In fall 2012, the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement completed an update on progress toward implementing the inaugural strategic plan. The 2012-2013 progress report provides highlights of accomplishments from the first implementation year (2011-2012) and priorities for the second year (2012-2013). It is also available in the sidebar on the right of this page.
The Division also released an overview of the full strategic plan, which is now posted on The Plan page. A special thank you to Senior Graphic Designer for DDCE, Ron Bowdoin, and Digital Media Manager, Jason Molin, who make the strategic plan come to life on the page and on screen!
The University of Texas at Austin honored one organization and three individuals for outstanding public service and work on civil rights at the Sixth Annual Community Leadership Awards Ceremony at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center on December 6, 2012. The event was co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. This year, University of Texas Regent Printice L. Gary joined President Bill Powers and Vice President Dr. Gregory J. Vincent presenting the awards. The Community Leadership Circle Award was recently renamed to honor Dr. James L. Hill, the first African American vice president of UT Austin and longtime educator who died September 2.
The honorees were:
- Special Recognition — Edwin R. Sharpe, clinical professor, Department of Educational Administration, The University of Texas at Austin; former UT System executive vice chancellor and former UT Austin vice president for administration
- Community Partnership Award — The Villager Newspaper, published by T. L. “Tommy” Wyatt, who was a founding member of the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Publishers Association
- Dr. James L. Hill Community Leadership Circle Award — Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the NAACP since 2000 and founder of the Garvey/Allen/Washington Project
- Dr. June Brewer Legacy Award — The Honorable Wilhelmina Delco, former state representative who served for 10 terms and was the first female speaker pro tempore of the Texas Legislature
DDCE’s annual Community Leadership Awards presentations support the strategic plan’s Community Engagement objective to build a comprehensive community relations program. Thank you to all of our campus and community partners who make these events possible.
The University of Texas at Austin celebrated three individuals, a family and two nonprofits for their commitment to education and service to the Hispanic community at an awards ceremony at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on October 3 in Austin. The ceremony is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.
Two active community leaders who support causes affecting human rights and the arts received the Community Leadership Circle Award: David Garza, owner of Garza Design & Construction; and Dr. John Hogg, physician and Austin Radiological Association partner. Jody Conradt, former head women’s basketball coach for UT Austin, received special recognition as a founder of the Neighborhood Longhorns Program (NLP), which celebrates its 20th anniversary as an educational incentive program for students in grades 2-8 at Title I schools in the Austin Independent School District (AISD).
Nonprofit Con Mi MADRE, which has helped Hispanic girls graduate and attend college since 1992, received a Community Partnership Award. A second nonprofit recipient was the Tejano Monument Inc., which recently unveiled a multistatue monument adjacent to the Texas Capitol that celebrates the contributions of the early Spanish and Mexican pioneers.
The family of Severiano (“S.A.”) and Viola Garza, both alumni of UT Austin and members of the Texas Exes Hispanic Alumni Network, received the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Legacy Award for their long-time support and leadership to the university. Among the honored Garza Family members was Rudy Garza, who served as the Chairman and President of the Texas Exes in 2009-2010.
DDCE’s annual Community Leadership Awards presentations support the strategic plan’s Community Engagement objective to build a comprehensive community relations program. Thank you to all of our campus and community partners who make these events possible.
By Dr. Kiersten Ferguson and Dr. Victor B. Sáenz
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently awarded Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success) a $50,000 grant, which will provide support for the Project MALES Student Fellows Mentoring Program and will expand the number of fellows and extend mentoring to a second high school in the Austin Independent School District. In partnership with the X-Y Zone program of Communities in Schools, the mentoring program seeks to create a critical mass of young, engaged, and civic-minded Latino male students to positively affect their academic success and college readiness through mentoring bonds across multiple generations.
Led by Dr. Victor B. Sáenz, DDCE faculty fellow and assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration, Project MALES is made up of two interrelated initiatives: a research project focused on exploring the complex experiences of Latino males in higher education; and, a pilot mentoring project that aims to cultivate an engaged support network for Latino males at UT-Austin and the Central Texas community.
For more information about Project MALES, please contact Dr. Victor B. Sáenz, at projectmales@gmail.com
