Dr. Manuel Tomás Barrera III

We are pleased to acknowledge and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 through Oct.15, together with our faculty, students and alumni. Walden University, with a mission of promoting positive social change, is dedicated to the education of leaders seeking to improve their communities and to make their professions responsive to the needs of historically underserved populations in our society. Long known for promoting broad access to higher education among adult professionals from all walks of life, our university has consistently ranked at the top of the list of institutions granting graduate degrees to multicultural student populations.

However, like many other higher education institutions across the United States, Walden’s enrollment of Latino students (6 percent) is disproportionately low compared with the percentage of Latinos in the total population (14.5 percent). This problem, endemic across the “academy,” remains preeminent: Latinos are not well-represented in higher education. Because Latinos represent the newest—and largest—population of people of color within the United States, it has become imperative to stimulate and nurture our participation in higher education so that we may assume our rightful place in leading this society to speak for and serve the “common good.”

At Walden, we have a paradoxical problem. We are proud of our commitment to engendering social change throughout the education enterprise and of our record of broad access to include everyone, yet we share a frustration about the current numbers of available, potential Latino students with the academic qualifications for graduate or postgraduate education. For example, according to 2001 census figures, fewer than 11 percent of Hispanics age 25 or older had a bachelor’s degree, compared with nearly 26 percent of the overall population.

A myriad of socially specific reasons helps explain why Latinos, and other diverse populations, are not as involved as they could be in higher education. Many adult learners in the Latino population who have dropped out of high school and college encounter any number of other obstacles on the road to postsecondary studies, including language and cultural challenges as well as the difficulties of under-funded schools. Latino undergraduates are half as likely as their white peers to finish a bachelor’s degree, according to the 2003 President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

The current concern over immigration has made it even more difficult for young, aspiring Latinos to achieve a professional career based on advanced postsecondary education. Many do not have the ability to advance because they are hampered by the way the system works. Latinos are forced to attain their education, often by using the very systems that tend to illegitimatize them. The Boston Globe recently reported on aspiring children of illegal immigrants who decide not to apply for college because Social Security numbers are required in order to qualify for financial aid. In that context, it is not surprising that the number of Latinos in higher education, and across many professions, is not proportionate with the population.

Walden University is dedicated to identifying solutions that will provide the opportunity for Latino educators to be part of a real change that will address the needs of historically underserved populations, both in the field of education and across other professions.

The diverse communities of the United States are in need of representation. People of color are needed in social, economic and political leadership positions to engage our communities in determining the future of our society. This equity is a vital component of any economic and social vision.

At Walden, we believe it is important to highlight Latinos in our university who are contributing to social change. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are launching the Latino Changemaker Award. We would like to hear compelling stories of Latinos, such as Gladys Hernandez, engaged in social change efforts within their communities. For information about nominating someone, see Walden Creates Latino Changemaker Award.

During the next 30 days, our panel of academics, students and alumni will review your nominations. In the November issue of the Walden Ponder we will culminate Hispanic Heritage Month with a tribute to those Latino students and alumni who are living the Walden University vision and making a difference.

Finally, as one of my inaugural messages to the Walden community, I wish to express my sincere joy in joining you as we move forward in promoting the vision of a better world, where all may benefit from their human right to an education—basic through advanced.

Para  servirle,

Dr. Manuel Tomás Barrera
Dean, College of Education
Walden University

September Ponder front page