The National Hispanic University (NHU) was a small,

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

located in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, founded by Stanford-educated Dr. B. Roberto Cruz. National Hispanic University ceased operations on August 23, 2015. It was the first four-year

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

university in the United States. NHU's vision was to foster "a caring learning environment where students have felt valued and supported at every step in their academic journey. Embracing diversity and multiple perspectives as guiding principles."

History

The National Hispanic University was founded in 1981 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, to address the needs of Hispanic men and women. Founder Dr. Roberto Cruz had studied the disproportionately large impact

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

had in generating both undergraduate and

professional degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...

graduates within the

Black community Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

. Dr. Cruz's vision was to have similarly positive impact on the Hispanic community in the United States. In 1990, the university opened a San Jose campus and moved to a larger facility in Oakland. In 1994, NHU closed both campuses and moved to a new campus in East San Jose. For several years, National Hispanic University published an annual report card on Hispanic quality of life. From 1981 to 1986, NHU also published reports on women of

La Raza The Spanish expression ('the people' or 'the community'; literal translation: 'the race') has historically been used to refer to the Hispanophone populations (primarily though not always exclusively in the Western Hemisphere), considered as ...

, Cesar Chavez, bilingual special education,

Las Posadas ''Las Posadas'' is a ''novenario'' (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and by Latin Americans in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and ...

, and "Steps to Humanity." In the 2000s, NHU was unsuccessful in its many attempts to find financial backers from

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

or Latino philanthropists who could save the school. After those options were closed, the school reached a deal with Laureate Education. In 2010, NHU became a member of the

Laureate International Universities Laureate Education, Inc. is a corporation based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru. The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq. Corporate history ...

network, a

for-profit college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...

chain. Laureate hoped to turn NHU into a mostly online school. In 2012, NHU celebrated its 30th anniversary. Laureate officially closed National Hispanic University on August 23, 2015.

Laureate's decision to close

When Laureate made the decision to abandon National Hispanic University in 2014, one NHU student remarked "The values of the school stood out for me."..."Now it comes down to dollar bills." According to the ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

'', "some students who wanted a traditional, classroom approach to education said they felt abandoned by Laureate after NHU's drive to enroll thousands of new students in Internet classes did not produce the desired results."

Plans for NHU campus

As part of the Foundation for Hispanic Education's efforts, the East San Jose campus is planned to house The Center for Latino Education and Innovation, The

Latino College Preparatory Academy Latino College Preparatory Academy (LCPA) is a chartered high school in San Jose, California. Biography It is situated within the East Side Union High School District, and specializes in providing a college preparatory environment for nearly 5 ...

(a bilingual

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

), and The Luis Valdez Leadership Academy, a charter high school for students in San José.

Accreditation

The university was accredited by WASC and was rated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a "Baccalaureate College", with an academic breadth rated as "Diverse Fields"

References

External links

National Hispanic UniversityLaureate International Universities
{{authority control Universities and colleges in San Jose Educational institutions established in 1981 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Education in Oakland, California 1981 establishments in California Educational institutions disestablished in 2015 Hispanic and Latino American organizations Defunct private universities and colleges in California