CRANFORD, NJ — Margaret M. McMenamin, president of Union College, has been selected to serve on the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities governing board for a two-year term. McMenamin joins more than 15 other higher education leaders from throughout the country to serve on the HACU governing board. Union College is one of only five HACU-member Hispanic-serving community colleges in New Jersey. This fall, 45 percent of Union’s enrolled students and more than 55 percent of its first-time, full-time students identify as Hispanic, the largest in the college’s history.
Based on the college’s Hispanic student enrollment, Union is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution. HACU was founded in 1986 and represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America and Europe. According to its website, HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-serving institutions.
As long as she has been Union’s president, McMenamin has fully committed to the college’s mission of “Transforming Our Community … One Student at a Time.” During her time at Union, she has focused on student success campaigns, one of which is “Inspire the Future,” which provides Union County College Foundation scholarships to support Hispanic students who are on track to graduate. Union has also made connections with outside organizations to create learning and career pathways to further support its Hispanic population. The “Progresando” initiative at Union is supported by a Bank of America grant that aims to increase retention, course completion rates and licensure pass rates for the Hispanic students in targeted health care programs.
“We are proud to have Dr. McMenamin represent Union on HACU’s governing board,” said Union board Chairperson Victor M. Richel. “As a state with over 1 million Hispanic residents, we recognize the tremendous value that HACU brings to advance college access and quality for our students.”