[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9487 of September 9, 2016

National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Ensuring opportunity is within reach for everyone requires us to provide
all our people with access to a world-class education. Higher education
gives people a sense of who they are and sharpens how they see

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the world, and in our 21st-century economy, it is an investment that
pays off--helping Americans work their way into the middle class. Across
our country, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have helped Hispanic
students--many of whom are the first in their family to go to college--
earn a college degree. This week, we reflect on how these important
institutions have helped Hispanic students reach for their dreams, and
we reaffirm our commitment to supporting them for generations to come.
HSIs have given more Hispanics access to the resources and opportunities
they need to compete in our economy. More than half of America's
Hispanic undergraduates attend HSIs, which have played a critical role
in increasing access to a college education and have worked to bolster
enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. In the last several years,
college enrollment among Hispanics hit a record high, and today, it
continues to grow. Over the past two decades, the percentage of young
Hispanics who have earned a college degree has increased significantly--
but in that same time, disparities have persisted. HSIs are helping
ensure more Hispanics have the opportunity to complete college, moving
us closer to our goal of leading the world in higher education by 2020.
Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority group in America,
and we must keep striving to ensure they can pursue an exceptional
education. My Administration has sought to improve educational outcomes
and opportunities for every American, including Hispanics through the
White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. We have
helped strengthen HSIs, which serve a higher proportion of low-income
students than other institutions of higher education, by investing more
than $1 billion in them over 10 years. Because college has never been
more expensive, I have also taken steps to make it easier for more
Americans to pay for higher education--steps that include expanding Pell
Grants and offering tuition tax credits. And I am fighting for 2 years
of free community college for any student willing to work for it,
because no American should be priced out of a quality education.
The contributions of Hispanics have shaped our national narrative, and
it is crucial to our success that we empower more Hispanics and young
people across our country to thrive. For generations, HSIs have helped
Hispanics earn college degrees, seek meaningful careers, and aspire to
be anything they want. At the heart of our Nation is the idea that no
matter where you come from or what you look like, if you are willing to
work hard, you can make it in America. By expanding opportunities for
all, we can bring more people closer to reaching their piece of the
American dream.
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 12 through
September 18, 2016, 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 ninth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the

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Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
BARACK OBAMA