Annual event addresses growing Latino campus population

UW-Madison Latino Summit 2008, by A. David Dahmer

 The UW-Madison Latino Summit 2008 discussed the ways the university can further meet the needs of the fastest-growing minority on campus on Oct. 30 in Tripp Commons of the Memorial Union.
This is the second year for the summit, which is sponsored by the Latino Faculty Staff Association (LAFSA),
Dr. Damon Williams, vice provost for diversity and climate, was one of the key speakers along with Dr. Jose F. Vasquez, a Regent at the University of Wisconsin System.
"Having a group like LAFSA is essential and can play an incredibly important role strengthening the Latino community and the University," Williams said. "I thought that the Summit was an excellent example of this type of leadership as it created a context for the Latino community to discuss new strategies and ideas around important issue like leadership development, recruitment and retention, and improving the campus climate. 
Adin Palau, vice-chair of LAFSA, said the event brings Latinos from all classifications together. "It's an opportunity for us to share experiences and concerns with each other," Palau said. "The Summit allows us to plan for the year and identify the issues that LAFSA needs to work on — issues affecting academic and classified staff. It's amazing how welcomed the association has been by all Latinos in the university.
Palau added that LAFSA, , which promotes the awareness of UW-Madison faculty, academic staff, classified staff and graduate students, right now has about 80 members including Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and Javier Nieto, Professor of Public Health Professor and Chair.
After the keynote speakers, the Latino Summit 2008 divided into four caucuses discussing issues facing Latino graduate students, faculty, academic staff and classified staff. There was a workshop for faculty to talk about new initiatives and faculty development for Latina/o faculty led by Dr. Steve Stern, vice provost of Faculty and Staff. Salvador Carranza and Emuye Asfaw gave a presentation titled. "Promotional Opportunities and Governance" while Linda Kirner and Carmen Romero lead a group discussion called, "Promotional and Professional Development Opportunities for Latino Employees."
"Every group and every interest was represented in our workshops," Palau says.
Palau said that while the summit was very informational, it was also important for networking. Sometimes Latinos can be isolated from other Latinos on campus.
"There will be times when we have two researchers working in the same department and on the same floor who came to know that they were Latinos when they came to LAFSA," Palau says. "With this organization, we have the conversations. That's what we are providing - the network opportunities and the human relations that are so needed for minorities in an institution this large."
Latino high school graduates are projected to see tremendous growth in Wisconsin between 2008 and 2017 Wisconsin Latino high school graduates are expected to jump from about 3,250 in 2008 to nearly 6,000 in 2017. The fast-growing Latino population on campus also gives way to an evolving sense of Latino identity on campus. Yet Latinos originate from 26 countries and are very diverse in culture, customs, and socio-economic backgrounds. Does this diversity within the population create a challenge to campus identity?
 “There are a lot of myths that you find about cultures not getting along,” Palau says. “LAFSA is the perfect example of how this works — we have members in our executive committee that represent a lot of countries — Argentina, Spain, U.S. Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico — and our overall membership is equally as diverse. We are coming together and working together over issues that affect everybody.”
“This is a very important event for us," Palau added. "We are very happy with the how things worked out this year and we hope that it keeps getting bigger and better.”