Members of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics will meet Thursday, April 28, at Cal State Fullerton, for a daylong program focused on ensuring equity in education, and civil rights in education, for Latinos.
The purpose of the commission is to advise President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary John B. King Jr. on all matters pertaining to the education attainment of the Hispanic community. As a member of this commission, President Mildred García will welcome the members to the meeting.
“We at Cal State Fullerton are more than a proud and grateful host of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics – we also believe we are the right host,” said President García. “We are number one in California and fifth in the nation in terms of baccalaureate degrees awarded to Hispanics, and the incredible work of our faculty, staff and students is now emerging as a national model for equitable access and educational attainment for the new majority.”
Among the speakers will be Sylvia Mendez, whose parents led the landmark 1947 case, Westminster v. Mendez. Mendez, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, was nine years old when her family won the lawsuit that ended racial segregation in the nation’s schools.
She will participate in an armchair discussion and Q & A on civil rights, led by two undergraduate students from Cal State Fullerton: Amanda Martinez, a senior majoring political science, and Joseph Valencia, a senior majoring in art. The dialogue will provide insights into the implications and urgency in ensuring all students have access to a quality education and that their civil rights guaranteeing that access are protected.
The commission meeting will be live streamed and can be accessed at this link.