The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 750 in Little Rock honored Arkansas Tech University President Dr. Robin E. Bowen on Friday, Sept. 30, for her support of educational opportunities for Latino students.
Bowen received the LULAC President’s Award during a scholarship gala at the Clinton Presidential Library Great Hall in Little Rock.
“On behalf of Arkansas Tech University, I humbly accept this award as a symbol of the growing partnership between the League of United Latin American Citizens Council 750 and our university,” said Bowen in her acceptance speech. “Arkansas Tech University is a place that promotes diversity and inclusion. It is a place where we strive to create an effective learning environment for each of our almost 12,000 students. All who want to learn are welcome at Arkansas Tech University. We believe that we must move beyond tolerance to respect, and we must celebrate diversity in all its forms.”
Among the initiatives that Arkansas Tech has enacted to serve underrepresented populations since Bowen took office in 2014 is the establishment of a Department of Diversity and Inclusion within the Office of Student Services.
In addition, bilingual posters and flyers providing year-by-year advice on how to prepare for college have been distributed to high school students around Arkansas. The university has reached out to prospective students and their families with bilingual advertisements in periodicals dedicated to the Hispanic community. Select tours are offered in Spanish to make the parents and families of prospective students feel more included on campus.
Bowen has also worked with the Mexican Consulate of Little Rock to obtain scholarship support for students of Mexican descent.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to be here tonight, and to receive this award,” said Bowen. “Together, we will use the transformative power of higher education to build a stronger Arkansas for all of its people.”
