DRAFT MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program February 26, 1992 Preliminary Proposal Identify parameters for writing a proposal, requesting $700,000 from the Kellogg Foundation to implement a 3-5 year program specifically geared to address the retention and leadership development needs of Latinos/Hispanics in higher education from the following 10 Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. While the emphasis of this initiative will target students, the program will include a faculty and staff component. An underlying goal of the MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program would be to encourage colleges/universities to a make long-term commitment— beyond the lifespan of this grant—to culturally relevant retention and leadership development programming that increases the pool of students by building ties with communities across higher education institutional lines. This process will be facilitated by the infrastructure and the resources available via exsisting linkages between the nine MCLR Member Institutions (DePaul University, Indiana University-Bloomington, Michigan State University, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wayne State University) and a communications system consisting of: 1. MCLR-L: An electronic (e-mail) network, currently reaching over 150 subscribers in over 60 different nodes in academic settings and other places in the Midwest and throughout the United States. 2. MCLR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER: Published for purposes of generating interest in research on Latinos in the Midwest and promoting latino scholarship, the newsletter is mailed to 1000-plus individual subscribers, representing the administrative, faculty, staff and student ranks of numerous college and university campuses; key boards, commissions, private and public non-profit; and the community at-large. 3. MCLR LATINO RESOURCE DIRECTORY: Compiled to help meet the growing human resource needs of higher education institutions in general and the Latino community in particular, the directory is an essential tool for strengthening the lines of communication between Latinos in higher education, as well as between the higher education institution as an employer, place of study, and resource for the Latino community.
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DRAFT MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program
February 26, 1992
Preliminary Proposal Identify parameters for writing a proposal, requesting $700,000 from the Kellogg Foundation to implement a 3-5 year program specifically geared to address the retention and leadership development needs of Latinos/Hispanics in higher education from the following 10 Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. While the emphasis of this initiative will target students, the program will include a faculty and staff component. An underlying goal of the MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program would be to encourage colleges/universities to a make long-term commitment— beyond the lifespan of this grant—to culturally relevant retention and leadership development programming that increases the pool of students by building ties with communities across higher education institutional lines. This process will be facilitated by the infrastructure and the resources available via exsisting linkages between the nine MCLR Member Institutions (DePaul University, Indiana University-Bloomington, Michigan State University, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wayne State University) and a communications system consisting of:
1. MCLR-L: An electronic (e-mail) network, currently reaching over 150 subscribers in over 60 different nodes in academic settings and other places in the Midwest and throughout the United States.
2. MCLR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER: Published for purposes of generating interest in research on Latinos in the Midwest and promoting latino scholarship, the newsletter is mailed to 1000-plus individual subscribers, representing the administrative, faculty, staff and student ranks of numerous college and university campuses; key boards, commissions, private and public non-profit; and the community at-large.
3. MCLR LATINO RESOURCE DIRECTORY: Compiled to help meet the growing human resource needs of higher education institutions in general and the Latino community in particular, the directory is an essential tool for strengthening the lines of communication between Latinos in higher education, as well as between the higher education institution as an employer, place of study, and resource for the Latino community.
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The proven strategies of the Michigan State University Latino Retention Retreat Program that the Kellogg Foundation recently funded, which promote cultural growth, academic excellence, positive social skills and leadership development, will serve as a model for expanding the scope of the MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program. Utilize the services of the Midwest Consortium for Latino Research (MCLR) headquartered at Michigan State University to administer the grant. Appoint campus liaisons at MCLR Member Institutions and assign them primary responsibility for coordinating retention and leadership development activities leading to outcomes that:
1. Strengthen the community-institutions of higher education linkages that will improve the recruitment and retention of Latino/Hispanic college students and their eventual completion of undergraduate degrees.
2. Strengthen the capacity of faculty and staff to mentor students and to develop their own leadership abilities.
3. Strengthen administrative awareness and commitments to achieving a diverse population representative of our pluralistic society.
4. Strengthen the ties among educational programs serving Latino communities in the Midwest, Southwest and Mexico.
Since their role as mentors is key to the success of the program, Latino faculty and staff will continue to be an integral part of the overall effort to encourage students to graduate from college.
Rationale Despite recruiting efforts by colleges, Latinos still lag far behind other minority groups in college enrollment. According to a recent report by the American Council of Education, a 60% increase in the absolute number of Latinos in college from 1980 to 1990 is largely due to a nearly 60% increase of 18-24 year-old Latinos in the same decade. The proportion of Latino 18-24 year-olds enrolling in colleges has actually stayed about the same over the last decade—at 16%. That compares to 25.4% of blacks in 1990 and 32.5% of whites. In 1990, only 54.9% of Latinos graduated from high school, about the same proportion as 10 years ago. That is more than 20 points below the proportion of black students who graduated and nearly 30 percentage points behind the graduation rate of whites, according to the council's report. The MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program is an attempt to
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significantly curtail the Latino high school dropout rate and substantially increase the Latino college-going rate.
Program Components As previously stated, central administration of the MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program will housed at Michigan State University. MSU and two or three strategically located MCLR Member Institutions in other states will establish satellite offices to coordinate a regional recruitment and retention effort from their respective campuses. Each of these offices will be staffed by a full-time coordinator and a secretary- Under the direction of central administration, the coordinators will design materials (eg. a calendar of events, general program guide, curriculum, and evaluation procedure) to assist the campus liaisons organize, implement and/or otherwise participate in the following activities which support the main thrust of the program:
1. Fall, Winter and Spring educational sessions or "retreats" at each satellite office designed to: A. Promote academic excellence and leadership
development. B. Expose students to trained professionals
knowledgeable about social skills areas, dealing with time management, conflict resolution, maj ority/minority relations, male/female relationships and career counseling.
C. Introduce students to Latino faculty and staff role models/prospective mentors.
D. Promote cultural awareness and understanding. 2. An annual conference at one central location that brings
together university administrators with all of the faculty, staff and students who participate in educational sessions coordinated by each of the three satellite offices. Emphasis in effective models, especially diverse and innovative approaches that include parental involvement and local resources.
3. A network of linkages with community colleges, high schools, local community-based organizations and parents to increase the numbers enrolling in and graduating from the university in the region to promote Latinos in higher education.
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4. A student exchange program that creates linkages with other institutions in the Southwestern part of the United States and Mexico to facilitate visits.
5. A satellite conference to reach a broader audience, including international conferencing with Technologicos and other Mexican higher education institutions.
6. Electronic communications, newsletters, traveling plays/theatrical performances, etc., that help link institutions.
7. Annual seed grant competition to develop innovative approaches to increasing the linkages between parents and the community with colleges and universities.
8. Dissemination of leadership development program guides based on knowledge and experiences accumulated through synergistic activities.
The MCLR Retention and Leadership Development Program will be a collaborative endeavor between Latino faculty, staff and students, colleges and universities and the Kellogg Foundation. Initiating the program will require funds to assist students with travel, lodging and meal expenses. In addition to program supported activities, participating campuses will be expected to provide support in academic skills areas such as, writing, mathematics, computer literacy, research/analytical skills and other Summer Research Opportunity Program (SR0P) type activities (eg., graduate school visits, conference trips and travel opportunities; workshops on fellowships, assistantships, and other type of financial support available to graduate students). The Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University will provide evaluation services for the program.
ENCUENTRO CULTURAL/CULTURAL ENCOUNTER A RETENTION RETREAT for
Chicano/Latino Students# Faculty# Staff AND COMMUNITY LEADERS Herminia Garcia-Ortega
A multi-cultural retreat was implemented at Michigan State University for Chicano/Latino and American Indian students, faculty and staff to begin developing a stronger campus community for these two groups and create a meaningful support system to increase student retention. The three day retreat was comprised of interactive personal and cultural experiences from Chicano/Latino and American Indian traditions. The retreat addressed the following issues:
- Lack of contact with Chicano/Latino and American Indian faculty and support staff.
- Lack of culturally relevant curricula and support programs. - Isolation factors among Chicano/Latino and American Indian
students. - Lack of consistent community development on campus which
builds on cultural traditions and values. - Challenges in defining a cultural balance, understanding
cultural traditions vs. mainstream values, issues concerning bi-cultural backgrounds and relationships.
- Issues in building a cohesive network of support among the Latino sub-cultures (i.e. Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, South and Central Americans) and American Indians
- Leadership development and leadership styles. Presentation will include an interactive cultural experience, an overview of the retreat program, video excerpts and student testimony/reactions to the retreat. The retreat has stimulated students to work and study together as well as innovate new types of support activities. The retreat can be implemented successfully at other institutions and we have recently received funding from the Kellogg Foundation for continuation of the retreats.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CULTURAL GROWTH: The purpose of this program is to address the problems of retention for Latino students by establishing strong support networks that will provide the academic, personal, social, career, and leadership skills needed to succeed in post secondary institutions of higher learning. These networks would be established via a series of retreats whereby students, faculty, staff and community leaders would share in a 3 day workshop designed to enhance the student's academic, cultural, and leadership development. On-going programs in the aforementioned areas would continue throughout the year to reinforce the program goals and objectives.
