Excellence Endowment Campaign
A $5 million campaign to support the mission and programs of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston
The Campaign in Brief
The University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) is seeking to establish a $5 million endowment fund that will support its key activities and programs. These include the undergraduate scholarships and recruitment/retention activities that are part of the Urban Experience Program, the SABE outreach program targeting high school students, the Graduate Fellows program, the Visiting Scholars program, and other activities that support the mission of the Center.
The campaign is an opportunity for Houstonians to join together in support of our city’s leading organization for Hispanic higher education.
The Need
The Hispanic population is one of the fastest-growing populations in Houston and is entering the labor force in greater numbers. From 1990 to 2000, the Hispanic population grew by 75 percent and is expected to be the majority population within the next twenty years. Yet Hispanics are among the least educated groups in the country, and Mexican Americans are the least educated of all Hispanic groups in the United States.
If the labor needs of our society are to be met, it is imperative that the educational level within the Mexican American and greater Hispanic community be increased.
The CMAS Advantage
At the University of Houston, Hispanic student enrollment has increased significantly along with the population of the greater Houston area. Yet Hispanic students are at a high risk of dropping out, either for financial or academic reasons. The CMAS programs at UH help recruit, retain, and offer financial and academic support to talented Hispanic students. A recent evaluation has shown that students in the Center’s Urban Experience Program progress more rapidly toward their degree, and graduate at a higher rate and with higher GPAs than those not enrolled in the program.
CMAS provides much-needed financial support, and also offers individualized tutoring, mentoring, leadership skills workshops, and a supportive and nurturing environment. On the postgraduate level, CMAS helps young researchers and scholars explore issues relating to the Hispanic experience in the United States, promotes the dissemination of their research, and helps nurture their careers.
Why an Endowment?
As the Hispanic population of both Houston and the university grows, the Center requires additional resources to meet the high demand for its programs and services.
The CMAS endowment, when fully funded, will provide a reliable stream of revenue for student scholarships and educational programs. This dedicated source of long-term funding will help the Center withstand the inevitable fluctuations in philanthropic support, and enable it to serve its students better in the present as well as to plan more effectively for the future.
Raising the educational level of Hispanic students is a long-term effort, and it is essential that resources be available to support this effort over time.
Making an Endowment Gift
Gifts to the endowment are welcome at any level, and university policies allow for individually named endowments starting at the $10,000 level. Gifts may support the center as a whole, or may be restricted to specific programs within CMAS. Donors are recognized at the annual Noche Cultural banquet, in the Center’s publications and annual report, and at special events throughout the year.
Many donors to the center make cash gifts that can be paid out over the course of several years – up to five years for gifts of $25,000 and above. Gifts of long-term appreciated assets such as stocks, mutual funds; IRA’s and insurance policies are also welcomed and may offer significant tax advantages to the donor.
For more information about making a gift to CMAS, please contact Tatcho Mindiola, Jr., director of the center, by phone at (713) 743-3134 or by email at tmindiola@uh.edu.
