STU President Monsignor Franklyn Casale to Speak at NAICUSE (National Association of Colleges and Universities) on ENGAGING THE LATINO COMMUNITY

MIAMI, July 9  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Addressing burning national issues on immigration and the Hispanic community, the NAICUSE Summer Workshop is gathering national leaders from academic and university administration July 25-28 at the Hyatt Tamaya Resort near Albuquerque, NM. This year's theme is "Associations as Solutions" and covers topics in private education financing, alternative financial models, state tax issues, education policies and recent state-level developments.

Miami's St. Thomas University President, Rev. Monsignor Franklyn M. Casale, will speak on "Engaging the Latino Community." His session will explore the complex needs of the Latino culture and how private higher education can leverage its strengths to increase enrollment and retention.

"St. Thomas University has been developing leaders for various walks of life for almost 50 years and a majority comes from Latino background," says Monsignor Casale. "As educators, all of us present have a responsibility to engage in conversations that will give way to public policy that will support the advancement of the largest, most rapidly growing population segment in the United States. As a Catholic institution, we have made many aware of the issues at hand since we are a Hispanic-serving institution and U.S. Catholics continue to grow locally, statewide and nationally."

Rev. Monsignor Franklyn M. Casale became President of St. Thomas University in April 1994. Prior to joining the university, the Monsignor was the Vicar General, Chancellor and Moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, where he also served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Seton Hall University; Governing Board of Fair Oaks Hospital, Board of Trustees and Executive Committee at Bloomfield College.

He is active in a wide range of community organizations and has been a significant presence in Miami since his arrival. He serves on the Board of Governors for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and continues to serve on the Board of Directors for the Carrfour Corporation, an organization that establishes permanent housing for the homeless. His involvements also include Palmetto General Hospital; Catholic Community Foundation, Archdiocese of Miami; Holocaust Documentation & Education Center, Inc.; Board Member for the Orange Bowl Committee and Fonkoze USA, an organization to enable the economic development of Haiti's poor. He was appointed by former Governor Jeb Bush to serve on the Governor's Haiti Advisory Group.

In higher education, his leadership positions include the Executive Council, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges; Governing Board, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; Presidents Council of Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida; Florida Association of Colleges & Universities; and Haiti-Tech, an organization he helped found that organizes and maintains a vocational/technical school in Haiti and educates over 700 Haitian students yearly.

He received his B.A. in Humanities with a concentration in Philosophy from Seton Hall University, a Bachelor in Sacred Theology (STB) from the Catholic University in Washington D.C., and his Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) from the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey.

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SOURCE St. Thomas University