September 13, 2024

Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, Castro, Padilla, and Cornyn Lead Introduction of Bipartisan Resolution to Honor Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week

WASHINGTON — Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Senators Alex Padilla (CA) and John Cornyn (TX) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution to designate the week starting on September 9, 2024, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week. Castro is the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Caucus and Padilla chairs the Senate HSI Caucus. The resolution is co-led in the House of Representatives by Congressional HSI Caucus co-chairs Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (PR), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06). 

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25 percent or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time students. There are 600 HSIs in the United States that enroll over 5.2 million Hispanic students, including two-thirds of all Hispanic undergraduates, and 32 percent of total Pell recipients. San Antonio has more than a dozen Hispanic-serving institutions, including the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, St. Mary’s University, the University of the Incarnate Word, Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, San Antonio College, St. Philip's College, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Hallmark University, and the Baptist University of the Americas. The city is also home to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the national education association that represents colleges and universities committed to Hispanic success in higher education.

“Millions of students across America — including many in San Antonio — benefit from the incredible education that Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) provide,” said Congressman Castro. “I’m proud to recognize the critical role these institutions play in opening doors to opportunity for underserved students. This summer, I was glad to see the Biden-Harris administration take major steps to bolster HSIs by establishing the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Hispanic-Serving Institutions and the President’s Board of Advisors for HSIs. In Congress, I’m committed to continuing to get HSIs the support they deserve to continue their important work.”

“Hispanic-Serving Institutions play a critical role in fostering our nation’s economic growth and vitality,” said Senator Padilla. “California is home to the most HSIs of any state, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how important their work is in providing more equitable access to higher education for Latino students and other underserved student populations. As a founder of the first-ever Hispanic-Serving Institutions Senate Caucus, I’m committed to ensuring HSIs have the support they need to continue uplifting Latino communities across the country.”

“As a member of the HSI Coalition in the Senate, I applaud the outstanding work of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to provide quality education for Texas’s growing Hispanic population,” said Senator Cornyn. “I thank educators at these institutions for helping their students achieve their full potential, especially given the challenges of these past few school years.”

“The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is grateful for Congress recognizing the vital importance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions during National HSIs Week,” said Antonio R. Flores, President and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), which supports the resolution. “HSIs are America’s best hope for a vibrant democracy and a future as prosperous and just country. These rapidly growing institutions educate and train the newest generations of professionals, technicians, engineers, scientists, and leaders from diverse backgrounds that are the backbone of the nation’s economic and social advancement.”

This resolution celebrates the vast contributions of HSIs across the country. It also highlights the important role these institutions play in educating many underserved students, helping them attain their full potential by creating opportunities and increasing access to higher education.

In addition to Senators Padilla and Cornyn, the resolution has been co-sponsored in the Senate by Michael Bennet (CO), Sherrod Brown (OH), Cory Booker (NJ), Laphonza Butler (CA), Maria Cantwell (WA), Ben Cardin (MD), Bob Casey (PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (IL), John Fetterman (PA), Bill Hagerty (TN), Martin Heinrich (NM), Mark Kelly (AZ), Amy Klobuchar (MN), James Lankford (OK), Ben Ray Luján (NM), Jack Reed (RI), Jacky Rosen (NV), Bernie Sanders (VT), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Raphael Warnock (GA), and Ron Wyden (OR).

In addition to Representatives Castro, González-Colón, Grijalva, and Ciscomani, the resolution has been co-sponsored in the House by Representatives Colin Allred (TX-32), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Greg Casar (TX-35), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-09), Josh Harder (CA-09), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA-04), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Lucy McBath (GA-07), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Scott Peters (CA-50), Katie Porter (CA-47), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sanchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Michelle Steel (CA-45), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mike Thompson (CA-04), David Trone (MD-06), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), David Valadao (CA-22), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) cosponsored the resolution in the House of Representatives.

As co-chair of the House HSI Caucus, Congressman Castro has been a strong advocate for expanding educational opportunities for Latino students. Earlier this year, Reps. Castro and Grijalva and Senator Padilla issued a joint statement applauding key actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to expand educational opportunities for Latino students. For the past two years, Castro has introduced the bicameral, bipartisan Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment (HERE) Act, which aims to provide Hispanic and Latino students with the necessary tools and resources to lessen the higher education achievement gap.

The full text of the resolution is available here.