{"id":12548,"date":"2025-09-07T12:10:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/?p=12548"},"modified":"2025-09-07T12:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:10:47","slug":"saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University Selected for Prestigious HACU VOLAR\u00c9 Institute as University Celebrates Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Jersey City, N.J. \u2013 September 7, 2025 &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University joins institutions nationwide in celebrating Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Week, the University is proud to announce its selection by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) for the second cohort of the Visioning, Organizing, Leading and Advancing the Research Enterprise (VOLAR\u00c9) Institute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s is one of only 25 institutions of higher education chosen to participate in the yearlong program, which begins this fall. The VOLAR\u00c9 Institute is designed to broaden participation in STEM, cultivate a new research workforce and strengthen institutional capacity by providing faculty and staff with tools and training to enhance competitiveness for external research funding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cBeing selected for the VOLAR\u00c9 Institute during HSI Week is especially meaningful for Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s,\u201d said Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University. \u201cAs New Jersey\u2019s only Jesuit Catholic University and a proud Hispanic-Serving Institution, we are deeply committed to advancing opportunities for our students and faculty. This initiative will not only expand research capacity, but will also reinforce our mission to serve as an anchor of educational excellence and equity in our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The VOLAR\u00c9 Institute equips faculty and staff with the tools and training to secure research funding and expand their institution\u2019s research programs. Through a yearlong series of collaborative learning and capacity-building activities, participants will strengthen institutional infrastructure, broaden pathways into STEM and contribute to a more robust and inclusive national research system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University faculty and staff leading this effort include Virginia Bender, Ph.D., assistant to the president for special projects; Rebecca Conley, Ph.D., associate professor in the mathematics &amp; statistics department and director of faculty research and development; and WeiDong Zhu, Ph.D., interim vice president for academic affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The VOLAR\u00c9 Institute project is led by Oralia De los Reyes, Ph.D., assistant vice president of programs and services at HACU, and is made possible by a grant funded by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University, the 2025 cohort includes: Ana G. Mendez University; Caldwell University; California State University, Bakersfield; California State University, San Bernardino; Central New Mexico Community College; Dominican University; Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, CUNY; Felician University; Lewis University; Marymount University; Mercy University; North Central College; Northeastern Illinois University; Northwest Vista College; San Antonio College; Seminole State College of Florida; Southern Oregon University; St. Thomas University; The University of Northern Colorado; University of New Mexico, Taos; University of Southern Indiana; University of the Incarnate Word; Valparaiso University; and Yavapai College.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # end # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more than 150 years Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">www.saintpeters.edu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Contact<\/strong><br \/>\nAngeline Boyer<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:aboyer1@saintpeters.edu\">aboyer1@saintpeters.edu<\/a><br \/>\n(201) 761-6238<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jersey City, N.J. \u2013 September 7, 2025 &#8211; As Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University joins institutions nationwide in celebrating Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Week, the University is proud to announce its selection by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) for the second cohort of the Visioning, Organizing, Leading and Advancing the Research Enterprise (VOLAR\u00c9) Institute. Saint [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5,2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-current-students","category-faculty-staff","category-future-students","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University Selected for Prestigious HACU VOLAR\u00c9 Institute as University Celebrates Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"aboyer1\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"aboyer1\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/0e6cac7c1e5bde0788515bdfe0adea4b\"},\"headline\":\"Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University Selected for Prestigious HACU VOLAR\u00c9 Institute as University Celebrates Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-07T16:10:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/\"},\"wordCount\":525,\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni\",\"Current Students\",\"Faculty Staff\",\"Future Students\",\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/07\/saint-peters-university-selected-for-prestigious-hacu-volare-institute-as-university-celebrates-hispanic-serving-institutions-week\/\",\"name\":\"Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University Selected for Prestigious HACU VOLAR\u00c9 Institute as University Celebrates Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week - 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