Henry Cisneros, Former Secretary of HUD, to Speak at The National Hispanic University's Commencement

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hon. Henry Cisneros, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and current chair of The National Hispanic University (NHU) advisory board, will deliver the keynote address at NHU's 28th Commencement Ceremony. The ceremony will take place Saturday, May 11, at 9:45 a.m. Pacific time on the San Jose campus.

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Mr. Cisneros began his career serving three terms as a city council member. In 1981, he became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, Texas. During his four terms as mayor, he helped rebuild the city's economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure and downtown improvements. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Mr. Cisneros to be the HUD secretary, where he was credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation's public housing developments and with formulating policies that contributed to achieving the nation's highest-ever home ownership rate. After leaving HUD in 1997, Mr. Cisneros was president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications.

Currently, Mr. Cisneros is executive chair of the CityView companies and remains actively involved in urban investing and building for community revitalization projects in large cities throughout the United States.

"It's a great pleasure to have Henry Cisneros address our graduates. As a strong advocate and role model for the Latino community, he will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on our graduates as they leave our campus and become leaders supporting diverse communities," said Dr. David P. Lopez, president of NHU.

Mr. Cisneros has served in leadership roles on numerous boards including as president of the National League of Cities and as deputy chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He is currently an officer of Habitat for Humanity International and a member of the advisory boards of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation. He remains an active leader in San Antonio, where he is chair of both the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation and American Sunrise. Mr. Cisneros is also co-founder of the New America Alliance, an assembly of Latino business leaders, as well as the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.

He has been recognized with numerous awards including the President's Award by the National Council of La Raza; the Mexican Order of the Aguila Azteca, the highest award bestowed by the Government of Mexico to a person who is not a citizen; the Cesar Chavez Award; and the National Award of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Mr. Cisneros is the head of NHU's advisory board, which provides guidance on overall strategy and serves as the university's ambassadors to the public, private and nonprofit sectors. In addition to Mr. Cisneros, the advisory board comprises prominent leaders from across the country including Janet Murguia, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza; Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks; Ronald Blackburn-Moreno, president and CEO of the ASPIRA Association; and Nely Galan, media entrepreneur and Latina advocate.

For additional information about The National Hispanic University, visit www.NHU.edu.

About The National Hispanic University
For more than 30 years, The National Hispanic University has provided Hispanic students and others with access to quality higher education. Located in San Jose, Calif., the university offers a diverse portfolio of online and campus-based undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in business, education, child development and computer science. Students are supported in a multicultural and collaborative learning environment that is based on Familia™, a personalized approach that fosters students' success through mutual respect and cultura. The National Hispanic University, a member of the Laureate International Universities network, is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For more information, visit www.NHU.edu.

SOURCE The National Hispanic University

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