National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2015

Proclamation 9320 of September 11, 2015

National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our higher education system is one of the crown jewels
of our Nation, and investing in it is a hallmark of
America. In an economy where knowledge is the most
valuable asset, the best way to get ahead and ensure
mobility to the middle class is to earn a college
degree. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) help make
the promise a college education provides a reality for
many Hispanic students across our country, enabling
them to secure a better future for themselves and their
families. This week, let us recognize the tremendous
impact these institutions have and rededicate ourselves
to continuing our support of their valuable work.

An education can broaden horizons and empower us to be
better people and better citizens, and no one should be
left out of that opportunity. Roughly one-quarter of
students in our Nation's public schools today are
Hispanic, yet less than one-fifth of Hispanics in the
United States have a college degree. HSIs help address
this disparity, moving us closer to the day when we
have the highest proportion of college graduates in the
world. HSIs serve more than half of our Nation's
undergraduate Hispanics, and they work to provide more
Americans--especially low- and middle-income students--
with the chance to thrive in an institution of higher
learning.

Hispanics are projected to account for almost one-third
of our Nation's population by 2060, and ensuring they
have access to the best education possible is important
to securing America's success. In the last few years,
we have seen the dropout rates for Hispanics
significantly decrease, while college enrollment has
steadily risen. But more work remains to be done to
ensure all our people can realize the American dream,
and that is why my Administration has pledged $1
billion in funding over the course of this decade to
support HSIs. Additionally, I announced a plan that
would open doors of opportunity for millions of people
by making community college free for responsible
students willing to work hard--because in America,
nobody should be denied a college education simply
because they do not have the resources to pay for it.

At the heart of our country is a basic bargain: that
with determination and grit, you can get ahead--no
matter who you are, what you look like, or where you
come from. By working to provide many Hispanics with
the chance they deserve to get a higher education, HSIs
embody this truth and pull the country we all call home
a little closer to its founding ideals: that all of us
are created equal and all of us should have the chance
to make of our lives what we will. This week, let us
recommit to strengthening these institutions and pledge
our support to all who attend them.

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 14 through
September 20, 2015, 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 many ways these institutions and
their graduates contribute to our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.