With the theme “Latino Resistance in Higher Education: A Legacy of Struggle,” the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE) will hold its 26th Professional and Student Development Conference on Friday, April 20, at Illinois State University, at the Bone Student Center. The ILACHE conference will bring hundreds of Latino faculty, staff, and students to campus for a series of workshops on issues facing Latinos at every level of higher education.
Registration is now open for the conference. Find out more information on the ILACHE website.
The day before, on Thursday, April 19, the ISU Latin American and Latino/a Studies program will host a free screening of the documentary Dolores at 4 p.m. at the Normal Theater in Uptown Normal. The film explores the life and work of Dolores Huerta, one of the most defiant feminist activists of the 20th century who led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Cesar Chavez. A Q&A with Illinois Assistant Professor of Anthropology Liv Stone will follow the film. This event is free and open to the public.
Estela Mara Bensimon
The keynote speaker, Estela Mara Bensimon, will present “Equity Mindedness as a Solution to Racial Inequality.” A professor of higher education at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, Bensimon is the director of the Center for Urban Education (CUE), which she founded in 1999. With a focus on increasing racial equity in higher education outcomes for students of color, Bensimon developed the Equity Scorecard—a process for using inquiry to drive changes in institutional practice and culture. Since its founding, CUE has worked with thousands of college professionals—from presidents to faculty to academic counselors—helping them take steps in their daily work to reverse the impact of the historical and structural disadvantages that prevent many students of color from excelling in higher education.
Bensimon’s critical action research agenda has been supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Teagle Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The James Irvine Foundation.
The ILACHE conference is sponsored in collaboration with Illinois State University and by pledges from other Illinois higher education institutions and community organizations.
