TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Since earning multiple degrees from the University of Arizona, Alexei Marquez has strived to connect and support students of Hispanic backgrounds.
"I myself am a first generation college graduate. It's something that more students who identify has Latinx, Hispanic, or Chicanx are pursuing and want to get into," said Marquez.
It's something the University of Arizona has made a public commitment to. This month, UA and 19 other universities formed the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities.
"This alliance, has come together, 20 presidents and chancellors coming together, to rally around two common goals. Those goals are to double the number of Hispanic doctoral students across our institutions and to increase the number of Hispanic faculty by 20%," said University of Arizona Assistant Vice Provost of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives, Marla Franco.
Currently at UA, 19.3% of graduate students and 10.3% of faculty identify as Hispanic. By 2030, the university hopes to increase the number of Hispanic graduate students to 38.6% and the number of Hispanic faculty to 30.3%.
"To have such public commitment and public goals is something that the University of Arizona is really proud to be a part of through this alliance," said Franco.
Marquez believes it will pave the way for more students to succeed just like she did.
"This is a really important alliance for the Hispanic community because we are there to help each other," said Marquez.
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Megan Meier is a reporter for KGUN 9. Megan graduated from Arizona State Universityʼs Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications in May 2018. While pursuing her degree in broadcast journalism, Megan interned at the City of Phoenix. Share your story ideas and important issues with Megan by emailing megan.meier@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
