MN Network of Latinos in Higher Education
MN Network of Latinos in
Higher Education Conference 2007
On Friday October 12 and Saturday October 13, the MN Network of Latinos in Higher Education held its first annual conference in Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota. Click to view assorted pics from the conference and the student dance! (PPT)
1st Annual Network Conference a Total Success
Over 100 members of the Network of Latinos in Higher Education participated in the 1st annual conference on October 12 and 13, 2007. A forum and a student organized dance made up the 1st day’s event, followed by workshops, discussion sessions, and board elections on the 2nd and final day of the conference.
Our Developing Statewide Network
On October 12 and 13, 2007, the MN Network of Latinos in Higher Education hosted its 1st annual conference at the University of Minnesota. After months of development, the network took another giant leap towards building a strong network of Latinos, this time by uniting more than 100 of its members. Twenty-one of these members were elected to represent the network as the Board of Directors. The board includes staff, faculty, and students from institutions in different regions of the state. The work of the Network will occur at the regional and sector level, and among committee work. Committees include: the Advocacy Committee, the Finance Committee, the Membership Committee, the Communication Committee, and the Conference Committee. The board and members of the network will continue to work together and develop this young, but powerful, organization to fulfill its vision of supporting, promoting, and advocating Latino success and advancement in higher education. "
The Minnesota Network of Latinos in Higher Education is an organization in-formation to serve as a structure for individuals across colleges and universities to communicate, advocate, organize, share resources, and to support and work towards the success of Latinos in higher education in Minnesota. This is an important and much needed opportunity for us to strengthen our connections to one another.
- Mission Vision and Guiding Principles for the MN Network of Latinos in Higher Education
- Board of Directors (List of board members)
Why This? Why now?
The primary goal of network is to support the success of Latinos in higher education—we are students and/or employees of colleges and universities in Minnesota who are creating this because of the need to have a strong voice and vehicle through which we can advocate for our community’s success in higher education. As our community continues to grow and change in Minnesota, we also need to grow and change the ways in which we have been involved in systems and forces that impact our lives. Supporting Latino success in education is central to that
Our Developing Statewide Network
On December 1, 2006, we celebrated the launch of the network at the University of MN TC campus. Latino staff, students and faculty spoke about the importance of supporting and developing a structure for Latinos to have a collective voice. These affiliation groups developed ideas and next steps to ensure the network would support our unique interests in higher education. Faculty, staff and students elected representatives to the Implementation Steering Committee. This group is responsible for transforming an idea into our self-sustaining formal organization. In order to develop our vision, dedicated leaders from the Launch have divided into six committees: Executive, Organizational Development, Communications, Recruitment & Support, Access Retention & Advocacy and Conference Planning. The work of these committees will culminate at the first annual Statewide conference this October 12th and 13th, 2007 at the University of Minnesota where the organization will formally begin!
The Network on a Local Level
Dividing the state into regions stemmed from comments from many who knew few other Latinos in higher education in their own area locally, much-the-less throughout the state. Individuals expressed the desire to increase the communication and collaboration with others in their individual regions and so the idea was formed to support a regional infrastructure as well. Regional representatives will work to increase the connections between and among folks in a particular region and proactively plan for issues and community mobilizing in your particular region. Your regional representative has contacts all over your region and is here to help us all strengthen our communities!
This map shows the six different network regions. Call or write for the contact information of those involved in a particular region! Click image for a larger view.
The mission of the Statewide Network of Latinos in Higher Education is to support, promote and advocate for Latino success and advancement in higher education.