HACU Launches Hispanic Faculty Exchange Program in the US

Coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the implementation of its ProTalento Job Board, The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in the US has revealed the launch of the Global Faculty Exchange program. 

The program aims to link institutions with faculty and administrators for short-term international teaching or research positions, and according to HACU President Antonio Flores, got its inspiration from “members who seek collaborations with faculty and administrators interested in working abroad or away from their home institutions for a limited time”.

The new opportunities for collaboration, such as visiting professorships, administrator exchanges, joint research, and others that can be offered in-person or virtually can be mutually beneficial for international faculty and host institutions, he said.

He said that exchanges can be appealing to retired faculty or those on sabbatical or summer hiatus and added that host institutions will benefit from the global talent pool. “The Faculty Exchange provides professors and administrators with invaluable opportunities to network and learn from other cultures and institutions to advance their career development or use their expertise in new settings,” Flores said.

HACU was established in 1986 with 18 charter members; now, more than 500 institutions dedicated to advocating for Hispanic achievement in higher education are represented by it.

With 4.4 million Hispanic students expected to be enrolled in higher education by 2025, the Hispanic population is the youngest and fastest-growing population in the US. In the past decade, the Hispanic-Serving Institutions that are classified as degree-granting organisations with a minimum of 25% full-time Hispanic undergraduate students have doubled in number.

Top-ranked for awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Hispanic students by Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, Florida International University is home to the largest population of Hispanic learners in the US with over 32,000 Hispanic students. The US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recently determined that the institution, which was also one of  35 HSIs, had “demonstrated noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program during the 2019-2021 academic years and have promoted Fulbright Program opportunities on campus”.

Speaking about the effect the HACU initiative may have on FIU students, faculty, and the community; Stephanie Doscher, Director of the Office of Collaborative Online International Learning at FIU said that connecting higher education institutions and the people within them to the world’s knowledge exchange and production network is what internationalisation is about. She added that the HACU Global Faculty Exchange is opening up a new pathway for people and their ideas to connect.

Addressing the educational impact of thinking creatively about exchange programs, Doscher stated that giving people low-cost opportunities to connect their passions and perspectives can lead to high impact, high-value teaching and learning. She also noted how she has seen that over and over during the pandemic.