[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 55717-55718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23492]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 180 / Thursday, September 17, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 55717]]


                Proclamation 9320 of September 11, 2015

                
National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2015

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our higher education system is one of the crown jewels 
                of our Nation, and investing in it is a hallmark of 
                America. In an economy where knowledge is the most 
                valuable asset, the best way to get ahead and ensure 
                mobility to the middle class is to earn a college 
                degree. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) help make 
                the promise a college education provides a reality for 
                many Hispanic students across our country, enabling 
                them to secure a better future for themselves and their 
                families. This week, let us recognize the tremendous 
                impact these institutions have and rededicate ourselves 
                to continuing our support of their valuable work.

                An education can broaden horizons and empower us to be 
                better people and better citizens, and no one should be 
                left out of that opportunity. Roughly one-quarter of 
                students in our Nation's public schools today are 
                Hispanic, yet less than one-fifth of Hispanics in the 
                United States have a college degree. HSIs help address 
                this disparity, moving us closer to the day when we 
                have the highest proportion of college graduates in the 
                world. HSIs serve more than half of our Nation's 
                undergraduate Hispanics, and they work to provide more 
                Americans--especially low- and middle-income students--
                with the chance to thrive in an institution of higher 
                learning.

                Hispanics are projected to account for almost one-third 
                of our Nation's population by 2060, and ensuring they 
                have access to the best education possible is important 
                to securing America's success. In the last few years, 
                we have seen the dropout rates for Hispanics 
                significantly decrease, while college enrollment has 
                steadily risen. But more work remains to be done to 
                ensure all our people can realize the American dream, 
                and that is why my Administration has pledged $1 
                billion in funding over the course of this decade to 
                support HSIs. Additionally, I announced a plan that 
                would open doors of opportunity for millions of people 
                by making community college free for responsible 
                students willing to work hard--because in America, 
                nobody should be denied a college education simply 
                because they do not have the resources to pay for it.

                At the heart of our country is a basic bargain: that 
                with determination and grit, you can get ahead--no 
                matter who you are, what you look like, or where you 
                come from. By working to provide many Hispanics with 
                the chance they deserve to get a higher education, HSIs 
                embody this truth and pull the country we all call home 
                a little closer to its founding ideals: that all of us 
                are created equal and all of us should have the chance 
                to make of our lives what we will. This week, let us 
                recommit to strengthening these institutions and pledge 
                our support to all who attend them.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim September 14 through 
                September 20, 2015, as National Hispanic-Serving 
                Institutions Week. I call on public officials, 
                educators, and all the people of the United States to 
                observe this week with appropriate programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities

[[Page 55718]]

                that acknowledge the many ways these institutions and 
                their graduates contribute to our country.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2015-23492
Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F5-P