[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