National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2012

/ Presidential Documents

Proclamation 8866 of September 14, 2012

National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Equipping our children with the knowledge and skills
for a lifetime of success is among our Nation's most
important responsibilities. We know that providing the
next generation with a world-class education is not
just a moral obligation--it is a prerequisite for
America's progress in the 21st century. With Hispanics
representing more than 20 percent of students enrolled
in our public elementary and secondary schools, the
opportunities in postsecondary education offered to
these young people will have a significant impact on
our country's future. Hispanic-Serving Institutions
(HSIs) have helped bring the dream of a college
education within reach for many Hispanic students and
their families, and this week, we celebrate the
critical role these colleges and universities play in
American higher education.

Across our country, HSIs are giving students access to
a quality education and vesting in them a lifelong
appreciation for intellectual inquiry. In these halls
of higher learning, students are pursuing careers in
science and engineering, health care, technology,
education, and other fields that will bolster our
economic prosperity and foster American innovation for
decades to come. Graduates of these institutions are
already leaders in every part of our national life, and
with these institutions graduating such a significant
portion of Hispanic students, HSIs are helping move us
closer to leading the world in college completion by
2020.

As we reflect on the contributions of HSIs, let us
renew our commitment to preparing our future leaders--
from focusing on early childhood education to combating
high school dropout rates--and to supporting those
institutions that equip students of all backgrounds to
take on tomorrow's challenges. By honoring this
commitment, we uphold that most American idea: that
with a quality education, a child of any race, faith,
or station in life can overcome any barriers to achieve
his or her dreams.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim September 16 through
September 22, 2012, as National Hispanic-Serving
Institutions Week. I call on public officials,
educators, and all the people of the United States to
observe this week with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the
tremendous contributions these institutions and their
graduates have made to our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.