West campus news Releases Archive

Hispanic leadership program taps associate vice provost at ASU's West campus

Oct. 4, 2005

There is no road map on how to become a university president, especially if you are Hispanic, noted Manuel Avalos, associate vice provost for research and faculty development at Arizona State University’s West campus.

That’s changing, however, and Avalos is learning what it means to be in the driver’s seat.

Avalos is participating in a year-long Leadership Fellows Program conducted by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). The program is designed to increase the number of Hispanic senior-level leaders at Hispanic-serving Institutions. It focuses on developing leadership skills and those skills necessary to manage issues unique to Hispanic-serving Institutions.

“It’s a life-changing program, built around issues that faculty of color have to deal with on a daily basis,” Avalos said. Participants in the program will learn directly from 10 to 15 current or former university and community college presidents over the course of the year.

“Instead of talking about theory, we are talking with people who have actually done it,” Avalos said, noting that these high-ranking administrators drive the curriculum and the discussion.

“I am impressed with these presidents. They are all dedicated to students; students of color, student access,” Avalos said. “They have so little ego. They are doing administration, not for personal gain, but for the students and faculty they lead.”

In addition to developing skills to manage issues unique to Hispanic-serving institutions, Avalos said discussions touched on how to attract faculty of color; how to build strong, personal relationships with regents; and how to work with the news media.

“We learn from them how to be prepared,” he said.

Avalos also is the associate director of the Hispanic Research Center at ASU’s West campus and a tenured associate professor of political science in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. His current academic research focuses on questions of racial inequality in the Americas, and the political representation and incorporation of the Latino electorate at the state, local and national level. He is completing an analysis of the impact of the Latino vote on the 2004 presidential election, with special emphasis on Arizona and an analysis of the impact of the passage of Proposition 200, which requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote, an ID at the polling place and proof of immigration status when applying for state public welfare benefits.

Avalos met this summer with other fellows in the program and will meet again this month in Phoenix at HACU’s 19^th annual conference. ASU is co-sponsoring the event with President Michael Crow hosting a reception and networking session Oct. 16. For more information on the conference, contact HACU at (210) 692-0823 or visit www.hacu.net.

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