19th Annual César E. Chávez Leadership Conference

Published on Mar 16 2009 in Press Release by

Nine OICF colleges participated in a career and college fair associated with the 19th Annual César E. Chávez Leadership Conference on March 6 held on the campus of Western Oregon University. Over 1,400 Latino high school students from Multnomah, Washington, Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Linn-Benton and Clackamas Counties participated in this year’s conference, which is the largest Latino high school student leadership conference in the state of Oregon.

Participating students, volunteers, school staff, and community members had an opportunity to attend educational, cultural and leadership workshops; visit with college and career exhibitors, and celebrate the accomplishments of the Latino community.

The mission of the César E. Chávez Latino Student Leadership Conference is “to instill in Latino(a) youth the value of education, which nurtures mind, body and spirit in order to develop a social consciousness that empowers them as leaders for social justice and civic responsibility in the greater community.”

Conference Goals and Objectives

  • To develop leadership skills.
  • To motivate students to complete and continue their education.
  • To strengthen self-confidence and pride.
  • To create opportunities for Latino students of the Willamette Valley and the Portland metro area to build relationships and networks.
  • To be respectful and inclusive of all people and races.

The OICF is committed to increasing diversity among our member institutions and hopes that participation in these college fairs, as well as other collaborations between OICF and community organizations serving diverse populations can assist in reaching this goal.

Diversity, and the awareness and appreciation of individual and cultural differences are critical components in the development of both the economic environment and campus life. OICF’s Pathways to Leadership Initiative, launched in 2006, is a signature effort to collectively raise funds for equitable representation of minority and first generation students on our campuses.

Pathways to Leadership is conceived as a stabilizing tripod of support for equitable levels of representation on our campuses. In order to achieve our goal of equitable representation on campus, OICF Trustees are working closely with OICF and member school staff to aggressively support recruitment and outreach, retention, and scholarship programs that benefit underrepresented student populations. Each leg of this tripod bears equal weight in addressing the challenges faced by many students from underrepresented populations:

  • adequate preparation and readiness to enter the application and enrollment process,
  • requisite mentoring to overcome cultural and practical barriers to completion of academic programs, and
  • sufficient access to financial resources to sustain enrollment.

Contact:
Kevin Matheny
President/CEO
503-496-3420
kevin@oicf.org