• About UANews
• Sign up for News
• Resources for Media
• Calendar
• Contact Us

Humanities dean, past presidents and outstanding students to be honored during annual excellence event.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill
May 8, 2008

The University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Club will honor achievement and service during its 2008 Celebration of Excellence event today at the Marriot Park Hotel.

During this year’s annual celebration, the Hispanic Alumni Club, known as UAHA, will acknowledge the service and accomplishments of its former presidents Edith Auslander and Liz Rodriguez Miller. Auslander currently serves as UA vice president and senior associate to the president and is retiring at the end of June and Rodriguez Miller currently serves as the assistant city manager of Tucson.

In addition, the club will honor UA College of Humanities Dean Charles Tatum. Tatum, who will be stepping down as dean to return to teaching. Tatuml be acknowledged for his dedicated service and advocacy on behalf of Hispanics.

The club also will honor four distinguished students who will be awarded $1,000 for their hard work and scholarly efforts. David Hernandez and Rachel Zenuk will be honored as the club's 2008 Outstanding Hispanic Senior winners. Nicolas Meza and and Luis A. Valarde will be awarded as the club's 2008 Outstanding Hispanic Graduate Student winners.

Hernandez is a graduating senior, an Honors College student, a Flinn Scholar, a Goldwater Scholar and is a double major in physics and astronomy with minors in music, Spanish and math. He will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009. Zenuk is a graduating senior with a major in molecular and cellular biology. She will spend the summer conducting breast cancer research on Latina women in the U.S. and Mexico and will pursue a master's degree in public health at the UA in the fall.

Meza will be receiving a master's in public health with an emphasis in policy and management. He will pursue a law degree with an emphasis in health law or international human rights after studying Spanish in Mexico in the summer. Velarde will graduate with a doctorate in chemistry. He will continue his research in physical chemistry as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara and will eventually pursue a career in academia.

In addition, this year's celebration features a presentation by James E. Rogers College of Law Dean Toni M. Massaro. The presentation is titled “Understanding the Proposed Arizona Initiative on Race and Gender in Public Education” and is aimed at demystifying the Ward Connerly anti-affirmative action initiative proposed in Arizona.

The UAHA Club was founded in 1982 to promote academic excellence among Hispanic students at the University, provide financial and mentoring support to qualified and deserving students, and develop linkages with alumni and supporters in the professional and business community.

“It is important that the UA Hispanic Alumni identify and recognize valuable contributions that our students are making not only to our campus community but to our global society at large. All four students who have been selected have demonstrated a strong commitment and desire to make our world a better place to live in,” said Oscar Lujan, program coordinator at the UA Hispanic Alumni Office.

The event is a fundraiser and helps the UAHA Club award scholarships. The Club has awarded 1,546 scholarships totaling more than $3,530,544 since 1986.