The College of Engineering's Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE) has been named a finalist for 2010 "Examples of Excelencia" by the national organization Excelencia in Education.

The organization, which aims to support higher education success for Latino students, named Cornell a finalist in the category of undergraduate programs. As a result, DPE will be included in the 2010 edition of "What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education: Examples of Excelencia Compendium." Cornell will also be recognized in the organization's "Growing What Works" online database and will be included in Excelencia's national campaign to promote the use of effective institutional practices to support greater numbers of Latino students.

Cornell will be recognized at Excelencia's Sept. 29 Celebration of Excellence in Washington, D.C.

DPE Director Sara Xayarath Hernandez said it was likely that Excelencia's nomination was due in part to the smooth integration of diversity programs across all levels of the college.

"Although this was a baccalaureate level-focused nomination, because our programs reach across different populations from precollege through the faculty, this strengthens what we do at every level," Hernandez said. Such programs range from CATALYST, a weeklong summer camp for minority high school students, to CU EMPower, a mentoring program in which upperclassmen are matched with first-year students.

Hernandez also noted that DPE's success is directly related to its strong ties with such student organizations as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

"We work with them on different initiatives, and we involve our student representatives," she said. "We make our student leader councils part of what we do, and they are actually invested partners."

For more information: http://www.edexcelencia.org/.