History of the University
and Higher Education
The National Hispanic University
was established in 1981 to serve the needs of
Hispanics, women, other minorities and other
learners. The late 1960s witnessed the
development of equal educational opportunities
for Hispanics and other minorities, which became
a major issue in higher education. In
California, the University of California and
the California State Universities established
a number of programs to promote access for
Latinos to higher education. These
programs, most notably Student Affirmative
Action for the University of California system,
Educational Opportunity Programs in the
California State University system and Colleges,
attempted to address the burgeoning numbers
of minorities who needed higher education.
Many Latinos benefited from these initiatives
in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the gap
between Hispanics and whites continued to widen.
The large influxes of Mexican immigrants with
limited English skills, the elimination of “race-based”
admissions, the lack of educational achievement
in K-12 and the population explosion of Hispanics
in the last twenty years are key reasons why
Hispanics continue to lag behind whites and others
in higher education completions.
The 1980s were heralded as the
"decade of Hispanics." It was at this time
that The National Hispanic University was
founded. It came to be after extensive
research of the success rate and high quality of
education provided by historically black
colleges and universities that graduated (and
still do today) almost half of the African
American professionals in American society.
In 1980, research on 118 black colleges found
that although they only enrolled 17-19% of
college eligible students, they awarded 50% of
the baccalaureate degrees earned by African
American students in 1980, (American Council on
Education, "Minorities in Higher Education",
report, 1980). NHU believed that a small
private independent college could make a
difference in the graduation of Hispanic
professionals in education, technology, and
business.
It is within this context that
The National Hispanic University shaped its
mission: "To enable Hispanics, other minorities,
women, and others to acquire an undergraduate
degree or certificate using a multicultural
educational experience to obtain a professional
career in business, education, or technology".
NHU recognized in its origins
that Hispanic learners needed something
different. They needed an educational
system that acknowledged their learning needs.
This was the starting point for The NHU.
The work of the Bay Area Bilingual Education
League (BABEL) directed by
Dr. B. Roberto Cruz, the founding
President of The NHU and its academic visionary
for 22 years, helped shape the framework for
the different types of Hispanic learners. This
framework coupled with the research conducted
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
identified high expectations, role models and
academic support systems, as effective strategies
to graduate African American students. This became the foundation by
which The National Hispanic University was
established.
In many ways, the understanding
of Hispanic learning needs and the development
of role models, high expectations, and academic
support systems were implemented before they gained recognition by traditional
higher education institutions. NHU initiated
these strategies with the hope that other
institutions would learn from NHU’s experience.
The late Dr. B. Roberto Cruz, shared these
concepts nationally in 1990 at an American
Association of Higher Education Conference in
New York. Now as we enter 2004, it
is clear that many private and public
institutions interested in serving Hispanics
and other learners are beginning to embrace the
strategies NHU initiated.
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