NATIONAL HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS WEEK, 2022
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- - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Today, Hispanic students make up nearly 20 percent of
college undergraduates in the United States. They are our future
leaders -- the next generation of doctors and teachers,
entrepreneurs and artists, first responders and scientists,
elected officials and activists. Ensuring that these young
people are prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow is
critical to the future of our Nation.
That is why this week we celebrate Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (HSIs), which foster cultures of belonging and
respect on their campuses and offer Hispanic students a
nurturing, inclusive environment to learn and grow. Recently, I
was pleased to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr.
Julieta García, the first Mexican-American woman to lead the
University of Texas at Brownsville, a center of excellence for
countless students who have been inspired by her example.
Committed to the value of education as a critical tool to uplift
an entire community, Dr. García has demonstrated how HSIs can
enable student success across the country.
My Administration knows that more needs to be done to
support these places of higher learning that stand for the
ideals of opportunity, dignity, and respect. Despite their many
accomplishments, HSIs have been hit hard in recent years. Data
show that Hispanic undergraduate enrollment has fallen by 7
percent since the pandemic began, and for the first time in 20
years, the number of these institutions has declined. That is
why we are strengthening our commitment to help HSIs provide a
pathway to opportunity and economic mobility for their students.

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My Administration has invested approximately $11 billion
from our American Rescue Plan to keep students and staff at HSIs
safe from the COVID-19 pandemic and provide students emergency
grants so they can stay enrolled. I also signed a bill to
increase the maximum Pell Grant award by the greatest amount in
over a decade, which will help approximately half of all
Hispanic students, who depend on Pell Grants to pay for college.
Additionally, to address the financial harms of the
pandemic, my Administration is providing up to $20,000 in debt
relief as part of a comprehensive effort to address the burden
of growing college costs. This action will have a significant
impact on Hispanic borrowers, given that among Hispanic
undergraduate borrowers, 65 percent receive Pell Grants. My
Administration is also working to fix the broken Public Service
Loan Forgiveness program by giving public servants –- many of
whom are educators at HSIs and alumni -– appropriate credit
toward forgiveness. These proposed changes build on the
transformations already made with the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness program that expire on October 31, 2022. For more
information, please visit PSLF.gov.
I have reestablished the White House Initiative on
Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic
Opportunity for Hispanics. And since my Administration began,
the First Lady and the Secretary of Education have visited HSIs
across our Nation to support efforts to keep students engaged,
enrolled, and moving toward the completion of a degree or
certificate.
There is still much more work to be done. We have a long
way to go to fulfill the full potential of America, and my
Administration sees HSIs as a critical gateway to making that
promise a reality. I am proposing that we double the maximum

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Pell Grant amount by 2029 and continue to make higher education
more affordable for all Americans. I am also requesting
increased funding from the Congress to help Historically Black
Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and
minority-serving institutions, such as HSIs, expand their
research and development infrastructure and strengthen their
curricula in science, technology, and agriculture.
Every day, Hispanic Americans contribute immensely to our
Nation's economy, security, and culture. It is our duty to
ensure that the next generation of Hispanic students can make
the most of their God-given talents. During National HispanicServing Institutions Week, we recommit our support for the
institutions helping to make this promise a reality.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 11 through September 17, 2022, 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 twentytwo, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
two hundred and forty-seventh.
[FR Doc. 2022-20004 Filed: 9/13/2022 8:45 am; Publication Date: 9/14/2022]