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DEDICATED TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF HISPANICS IN THE U.S.

Volume 1, Number 2

The HBLI Family Bulletin

June 1998

From the Executive Director... Board Leadership Training
        With much acclaim from all in attendance, HBLI completed its first of three Leadership Training workshops for the fiscal year 1997-98 in San Antonio during April 30 through May 3. The purpose of the leadership training workshops is to provide Hispanics who are serving as school board members in k-12 school districts, trustees of community colleges and regents of universities with (1) generic information about their roles and responsibilities, (2) information about policy issues directly related to Hispanics and (3) to assist them in networking with other Hispanic elected officials. The curriculum is divided into eight components and presented in two-hour blocks of time. Each component has a written self-contained guide fitted into an attractive three-ring binder. The curriculum is copy righted by HBLI. We have identified experts (either by experience or formal study) of each of the eight components to be workshop presenters. The general format of the sessions is give and take, question and answer and discussion. While the four day leadership development workshops are intensive, there is opportunity for all to informally interact, relax as well as enjoy the conference location.
         The fifteen board members undergoing the first leadership development were: From California – Gloria Carranza, Miracosta Community College District, Carmen Carrillo, Mario Chiappe, Centine La Valley Union High School, Felix Elizalde, Alameda County Board of Education, Yolanda Estremera, San Jose Evergreen Community College District, Rebecca Garcia, Cabrillo Community College, Ike Ochoa, Santa Maria-Bonita School District. From Colorado – Roberta Lucerto, Erlin Martinez, Lake County District. From New Mexico- Silbia Molina, From Texas – Hector Chavez, Eagle Pass School District, Herlinda Garcia, Houston Community College District, Adalberto Garza, Edinburg School District, Olga Gonzales, Del Mar College.
        Our Second board leadership training session is June 25-28, 1998 at the Hilton Del Mar in San Diego.

Council of State Governments –West
I was invited to attend the inaugural meeting of the Committee on the Southern Border. The invitation was extended to me by Kent Briggs, Executive Director of CSG – West. The purpose of the committee is to provide an opportunity for state legislators from primarily the border states of CA, AZ, NM, and TX but also from CO and NV to share information about Mexico and border issues as well as to have exchange with elected state officials from the northern states of Mexico. The current chair of the committee is California Assemblywoman, Denise Moreno Ducheny, from the San Diego area. At its first meeting the program consisted of three presentations. All three presentations focused on information about the border. The experts defined the border to be 60 miles north and south of the U.S. Mexico line or a 120 mile wide band. Elizabeth Swope, with the U.S. Department of State, presented a profile of the U.S. Mexico border. Ken Osborn, with the U.S. Department of Interior, presented on a new major project: transboundary aerial photography mapping. Lastly, Gorge Garces, Director of Border Mexico Affairs, Office of the Secretary of State, Texas, gave background information about the Border Governors Conference and a preview of the upcoming Governors Conference scheduled for June 25-26 in Brownsville, Texas.
Other information provided was a newly developed and first time Directory of Border Elected Officials, which lists members from both sides of the border. Lastly, the wealth of information being collected in the transboundary mapping is being made available via internet, but it was recommended to order the CD disk since there is so much to download. If interested in finding out what is available, contact Ken Osborn at kjosborn@usgs.gov.

Leonard A. Valverde,

Research Project:
Beginning last October (1997), the ASU fellows under the direction of Professor Valverde, began a study to ascertain the status of the educational conditions of Hispanics in Arizona, from kindergarten to graduate level. The study is intended to provide a status report of Hispanic participation in Arizona. Specifically, data has been collected in three categories: (1) general state demographics, (2) educational access and (3) educational attainment/achievement. The study will attempt to demonstrate how much progress has been made in Arizona during the 1990s and make some comparison with national trends. As a result of the data, it is further planned that some policy implications will emerge. The fellows will work this summer on examining the data, organizing it in graphic form, and describe and analyze it. By the start of the Fall semester, a first draft of the report should be complete. Plans are to have it distributed by the end of the year. This will be the first of the intended HBLI Occasional Policy Papers to be developed and distributed by HBLI.

Honors, Achievements and Awards
         Howard L. Simmons, professor of Higher Education and Postsecondary Education, was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humanities from Kings College in Pennsylvania at their May commencement.
        AltaMira Press has just released the latest book by Leonard A. Valverde, entitled The Multicultural Campus: Strategies for Transforming Higher Education.
        Carlos Nevarez, HBLI fellow, after national competition, was awarded a summer research fellowship from the Hispanic Research Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He will be on the UTSA campus, June 14-20 to gain knowledge about Latinos and drug abuse and have access to data sets on drugs and their influence on Hispanics. He will be responsible to produce a publishable manuscript on Latino focused on drug research, due no later than December.
        Eugenio Arene has been selected to assist in a research project in the College of Justice Studies at ASU. He will be conducting interviews of undocumented residents from June 1 through August 30. The purpose of the study is to examine the life style of undocumented residents.

Research Project:
This Summer the six NMSU fellows under the guidance of Dr. Abe Lujan Armendariz will work on a study to develop a preliminary Hispanic Leadership Model. The premise of the study is that mainstream leadership models often do not reflect the reality of many Hispanics. As a way of dealing with this void in leadership theory, the study will entail a literature review, designing a data collection instrument, conducting a statewide survey, coding and compiling data and generating a preliminary model. The team completed the literature review in December 1997. During the Spring semester they designed a data instrument and pilot tested it. The project is important since leadership models help to shape the way academicians and other professionals view the domain of leadership. In addition, accepted leadership models influence leadership research and how aspiring leaders are trained and evaluated. The new Hispanic leadership model will include variables previously excluded, such as language and culture, role models, networks and support groups.

End of Academic Year Seminar for All Fellows
Jaime Chahin, Coordinating Council member and vice president at Southwest Texas State University, conducted a half-day seminar on developing expertise via dissertation, crossing expertise with internship, and identifying career paths. ASU fellows traveled to NMSU. The focus of the presentation gave the fellows significant ideas to reflect upon.

For More Information:
Be sure to look up our Web Page. We are constantly adding information about HBLI. For example, we have photos and information about the staff, faculty, Coordinating Council, National Advisory Panel, etc. Also you can send us a message or comments directly from the Web Page.