AUSTIN, Texas—The Hispanic Faculty/Staff Association at The University of Texas at Austin will provide a symposium on campus May 24 to encourage discussion about the role of Latinos in communication and the importance of messages they convey about Latinos to the rest of the world.
Dr. Maggie Rivas Rodriguez, assistant professor of journalism in the university’s College of Communication, will be the keynote speaker for the symposium, which is titled “Latinos in Communication: Nuestro Futuro, Nuestro Mensaje.” The event is free and open to the public. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. in the James Harvey Shell Auditorium, Welch Hall 3.502.
The symposium features a panel discussion titled, “Shaping Perspectives: The Role of Latinos in Communication,” which will be followed by an awards presentation luncheon in the Red McCombs School of Business atrium.
Rivas received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin and her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She received her doctor’s degree in mass communications as a Freedom Forum Doctoral Fellow from the University of North Carolina in 1998.
Rivas has extensively researched and made significant contributions toward the creation of a historical archive about experiences of Latinos and Latinas from the World War II era. Information about her work is available on the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project Web site.
The symposium will open with a continental breakfast featuring welcome remarks by Teresa Alvarez, a community development officer with Wells Fargo. The luncheon activities will include recognition of the first student recipients of The Hispanic Faculty/Staff Association – Joe and Teresa Lozano Long scholarship, as well as presentation of the 2003-2004 HFSA staff scholarship, and awards to staff and faculty leaders.
For more information contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
