Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in cosponsoring a bipartisan resolution honoring the work and achievements of 539 non-profit Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) across the country and designates the week of September 14 as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week. This week also marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“Nevada is home to four great Hispanic-Serving Institutions that play a key role in addressing the disparity that Latino students face in accessing higher education. When my sister and I were the first in our family to graduate from college, Latinos were significantly underrepresented in the classroom—it’s still the case today. And at a time when the Latino population in the U.S. continues to grow, Latino students are still disproportionately represented in community colleges and four-year institutions across the country. During National Hispanic-Serving Institution Week, I recognize the great work being done by HSIs in Nevada and across the country to empower Latino students to succeed in the classroom and earn their degrees.”
BACKGROUND:
Nevada currently has four institutions of higher learning classified as Hispanic-Serving Institutions: College of Southern Nevada; Nevada State College; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Truckee Meadows Community College.
Senator Cortez Masto announced over $1.1 million in grant funding earlier this month to Nevada colleges for the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program.
HSIs are defined as degree-granting institutions where the number of Hispanic students enrolled is at least 25% of total enrollment. HSIs are located in 25 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions located in 35 States and Puerto Rico.
###