USDA Selects Tenth Class Of E. (Kika) De la Garza Fellows

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program (HSINP) today announced 20 faculty members from Hispanic-serving educational institutions will work collaboratively this summer with USDA scientists and managers in Washington, D.C. to learn more about research and management issues. The program is administered by the Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program (HSINP). This summer’s fellows will collaborate with USDA on food security, biotechnology, landscape horticulture and agribusiness.

As highly-accomplished faculty of our nation’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions, they are selected for the compatibility of their research interests with USDA mission areas and the value their experience with the Department would add to their institution’s curriculum.

The E. (Kika) de la Garza Fellowship is divided into four categories, each tailored to meet the interests of fellows and provide them with an enriching two-month experience. The education and high school faculty learn about the education policymaking process by meeting with officials in various federal agencies, such as the Department of Education, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of State, as well as USDA.

The science fellows collaborate with scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and learn about state-of-the-art agricultural research on concerns of the Hispanic community. The program will also host its first executive fellow, a university chancellor.

The 2007 E. (Kika) De La Garza Fellows Are:

Executive Fellow Cesar Cordero-Montalvo of The University of Puerto Rico-Utuado (Utuado, PR).

Three Science Fellows:

Andres Aguilar of The University Of California (Merced, Calif.), Wilfredo Colon of Universidad Del Este (Carolina, P.R.), And Segun Ogunjemiyo of California State University-Fresno (Fresno, Calif.)

Fifteen Education Fellows:

Mark Bender, California State University-Stanislaus (Turlock, Calif.); Rosa Carillo, California State University-Long Beach (Long Beach, Calif.); Marlene Chavez-Toivanen, New Mexico State University-Grants (Grants, N.M.); Herbert Cortez, California State University-Monterey Bay (Seaside, Calif.); Martha Desmond, New Mexico State University-Main Campus (Las Cruces, N.M.); Luz Maria Galbreath, Whittier College (Whittier, Calif.);William Garcia, College Of The Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.); Editte Gharakhanian, California State University-Long Beach (Long Beach, Calif.); Dan Hostetler, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (Pomona, Calif.); Shonali Laha, Florida International University (Miami, Fla.); Marvin Lozano, Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (Albuquerque, N.M.); Hernan Maldonado, California State University-Fresno (Fresno, Calif.); Marisela Mendoza, Columbia Basin College (Pasco, Wash.); Tony Montoya, University Of Southern Colorado (Pueblo, Colo.); And Lindsay Ono, Bakersfield College (Bakersfield, Calif.)

High School Fellow:

Gary Leger of Robertson High School (Las Vegas, N.M.).

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are accredited degree-granting institutions of higher education with a full-time Hispanic student enrollment of 25 percent or more. The partnership fostered by this fellowship program helps address educational challenges faced by the Hispanic community. The program also promotes services and employment opportunities to add to a diversified USDA workforce.

For additional information on the E. (Kika) de la Garza Fellowship program, visit: http://www.hsi.usda.gov .