,especially those who typically don’t get counted.

Adelante,Leonard A. ValverdeProfessor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Be counted. It is extremely important that allLatinos in the U.S. participate in the Census 2000.Not just U.S. Hispanic citizens, but those that arewithout proper papers. We need to inform undocu-mented persons that the Census Bureau has agreednot to provide any information about individualsto the INS. As we all know, the census count isimportant because so much is dependent uponthe numbers. For example, representation in Con-gress is determined by state and county popula-tion counts. Federal representatives make deci-sions on annual federal appropriations that deter-mine housing, transportation, health and educa-

NAT IONAL ADV ISORY PA N E L

Congressional Representatives

Mr. Joe BacaU.S. Representative, CaliforniaWashington, D.C.

Mr. Rubén HinojosaU.S. Representative, South TexasWashington, D.C.

Mr. Ed PastorU.S. Representative, Phoenix, AZWashington, D.C.

Ms. Loretta SanchezU.S. Representative, Orange County, CAWashington, D.C.

State Legislators

Mr. Joe Eddie LopezArizona State RepresentativePhoenix, AZ

Ms. Cynthia NavaNew Mexico State SenatorSanta Fe, NM

Ms. Irma RangelTexas State RepresentativeAustin, TX

Ms. Elvira ReynaTexas State RepresentativeAustin, TX

Mr. Pete RiosArizona State SenatorTempe, AZ

Business Leaders

Mr. Sam BallenChairman and CEO, La FondaSanta Fe, NM

Mr. Eddie Basha,CEO and President, Bashas, Inc.Chandler, AZ

Mr. Ramiro GuzmanPresident, Guzman and AssociatesEl Paso, TX

Mr. Lionel SosaCEO, Garcia LKSSan Antonio, TX

Professional/EducationalOrganizat ions

Dr. Tomas ArciniegaPresident, BakersfieldCalifornia State University

Dr. Paul ElsnerChancellor EmeritusMaricopa County Community College DistrictPhoenix, AZ

Dr. Ricardo R. FernandezPresident, Lehman CollegeBronx, NY

Antonio FloresPresident, HACUSan Antonio, TX

Mr. Albert Kauffman,MALDEFSan Antonio, TX

Dr. David LongerneckerExecutive Director, WICHEBoulder, CO

Maria �Cuca� Robledo MontecelIDRASan Antonio, TX

Dr. Miguel NevarezPresident, University of Texas Pan AmericanEdinburgh, TX

Dr. Eduardo PadronPresident, Miami Dade Community College DistrictMiami, FL

Dr. Armando RuizTrustee, Coast Community College DistrictMission Viejo, CA

Mr. Raul YzaguirrePresident, National Council de la RazaWashington, D.C.

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3

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

HBLI 2000 School Board Workshopin San Marcos, Texas

HBLI sponsored its fifth work-shop for school and community col-lege board members. Thirteen schoolboard members from Arizona, Califor-nia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texaswere selected to participate in thethree-day workshop held in SanMarcos, Texas, March 30, 31, andApril 1, at the Southwest Texas StateUniversity’s Aquarena Center.

Participants represented urban,suburban, and rural communities ofvarying size and scope, ranging froma police chief to small business own-ers, a teacher, and an administrativeassistant. But all came to the work-shop looking for assistance in ad-dressing the needs of their Hispanicstudents, and many expressed thatthe information presented would beshared among their colleagues. Par-ticipant Bill De La Cruz, a board mem-ber from the Boulder Valley SchoolDistrict in Colorado, will not only usehis new knowledge on his board buthe will also share it with the ColoradoCoalition of Hispanic School BoardMembers where he is president.

Speakers shared information onthe board’s role, establishing and nur-turing good relationships with staff,the legal and financial responsibili-ties of board members, working withthe community, and political lobby-ing for your educational institution.As one participant wrote, “The infor-mation challenges me as a board mem-ber to learn more about our role andreemphasize the good that we cando.” Another commented, “I waspleased to see so many Hispanic menand women involved in education,working hard to make systemicchange. It gave me hope and faiththat we, as “La Raza,” truly have theability to give a solid education andfuture to our Hispanic children. Thechallenge will be to work together ina concerted effort to model andchange the way the current systemoperates for all children.”

HBLI Fellows from the Univer-

sity of California, Riverside, and theUniversity of Texas, Pan American, alsoparticipated and contributed to theworkshop with their thoughtful ques-tions and comments. Coordinating

Council member and Southwest TexasState University Acting Dean JaimeChahin provided the entertaining stu-dent mariachi band that delighted par-ticipates at the opening dinner.

Dr. Valverde hands out a certificate to a school board member who hassuccessfully completed the workshop.

HBLI workshop personnel, along with fellows from UCR and UTPA, pose withschool board members in San Marcos, Texas.

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4

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

voters approved the measure in No-vember 1996 (Burdman, 1999a).Proposition 209 ended preferentialtreatment to women and racial andethnic minorities in hiring, contract-ing, or education statewide.

The UC System

The California Master Plan dividespostsecondary education into a threetier system consisting of communitycolleges, the California State System,and the prestigious University of Cali-fornia Systems. The UC system onlyconsiders the top 12.5 percent of thestate’s graduates. The following UCUndergraduate Admission Guidelineswere adopted in the spring of 1997(Guidelines, 1996). These criteria wereapplied to the 1998 entering classes.

Fifty to seventy-five percent of theclass could be selected on the basis ofGPA, SAT/ACT Scores, courses be-yond UC requirements, honors/APcourses, quality of senior program, qual-ity relative to educational opportunities,outstanding performance in one or more

areas, special projects, and improve-ment in last two years. Fifty to twenty-five percent of the class could be ad-mitted based on the previous nine fac-tors and special talents (language, ath-letics, leadership), special projects/ex-tracurricular activities, life experiences(low income, first generation collegestudent, disability, refugee, veteran), andlocation of secondary school and resi-dence. The UC Regents give the cam-puses a twenty-five percent discretionon how to admit students: strictly onan academic basis or with consider-ation of other factors.

Lawsuit

Civil rights groups have recentlybrought a lawsuit against UC Berke-ley. They claim the new system placestoo much weight on the SAT andpointed out over half of campus fresh-men come from only five percent ofCalifornia high schools (Burdman,1999c). The class action lawsuit ac-cuses Berkeley of “relying too heavilyon SAT scores and whether applicantshave taken honors and Advanced

Placement classes” (Blair, 1999). Overhalf of California public schools offeredno advanced placement courses during1997-98 (Blair, 1999).

UC in Post-Affirmative Action EraIt is difficult to predict the extent ofthe impact eliminating affirmative ac-tion. However, one can examine thepreliminary data to infer some of theseoutcomes. Table 1 (below, left) illus-trates the number of students whoapplied, were admitted, and actuallyenrolled in the UC system. The tablepresents data along ethnic and raciallines and shows that applications fromNative Americans, Blacks, andLatinos have decreased while thenumber of applications for Asians andWhite students have increased be-tween 1995 and 1997. The number ofWhites and Asians who actually en-roll has increased during this period,while the number of Latino and Na-tive American students has decreased.This might be a reflection of student’sperceptions of their chances of get-ting admitted without affirmative ac-tion policies. It might also reflect thatcertain groups of students do not feelwelcome at the UC System.

The aggregated data for the UCsystem obscures some of the effectsof student admissions without affirma-tive action on specific campuses. Theresults of the affirmative action banwere most apparent at UC Berkeley,the state’s flagship institution. The uni-versity reported that its entering classwas the least diverse “in more than 17years” (Burdman, 1999c). Table 2(right, top) shows students admittedand students who actually enrolled.

Students who might have been de-nied admission to Berkeley may havechosen to go to the less prestigious UCinstitutions, which have shown an in-creased enrollment of students of color(Burdman, 1999b). Note the percent-age change in enrollment between 1997and 1998 for Blacks (51% decline),Latinos (43% decline), Native Ameri-cans (39% decline), and the rise in un-reported students (189% increase).

Peor es Nada, from page 1

Table 1. Applications and admissions and enrollmentto the UC System—Selected Years

Group 1995 1996 1997

Asians Applied 13,344 14,320 14,806

Asians Accepted 11,135 11,951 12,450

Asians Enrolled 7,359 7,866 8,110

Blacks Applied 2,292 2,305 2,141

Blacks Accepted 1,683 1,628 1,556

Blacks Enrolled 945 888 917

Latinos Applied 7,332 7,191 6,933

Latinos Accepted 6,050 5,744 5,740

Latinos Enrolled 3,432 3,209 3,131

Native Americans Applied 459 414 358

Native Americans Accepted 392 360 309

Native Americans Enrolled 248 237 183

Whites Applied 20,461 22,081 23,054

Whites Accepted 17,325 18,362 18,900

Whites Enrolled 9,192 9,953 10,567

Source: California Postsecondary Education Commission. (1998). Higher Educa-tion Performance Indicators Report, CPEC Table IV-c2.

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5

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

Policy Alternatives

With the demise of affirmative action,there were three major proposals un-der consideration: 1) State Senator’sHughes Top Twelve and a half per-cent from each High School Plan, 2)Top Six Percent Plan, and 3) Gover-nor Davis’ Top Four Percent Plan.

Top 12.5% from Every High School

State Senator Hughes proposed a con-stitutional amendment to change thecurrent UC System eligibility from thetop twelve and a half percent state-wide to the top twelve and a half per-cent from each high school (Burdman,1998e). The top twelve and a half per-cent follows the spirit of the Texas

ten percent plan where students arealso admitted on the basis of their highschool rank, irrespective of grades,course work, or standardized testscores. The UC Office of the Presi-dent did a simulation on what the im-pact of these policies would mean tothe UC System. The report estimatedthat under the current system the eli-gibility rates would change as illus-trated in Table 3 (below, right).

Because of the extent of schoolsegregation, this plan would nearlydouble the pool of eligible Black andLatino students. Black student eligi-bility rates would jump from 3.3% to6.6%, and Latino student eligibilityrates would also increase from 3.8%

to 7.2%. The plan was criticized be-cause it would shut “out many stu-dents from San Francisco’s LowellHigh and traditional feeder schools”(Burdman, 1999a). The UCPresident’s office report states: “inview of the potential issues raisedby the top 12.5% by school-pro-posal attention has turned to otherproposals to achieve the same gen-eral goal—broadening UC’s eligi-bility pool to include students whohave excelled at each high school—but in a manner that does not com-promise or diminish existing aca-demic standards for preparationand admission to the university”(UC Office of the President, 1998).

Top Six Percent Option

No one claimed direct authorship forthe top six percent plan. The top sixpercent plan would increase thenumber of students by 15,348 (UCOffice of the President, 1998). TheUC President’s report states eligibleBlack and Latino students would in-crease by 20%. The increases un-der the six percent plan are not assubstantial as in the top twelve and ahalf percent by high school plan.

Top Four Percent Option

This option was proposed by Gover-nor Davis in his inaugural address to“ensure diversity and fair play” (AP,1999). The top four percent plan wouldincrease the eligibility pool by an esti-mated 3,600 including: 2,023 Whites,161 Black, 408 Asian and 716 Latinostudents (Burdman, 1999d). The planwould have little effect on substantiallyincreasing the numbers of Black orLatino students. However, the planwould not displace any current UC eli-gible students and these students wouldhave higher Academic Index scoresthan current top twelve and a half per-cent statewide students.

If you would like to have the full versionof this paper, including the works cited,please contact Sylvia Peregrino throughour webpage at hbli.org.

Table 3. Comparison of the Impact onRacial/Ethnic Eligibility Rates

Group Status QuoTop 12.5% Statewide Top 12.5% by HS

Asian 30% 28.5%

White 14.5% 12.3%

Black 3.3% 6.6%

Latino 3.8% 7.2%

Source: UC Office of the President. (1998). Redefining UC’s eligibility pool toinclude a percentage of students from each high school: Summary of SimulationResults. UC: Student Academic Services.

Table 2. Entering Fall Class Admission and Enrollmentby Race/Ethnicity—UC Berkeley

Race/ *Admitted *Enrolled Admitted Enrolled **Admitted % Change Ethnicity Fall ‘97 Fall ‘97 Fall ‘98 Fall ‘98 Fall ‘99 Enrollment

’97-’98

White 2725 1,018 2674 1,090 3018 +7%

Black 562 257 191 126 276 -51%

Latino/a 1266 472 600 269 741 -43%

Asian 2925 1,468 2998 1,562 3196 +6%

American Indian 69 23 27 14 39 -39%

Other 186 76 101 48 (w/white) -37%

Unreported 0 187 0 540 0 +189%

Total 7733 3,501 6642 3,649 7270 +4%

Source: Hamburg, L. (1998). “Cal turns away record number 28% of applicants getin big drop in ethnic minorities.” San Francisco Chronicle.

* Burdman, P. (1998). “Top minorities may shun UC Berkeley many admitted underrace-blind policy could go elsewhere.” San Francisco Chronicle.

**Burdman, P. (1999). “Minority admissions are up at UC race-blind policy’s effectmost notable at Berkeley campus.” San Francisco Chronicle.

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6

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

Introducing UTPAFirst-Year Doctoral Fellows

Lisa Irby Hometown: Indianapolis,Indiana

Education: B.A. in Spanish and Linguistics from Indiana University, Bloomington;M.A. in Couseling and Guidance, Pan American University

Work Experience: For the past eleven years, Lisa had worked as a teacher withGifted and Talented students in Mercedes, Texas. Prior to becoming a schoolteacher, she worked with the family members, primarily children, in a drug andalcohol abuse program called Bienestar, located in Brownsville, Texas. Her otherwork experience focused on her creative side wherein she was a graphic artist forthe recreational sports department at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Career Goals: Lisa’s career goals are quite ambitious and they branch in twodirections. On the one hand, she desires to open her own school which wouldestablish itself as a full participating partner with the community. She is intriguedby the idea of communities, businesses, and schools partnering to provide bettereducational opportunities for all children. The school’s connection with thecommunity would be of utmost importance, and student learning would be linkedconceptually and activity wise to real life situations. On the other hand, she wouldlike to be an educational consultant and /or presenter who works with variousentities in the education and business industries. Her belief is that educationalendeavors must be purposefully tied to the world of economics and business.

Areas of Research Interest: I have been researching the role of parental involve-ment and the impact that a parents presence makes in the educational process.Another related area of interest focuses on the controversial topic of school choicevia vouchers.

Maria Cristina Cavazos Hometown: Monterrey,Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Education: B.A. in Psychology, Bilingual Teacher Certification, M.A. Counselingand Guidance, Mid-Management Certification, M.A. Supervision, all from theUniversity of Texas, Pan American

Work Experience: Maria worked as a supervisor a mental health and mentalretardation at the Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health. She also worked as abilingual elementary school teacher, a guidance counselor at the elementary andhigh school levels, and she spent some time in private practice as a licensedprofessional counselor.

Career Goals: To be an administrator in a public education system, perhaps K-12

Areas of Research Interest: She wants to explore Mexican-American women insuperintendent positions, tracing how they succeed and outlining the characteris-tics of success. She is interested in superintendents on both sides of the borderand wants to compare Mexican and American superintendents in similar positions.

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7

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

Diane Ramirez Hometown: San Benito, Texas

Education: B.A. in Elementary Education, University of Texas, Brownsville; M.A. in ESL,University of Texas, Brownsville

Work Experience: Diane’s worked at the Los Fresnos School District in Los Fresnos,Texas for eleven years. She started off as a bilingual second grade teacher serving thebilingual population as well as the recent immigrants. From there, she worked in the giftedand talented program serving bilingual and monolingual English-speaking children ingrades K-5. Her last assignment was at the fifth grade level where she served a mixedpopulation and serviced the bilingual children with ESL classes. She also providedtraining in Helping with Homework, Reading at Home, and Creativity and Your Child, toparents in both English and Spanish.

Career Goals: To have a hand in the advancement of Hispanic youth, whether it as aprincipal, bilingual director, or whatever the case may be.

Areas of Research Interest: One area of interest is the recent immigrant, particularly thedifferences in language, culture, and literacy and the policies that these children meet upwith. The second is the school districts where Hispanic/bilingual children are successful,especially the role of the leadership styles of administrators who strongly believed that allchildren could learn.

Alfredo Salinas Hometown: La Palmita, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Education: B.S. in Biology, Teaching Certification, and M.A. in School Administration, allfrom University of Texas, Pan American.

Work Experience: After a brief stint as an engineer in a gold mine in South Carolina,Alfredo has spent ten years as an eight grade science and math teacher at La JoyaIndependent School District in La Joya, Texas. He also worked eight summers in highschool as a math teacher, and he has written four curriculums.

Career Goals: To affect policy by working in a policy organization or through thelegislature.

Areas of Research Interest: Barriers to Hispanic success in education.

Glendelia Zavala Hometown: Mercedes, Texas

Education: B.S. in Finance, University of Houston; Texas Teaching Certificate, PanAmerican University; M.A. Educational Administration and Mid-Management TeachingCertificate, University of Texas, Pan American

Work Experience: Glendelia is a former sixth grade reading and math teacher in theMercedes Independent School District. She also served as a Board Member for theMercedes Boys and Girls Club for six years. Before that, she worked for the TexasDepartment of Human Services as a contract manager developing bilingual trainingcurricula. She also trained staff and volunteers and monitored employment trainingprograms provided by the Texas Employment Commission.

Career Goals: To work at the University or as an administrator in a local school district.

Areas of Research Interest: New Teacher Induction Programs and Teacher Retention andAttrition.

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8

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

HBLI Establishes Scholars ComponentHBLI is pleased to present its Scholars Program. The organization of a group of experts, both researchers and practitioners,grew out of the Platica series of distinguished speakers. That is at each of the four campuses where doctoral fellows arestudying to become effective change agents in significant leadership roles after graduation, persons who are scholars orexpert practitioners are invited to share their knowledge with the fellows. While the Platica series has been beneficial to thefellows, it was believed that it would more useful to the HBLI consortium to organize such persons for the following purposes.(1) Scholars would be convened once a year to have a rich dialogue on current issues of import that effect HispanicEducation. The discussion would be recorded via video tape and shared by executive summary of printed proceedings.(2) Doctoral fellows would have access to this meeting and thus could establish a one to one conversation with certainscholars. (3) Scholars could write a policy paper for HBLI distribution. (4) Scholars could serve on dissertation committeesof HBLI doctoral fellows. (5) Scholars could become mentors for fellows.

Platicas Feature Distinguished SpeakersThe Platica Speaker Series has been anintegral part of HBLI since it’s incep-tion three years ago. The Platicas invitewell known academics and practitioners

to the universities to share their experi-ences and to discuss issues related toHispanic education and HBLI’s mission.

Three Platica speakers have beenfeatured this semester. Dr. John Garcia,Professor of Political Science at TheUniversity of Arizona, came to ArizonaState University campus on January 28to speak about this year’s census. Amember and past Chair of the U.S. Bu-reau of the Census 2000 Advisory Com-mittee on Hispanic Populations, Dr.Garcia addressed issues pertinent toHispanics and the Census. Along withencouraging all Hispanics to respondto the census, he outlined demographicshifts showing the growth of Hispanicpopulations and some of the impactsthat will have in the changing landscapeof the United States.

Bárbara Renaud-González, a notedcolumnist for the San Antonio Express-

News and NPR commentator, visitedASU on February 25. A powerful

Bárbara Renaud-González shares herstory and the destino of Latinos.

See Platica on page 11Dr. John Garcia talking about theCensus 2000 to ASU fellows.

Members of HBLIScholars Program:

Baltazar Acevedo Jr.Houston, Texas

Leonard BacaDirector, Bueno CenterBilingual Education Center,University of Colorado

Gilberto CardenasDirector, Julian Zamora ResearchCenter,Notre Dame University

Jorge ChapaDirector, Hispanic Research Institute,Indiana University

A. Reynaldo ContrerasProfessor of Education,San Francisco State University

Richard CornejoProfessor, School of Teacher Education,San Diego State University

John GarciaProfessor of Political Science,The University of Arizona

Roberto HaroExecutive Director,Cesar Chavez Institute for Public Policy,San Francisco State University

Tatcho Mindiola, Jr.Director, Center for Mexican AmericanStudies, University of Houston

Gary OrfieldProfessor of Education,Harvard University

Barbara J. RoblesProfessor, LBJ School of Public Affairs,University of Texas at Austin

Maria “Cuca” Robledo MontecelExecutive Director, IDRA

Waldemar RojasGeneral Superintendent,Dallas Independent School District

Jay ScribnerProfessor and Chair,Department of Educational Adminis-tration,University of Texas at Austin

Concepcion ValadezProfessor, School of Education.University of California, Los Angeles

Carlos Vélez-IbáñezProfessor of Anthropology,University of California, Riverside

Ronald T. VeraAttorney at Law,Claremont, California

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9

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

New National Advisory Panel MembersAs time passes, the status of people changes. So it is with the HBLI National Advisory Panel members. Of the original 14, somehave retired from service and others have left their elected posts, i.e., state legislature or elected office of a national organiza-tion. Thus it becomes necessary to fill these positions on the NAP. Also, as HBLI develops, more is expected from theconsortium members. Hence it becomes necessary to expand the membership and to change the make up of the NAP; we havegained two Congressmen, and added presidents of IHEs andbusinessmen. The purpose of the NAP is to provide guidanceto the Coordinating Council and the Executive Director as tothe direction of HBLI, to promote HBLI to a wide audience,and to assist in identifying and raising operating funds. Weare pleased to present the newest members. With the additionof these 10, there are now 24 NAP members all told.

Dr. Tomas ArciniegaPresident, Bakersfield

California State University

Mr. Sam BallenChairman and CEO,

La Fonda, Santa Fe, NM

Dr. Paul ElsnerChancellor Emeritus,

Maricopa County CommunityCollege District, Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Ricardo R. FernandezPresident, Lehman College,

The City University of New York

Antonio FloresPresident, HACUSan Antonio, TX

Dr. Miguel NevarezPresident, University of TexasPan American, Edinburgh, TX

Mr. Ed PastorU.S. Representative

Phoenix, AZ

Mr. Pete RiosArizona State Senator

Tempe, AZ

Mr. Lionel SosaCEO, Garcia LKSSan Antonio, TX

CONGRESSIONAL

REPRESENTATIVES

STATE

LEGISLATORS BUSINESS LEADERS

EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Mr. Albert KauffmanRegional Counsel, MALDEF

San Antonio, TX

Maria “Cuca” Robledo MontecelExecutive Director, IDRA,

San Antonio, TX

Mr. Raul YzaguirrePresident, National Council de

la Raza, Washington, D.C.

New NAP members not pictured:

Mr. JoeBaca

United StatesRepresentative,

California

Mr. JoeEddie LopezArizona State

RepresentativePhoenix, AZ

Dr. DavidLongernecker

Executive Director,WICHE

Boulder, CO

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10

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

ability as leaders to affect changewithin educational, governmental,and political systems.

Dr. Eddie Hernandez, Chancellorof the Rancho Santiago CommunityCollege District, and Dr. Gil Sena,former school superintendent in NewMexico, both provided a perspectivefrom the administrator who needs toimplement policy established by oth-ers. Their challenges and strategiesprovided valuable “hands on” in-sights to the participants. Dr. ReyContreras, Professor of Education atSan Francisco State University, andDr. Douglas Mitchell, Professor ofEducation at the University of Cali-fornia, Riverside, discussed what wasbeing done to ensure that policy re-search was not misused or ignoredand how it was translated into rec-ommendations for policy decisions

The Saturday session featuredHBLI third-year fellows who pre-sented on their doctoral dissertationin round table discussions. A high-

HBLI Fellows, staff, and NationalAdvisory Panel members met in SantaFe, New Mexico, December 2 through4 for the organization’s fourth annualmeeting, “Policy Leadership: Mul-tiple Voices in the Shaping of Policy.”The historic La Fonda hotel on thePlaza served as the site for the three-day meeting.

Participants heard from scholars,education practitioners, and electedofficials, each sharing their perspec-tive on making, analyzing, managing,and researching educational policy.Raymond Sanchez, Speaker of theNew Mexico House of Representa-tives, and James Taylor, State Repre-sentative from Albuquerque, sharedtheir experiences in stewarding issuesof importance to Hispanics throughthe New Mexico state legislative pro-cess. Polly Baca, Latina activist andformer Regional Administrator forGeneral Services and Colorado StateSenator, inspired the attendees tobelieve in change and their individual

HBLI Fourth Annual MeetingSanta Fe, New Mexico

light of the annual meeting was theFriday evening networking receptionand dinner, which was attended by anumber of educational leaders from theSanta Fe area. Dr. Thomas Chavez, Di-rector of the Palace of the Governors,spoke about the rich inter-cultural di-mensions of New Mexico history andhow understanding the past will as-sist us in developing our future.

Dr. Valverde meets with the Mayorof Santa Fe.

Some fellows and faculty who participated in the HBLI Annual Meeting.

From left to right: Zulma Mendez (UCR fellow), Elizabeth Gutierrez (UCR fellow), Marilyn Martinez-Flores (UCR fellow),Dr. Jaime Chahin, Dr. Raul Cardenas, Samantha Scribner (UCR fellow), Dr. Leonard Valverde, Luis Cruz (UCR fellow),Marie Orillon-Harker (UCR fellow), and Mark Salinas (UCR fellow).

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11

APRIL 2000 HBLI NEWSLETTER

Antojitos ....Two NMSU fellows, Bonavita

Quinto and Luis “Nacho” Quiñones,have successfully defended their dis-sertations. The title of Bonavita’s dis-sertation is “Self-Perceptions of Angloand Minority Female Community Col-lege Administrators on the UnitedStates-Mexico Border: A Comparisonof Factors that Contribute to TheirCareer Progression.” The title ofNacho’s dissertation is “A Study ofNew Mexico Raza and Anglo schoolBoard Members: The Influence ofEthnicity on Attitudes Regarding thePolicy Issues of Representation, Bilin-gual Education, and Ethnic Studies.”

Bonavita also received the NewMexico State University AlumniAssociation’s Spring 2000 OutstandingGraduate Award for the GraduateSchool. The award will be presentedduring the Alumni Association’s Pre-Commencement Buffet on GraduationDay, May 13, 2000, by Anthony Chavez,Alumni Association President, andWilliam B. Conroy, NMSU President.

A number of HBLI fellows are onthe program and will be attending theAmerican Educational Research Asso-ciation (AERA) Annual Meeting inNew Orleans, April 24-28. Two second-year HBLI doctoral fellows, GloriaArmendariz at ASU and Mariela

Rodriguez at NMSU, have been se-lected to participate in the annuallysponsored University Council ofEducational Administration (UCEA)doctoral fellows seminar. The 21st an-nual National Graduate Student Re-search Seminar in Educational Admin-istration and Policy will be held at theclose of the AERA Annual Meetingon April 28-29. Our two HBLI fellowsare part of only 37 selected from thetop doctoral students in the UnitedStates and Canada.

In addition, ASU fellow CarlosNevarez has been awarded a $300stipend to help with expenses associ-ated with attending the ExtendedWorkshop offered by the StandingCommittee on the Role and Status ofMinorities in Educational Research andDevelopment (CRSMERD) during theAERA conference. The workshop isdesigned to help participants developtheir academic writing skills to advancetheir opportunities for publication.

In other news, UTPA fellowGlendelia Zavala is currently servingas the External Evaluator of The SouthTexas Quality Teacher Recruitment,Retention, and Assistance Center atUTPA, which is funded by a $ 1.3 mil-lion grant from the U.S. Department ofEducation over a period of three years.

speaker, she told her story of growingup as a Mexican-American woman andtied this in with her notion of thedestino of Latinos in the next century.Whereas before she saw her heritageas a detriment, she now sees it as anasset, and she feels that Hispanics,who move freely between two cul-tures, have a distinct advantage overothers in the next century.

On January 20, Patsy and NadineCordova, recipients of the 1999 Defenseof Academic Freedom Award, spokeat New Mexico State University about

Platica, continued from page 9

Nadine and Patsy Codova, with HBLIfellow Rachel Ortiz (center), at NMSUPlatica reception.

their fight against the Vaughn, NewMexico public schools. In 1997 thetwo high school teachers were sus-pended for teaching about the Mexi-can-American—or Chicano—FarmWorkers Movement and its leaders.Their suspension attracted nationalattention from civil rights, cultural,and teaching organizations, and hasdivided the small town of Vaughn, arural community of less than 600people that is more than eighty-fivepercent Hispanic. In 1998 Nadine andPatsy Cordova won a $500,000 out-of-court settlement stemming fromtheir firings.

Visitor to UC RiversideDr. Carlos Ornelas, a professor ofEducation and Communication fromthe Autonomous Metropolitan Uni-versity of Mexico in Mexico City,spent two days at the University ofCalifornia, Riverside, describing howMexico is progressing in its educa-tional reform efforts. He presented acolloquium to the School of Educa-tion where he showed how certainsectors of education have improvedwhile others have not. Of particularinterest was his analysis of howteachers’ unions, centralized forces,and political traditions act to affecteducational reform. He also pre-sented a colloquium to the HBLI Fel-lows in which he emphasized the is-sues most relevant to the U.S.-Mexico border. He also spent timepreparing a research proposal in-volving the HBLI Fellows and pro-fessors from Universities in Mexicoand the U.S.

Professor Ornelas received hisPh.D. from Stanford University andis the author of twelve books on Mexi-can Education. A former FulbrightScholar at Harvard University, he hasserved as Advisor to the MexicanSecretary of Education. He is pres-ently engaged in a comprehensiveresearch project funded by the FordFoundation. Dr. Ornela’s visit is thefirst step in a planned UC/Mexus Re-search project and conference thatwill involve HBLI Fellows.

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12

HBLI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2000

Hispanic Border Leadership InstituteASU Main CampusCollege of EducationHispanic Border Leadership InstitutePO Box 872411Tempe, AZ 85287-2411

Spring 2000 HBLI CALENDAR

January20 NMSU Platica Speakers, Patsy and Nadine Cordova,

Recipients of the 1999 Defense of Academic Freedom Award

28 ASU Platica Speaker, Dr. John Garcia, Professor of PoliticalScience at The University of Arizona

February25 ASU Platica Speaker, Bárbara Renaud González, Distinguished

writer and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News

March31 HBLI School Board Workshop in San Marcos, TX

April24-28 American Education Research Association (AERA)

Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA

May22-23 HBLI Scholars Meeting in Tempe, AZ

June22-24 State Legislative Seminar in San Jose, CA [Tentative]

Coordinating Council Members

Raul Cardenas, Acting Chancellor, MCCCD; Jaime Chahin, Vice President, SWTSU;

Enrique Solis, President, PAC; Leonard Valverde, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, ASU

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The HBLI Adelante Newsletter is published threetimes a year (fall, spring, summer) by the HispanicBorder Leadership Institute at Arizona State University.The editor and staff writer is Roy Rukkila. HBLI is aconsortium of 7 IHEs: Arizona State University, NewMexico State University, Paradise Valley CommunityCollege, Palo Alto College, Southwest Texas State Uni-versity, University of California-Riverside, and UniversityTexas-Pan American. It�s six-year mission is to im-prove Hispanic education through leadership develop-ment, by shaping policy, and by influencing systematicchange. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Write us at:HBLI, Arizona State University

College of Education P.O. Box 872411

Tempe, AZ 85287-2411www.hbli.org

or email us at:roy.rukkila@asu.edu