Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month

Floor Speech

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday we began our Nation's Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanics comprise over 45 percent of New Mexico's population, and our State's Hispanic community has deep roots and a rich history in our State. I am truly honored to highlight this important community in Congress today.

For a population that is expected to triple in size in our country by 2050, education continues to be an issue of fundamental significance. Preparing our children for the future is the greatest investment that we can make for our long-term economic vitality and for our country's ability to compete in the 21st century. We have many disparities to address in education and a long way to go to ensure the success of our children throughout their elementary and secondary education, particularly our Hispanic students.

But, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to highlight an example of a New Mexico institution of higher learning that is doing a tremendous job of serving our Hispanic students.

This month the University of New Mexico was given top rankings by Hispanic Business Magazines's list of top 10 schools in the Nation for Hispanics in the fields of engineering, business, law and medicine.

UNM, which is located in my district, is our State's flagship university. UNM's success at serving the Hispanic community is the result of decades of hard work by the university's administration, their faculty, many organizations, and their students.

UNM's Law School, which the magazine ranked number one in the country for the third year in a row, has an outstanding number of Hispanic faculty and a school-wide emphasis on the engagement of students, faculty, and alumni in the wider community. Organizations like the Mexican American Law Student Association recruit local Hispanic high school students and then mentor them through their undergraduate years and help them to prepare for admission to the law school. It's worth noting that the UNM Chapter of MALSA was just named Law Student Organization of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

UMN's School of Medicine, which the magazine ranked sixth in the country, has also formalized a pipeline program called ``Joining Communities to Increase Access and Reduce Disparities.'' There, mentors from the School of Medicine recruit students from underrepresented high schools to consider careers in health care, enroll them in the New Mexico Clinical Education Program for undergraduates, and support students taking the MCAT.

UNM's School of Engineering, which earned a seventh-place ranking, has steadily grown its enrollment of Hispanic students to 32.7 percent this year. Much of that increase is owed to the school's leadership in creating the Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization's Annual Science Extravaganza with more than 500 youths from our State.

And, finally, at the Anderson School of Management, which Hispanic Business Magazine ranked sixth in the Nation, the number of Hispanic students entering their graduate program in the fall of 2009 was double from the previous year. Much of the Anderson School's success is owed to innovative programs such as a regular breakfast that they hold with members of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce to increase interest in the MBA and the master's of accounting programs.

Mr. Speaker, across the University of New Mexico community, there is an ingrained commitment that strives to ensure that the university is representative of our community. That commitment is not just symbolic; it is essential to the service that UNM graduates offer to our congressional district once they graduate.

I want to congratulate the University of New Mexico for its national recognition as a top university by Hispanic Business Magazine, and I wish them continued success in serving our community and our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that when our Hispanic students succeed, New Mexico succeeds and our Nation succeeds.

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