WASHINGTON, June 19, 2008 - USDA's Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program (HSINP) today announced that 22 faculty and administrators from Hispanic-Serving Institutions will work collaboratively this summer with USDA scientists and managers in Washington D.C. to learn more about research and management issues. The Fellows will collaborate with USDA on food security, leadership, biotechnology, and agribusiness.

Fellows were selected on the compatibility of their interests with USDA mission areas and the value their experience with USDA will add to their institutions curriculum.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are accredited and degree-granting institutions of higher education with a full-time Hispanic student enrollment of 25 percent or more. Through the partnerships fostered by this fellowship program, USDA and HSIs are better prepared to address educational challenges faced by the Hispanic community and to promote services and employment opportunities offered by USDA agencies while diversifying the Department's workforce.

The 2008 E. (Kika) de la Garza Fellows are:

Glen Allegranza, San Diego State University - Imperial Valley Campus (Ca); Christopher Chaney, Patterson High School (Ca); Danny Chavez, Mora High School (Nm); Fernando Fernandez, College Of The Sequoias (Ca); Kerry Gabrielson, Trinidad State Junior College (Co); Patricia Gamboa, Central New Mexico Community College (Nm); Eliseo Gamiño, West Hills College, Coalinga (Ca); Alam Hasson, California State University, Fresno (Ca); Chui Kwong Hwang, Evergreen Valley College (Ca); Ruth Kartchner, University Of Arizona South (Az); Elizabeth Lewis, Northeast Lakeview College (Tx); Elizabeth Martinez, Compton Community College (Ca); Jacqueline Meyer-Garza, Heritage University (Wa); Carlos Padin, Universidad Metropolitana, Cupey (Pr); Robin Ringstad, California State University, Stanislaus (Ca); Cecilia Santiago, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Ca); Berrin Tansel, Florida International University (Fl); Klaus Tenbergen, California State University, Fresno (Ca); Jose Rafael Treviño, Laredo Community College (Tx); David Trujillo, Northern New Mexico College (Nm), Stephen Villaseñor, San Bernardino Valley College (Ca), and Daniel Wright Pima Community College - Downtown Campus (Az).

To learn more about the USDA E. (Kika) de la Garza Fellowship Program, visit: http://www.hsi.usda.gov.