UWM HERNÁNDEZ CENTER GETS NEW DIRECTOR

 

 

Enrique E. Figueroa has been selected as the new Director of the Roberto Hernández Center, and special assistant to the provost for Latino affairs at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. John Wanat, Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs says, "Enrique will be a tremendous asset to us at UWM. His record of achievement in high-level level administration posts, his national network of Latino scholars and community and government leaders, and his fine scholarly record all set the stage for a quick start in taking the Roberto Hernández Center to the next level of prominence in serving its constituents on campus and in the community."

The appointment is the result of a national search that included a search and screen committee with members from Milwaukee's Hispanic Community. Bobbi Lipeles, principal of Loyola Academy and co-chair of the search and screen committee, says, "I'm confident that Professor Figueroa can create a new model of the Roberto Hernández Center. This is a great opportunity for transformation, given the support from the University, the need in the community, and an energetic innovator leading the way."

Figueroa is nationally known as a deputy under the Secretary for Marketing Regulatory Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that position, he was responsible for administrating or overseeing the budgets of three agencies whose budgets consisted of $561 million in appropriated funds, $450 million from user fee accounts, nearly $600 million in trust funds, and over $700 million from producer assessment programs. The workforce of three agencies is nearly 10,000 employees in over 200 offices in the U.S. and abroad.

His service on boards, commissions and councils includes: member of the advisory council, Dairy Trade Coalition; board member, Pan American Health and Education Foundation; Co-Chair, USDA Hispanic Advisory Council; committee member, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans; and member, NAFTA Advisory Commission on Commerical Dispute Resolution for Agricultural Goods.

release date: Dec 03 2001
issued by: Beth Stafford
                414 229 4800
                bstaff@uwm.edu