[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8566--SEPT. 17, 2010

Proclamation 8566 of September 17, 2010
National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2010
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Education is critical to our children's future and to the continued
growth and prosperity of our Nation. To maintain our leadership in the
global economy, we have an obligation to provide a high-quality
education to our children and ensure they can obtain higher education
and job training. Currently, Hispanics are the largest and fastest
growing minority group in our Nation, and they have been a vital force
of innovation and development. As we look to deliver a world-class
education that will determine America's success in the 21st century, we
must ensure Hispanics have access to the resources and tools needed to
compete and thrive.
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are key members of our higher
education system and vital sources of strength for our Nation's
students. They play an important role in attracting underrepresented
Americans to science, technology, engineering, and math--fields that
will be pivotal in the 21st-century economy. HSIs are committed to
improving the lives of their students as well as helping revitalize the
communities where they serve. Graduates of these institutions are
helping expand our economy and enriching all aspects of our national
life.
To prepare the next generation of great American leaders, my
Administration has set a goal to have the highest proportion of college
graduates in the world by 2020. Enhancing educational opportunities for

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Hispanics will be vital to achieving this objective, and we will need
the continued leadership of our HSIs to increase the enrollment,
retention, and graduation rates of our Hispanic students. Working
together, we will open doors of opportunity for all our children and
help them succeed on a global stage.
This week, we celebrate the contributions of the more than 200 Hispanic-
Serving Institutions in communities across our country, and we recognize
the students, alumni, parents, teachers, and school leaders whose vision
and dedication has brightened countless futures. We will need their
dreams and hard work, ideas and talents, perseverance and daring in the
days ahead to build a stronger, more prosperous tomorrow for our Nation.
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 19 through
September 25, 2010, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week. I
call upon all public officials, educators, and people of the United
States to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities that acknowledge the contributions these institutions and
their graduates have made to our country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
fifth.
BARACK OBAMA