Staff present at Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education Conference - University of Houston
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Staff present at Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education Conference

DSAES News
July 21, 2022

Gil Lizalde of the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services and Maria Honey of Administration and Finance presented a panel discussion titled “El Chupacabra: Panel discussion regarding the rare species known as the Latino higher education executive leader” during the 43rd annual Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) Conference.

The TACHE state conference took place February 28th through March 3rd, 2018 in Addison, Texas located North of Dallas. This year’s theme was Si Podemos! Building a Legacy of Leaders and Scholars. The annual conference is an opportunity to network with and learn from higher education professionals from across the state of Texas as they share best practices and research that supports TACHE’s mission.

The presentation highlighted demographic trends in higher education leadership and attempted to answer why Latinos in senior leadership positions, like the legendary creature in the American folklore, are so hard to find. The panel featured faculty and executive leadership members from several Texas Higher Education institutions. Panelists included Dr. Vincent Carales, Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, Dr. Mayra Olivares-Urueta, Vice President of Student Development Services at Tarrant County Community College, and Dr. Jude Valdez, Vice President for Community Services at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

TACHE's purpose is to provide state, regional, and local forums for the discussion of issues related to Chicanos in higher education and to collaborate with institutions of higher learning to create workable solutions for these issues.

Gil Lizalde stated, “As aspiring higher education executives, it was important for us to begin the dialogue regarding the topic of Latinos in executive leadership roles in higher education because not only do Latinos only hold about 4% of these positions nationwide, but we also have a long path ahead of us in order to reach racial equality in the field – which isn’t expected to happen until 2060 (ACE, 2017).  It was great to hear from our panelists who shared their stories, their wisdom, their insight, and their words of inspiration with everyone that attended the session.  It is because of inspiring Latinos/Latinas like them that we are able to move the needle forward towards racial equality in the upper echelons of colleges/universities.”

The division looks forward to collaborations such as these to further promote the University of Houston in the future.

About the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education
TACHE's purpose is to provide state, regional, and local forums for the discussion of issues related to Chicanos in higher education and to collaborate with institutions of higher learning to create workable solutions for these issues. Learn more about the Texas Association for Chicanos in Higher Education.