Continental Breakfast

Poster Session

Pre-conference workshops

(optional-extra fees apply)

Continental Breakfast

Commission
Interest Group Fair

Continental Breakfast
New Professional Advisor & Graduate Student Breakfast

Ricardo Romo became the fifth president of The University of Texas at San Antonio in May 1999. As President, he leads one of the fastest growing institutions of higher education in Texas and the nation. UTSA, under his leadership, has become an institution of first choice for students seeking a university degree, and the University is now poised to be one of the state's next premier research universities.

President Romo has led strategic efforts to enhance both access to education and excellence in scholarship and service at the University. Under his direction, UTSA increased the number of PhD. programs from three to 21. To accommodate growth, UTSA has added nearly $560 million in new facilities since 1999, including a recently-opened $84 million science building that is one of the most sophisticated research and learning centers in Texas.

During President Romo's tenure, UTSA's enrollment has grown nearly 50%, and the University has added numerous programs and facilities to enhance student life, including a $65 million Recreation/Wellness Building and a 1,700-bed Olympic village-style housing complex. He also has implemented new student support programs designed to help students succeed at earning a university degree. The number of advisers has tripled, and UTSA, with 28,500 students in 2007, is recognized as a leader in "Closing the Gaps," a statewide initiative by the Legislature to enroll more Texans in higher education.

A native of San Antonio's West Side, President Romo graduated from Fox Tech High School and attended The University of Texas at Austin on a track scholarship. He served as captain of the track and cross-country team and earned All-American honors in 1966. Romo was the first Texan to run the mile in less than four minutes, and his mile record still stands as a university record.

Romo earned a B.A. in education from UT Austin, and holds a master's degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from UCLA. A nationally respected urban historian, Romo is the author of "East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio," which is now in its ninth printing (one in Spanish).

In 1980, President Romo returned to UT Austin to teach history before becoming a Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. In 2002, President Bush appointed him to the President's Board of Advisers on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In 2004, former Secretary of State Colin Powell appointed Romo as a U.S. representative to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, and in 2005, Romo was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio branch and was reappointed in 2007 - Romo currently serves as the Vice Chair.

In 2006, Romo was honored by the UT Austin Friar Society as "Outstanding Friar Alumnus." He was elected Chairman of the Board for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (the largest U.S. Hispanic Chamber organization) for 2006. In 2007, Governor Rick Perry appointed Romo to serve on the "Commission for College Ready Texas." He serves on nearly 20 boards, many of them in San Antonio. He is active in several museum boards and is especially proud of his work with the United Way.

Dr. Romo has received many honors during his academic career, one of the most recent recognitions was the Isabel la Catolica award, the highest award given to non-Spanish subjects, bestowed upon him by King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Because Dr. Romo is so involved in his community and serves as an excellent example for our youth, the University of Houston Press published a book about his younger years by author Diane Bertrand Russell entitled "Ricardo's Race" in the summer of 2007. In 2000, Romo was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as among the 100 "most influential Hispanics" in the U.S.

A talented photographer, President Romo's photography has been included in several regional art exhibits of note, including Foto Septiembre exhibition in San Antonio, Texas.

2007

Sarita E. Brown

President

Excelencia in Education

Washington, DC

Sarita E. Brown is President of Excelencia in Education, a 501(c) 3 organization working to accelerate Latino success in higher education by linking research, policy, and practice to serve Latino students. She has spent more than two decades at prominent national educational institutions and at the highest levels of government working to implement effective strategies to raise academic achievement and opportunity for low-income and minority students. She started her career at the University of Texas at Austin by building a national model promoting minority success in graduate education. Coming to the nation's capital in 1993 to work for educational associations, Ms. Brown was appointed as Executive Director of the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans under President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Maintaining her commitment to improving the quality of education, Ms. Brown applied her talents and experience to the not-for-profit sector and in 2004, founded Excelencia in Education.

Ms. Brown is active in national educational organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors for ACT Inc., and the National College Access Network (NCAN). She serves on the advisory groups for Univision Communications Children's Programming, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. In January 2009 Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed her to the Board of Visitors for Old Dominion University.

An outstanding public speaker, Ms Brown travels throughout the country to advocate for Latino college-going talent. Her writing on the topic includes her chapter; "Making the Next Generation Our Greatest Resource" in Latinos in the Nation's Future (2009) edited by Henry Cisneros and published by Arte Público Press . She holds a bachelor's of arts in ethnic studies and a bachelor's of science and master's of arts in communication from The University of Texas at Austin. In 2009, she will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from North Carolina State University.

• Members who are seeking a new position or advancement in higher education are encouraged to bring several copies of their résumé to the conference. Member Career Services committee members will be available to offer constructive feedback on how to improve your cover letter and/or résumé/CV. In addition, résumés may be submitted for available positions. Job descriptions will be in binders at the Member Career Services booth for perusal.
• Interested candidates will need one résumé for each position for which they would like to apply. They will be provided to any employers who are at the conference so they can contact candidates and schedule interviews.

• Employers who are interested in posting available positions at the conference need to bring at least 20 copies of the position description to the conference. These need to be submitted to the Member Career Services table in the exhibit area as soon as possible, where they will be posted on a bulletin board and included in binders for perusal by candidates.
• Employers will be able to pre-screen candidates and schedule their own interviews. Come prepared to interview candidates on site if you would like!