    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 9167--SEPT. 12, 2014

    Proclamation 9167 of September 12, 2014

    National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2014

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    In America, every child should have access to a world-class education.
    Our Nation's classrooms cultivate and challenge young minds and build a
    skilled and competitive workforce, securing a brighter future for our
    children and our country. Across America, Hispanic-Serving Institutions
    (HSIs) provide essential education opportunities and play a vital role
    in fulfilling our responsibility to the rising group of Hispanic
    innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, and scholars. This week, we honor
    these halls of learning and recommit ourselves to inspiring and
    preparing the next generation of leaders.
    Our Nation can strengthen our economy and have the highest proportion of
    college graduates in the world by 2020, but achieving this goal will
    require us to unlock the full talents and potential of every student.
    Hispanic Americans represent the largest and one of the fastest growing
    minority groups in the United States, yet they are continually
    underrepresented in our colleges and universities. HSIs--where more than
    half of America's Hispanic undergraduates attend--are critical to
    increasing the college enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of
    this expanding population. That is why the Federal Government is
    investing more than $1 billion over 10 years in these schools to renew,
    reform, and expand higher education programs for Hispanics.
    Today, the Hispanic dropout rate has fallen by more than half, and more
    Hispanics are enrolled in college than ever before--but we have more
    work to do to ensure that hardworking students are never priced out of a
    higher education. My Administration has increased Pell Grants, expanded
    pathways to earn degrees at our community colleges, and offered new
    tuition tax credits and better student loan repayment options to
    millions of people, and we will keep fighting to improve college
    affordability throughout our country. By lowering the cost of college
    for students and their parents and supporting HSIs, we can extend the
    promise of a college degree to an increasing number of Hispanics.
    In a changing economy, a college education is one of the surest ways
    into the middle class, and this week we celebrate institutions that help
    improve the lives of their students and revitalize the communities

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    where they serve. Let us never forget that the future belongs to the
    nation that best educates its people. When we strengthen our HSIs, we
    help ensure that all our children, no matter who they are or where they
    come from, have the chance to achieve their dreams.
    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, 2014, 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 that acknowledge the many ways these institutions and their
    graduates contribute to our country.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of
    September, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
    ninth.
    BARACK OBAMA