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Board honors former regent Jesus Salas for lifelong dedication to higher education

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The Board of Regents recognized Friday the lifelong achievements of a regent whose resignation was spurred by Gov. Jim Doyle’s approval of the current state budget.

The budget left out a bill that former regent Jesus Salas said would have benefitted the state by granting the children of illegal immigrants in Wisconsin in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin System schools.

Salas, a UW-Milwaukee alumnus, was an advocate and leader in recognizing the importance of higher education and worked to secure a better standing for the Latino and Chicano communities in Wisconsin, according to Regent David Walsh.

“Jesus Salas dedicated four years to serve on the University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents,” Walsh said. “He has been a role model for those who seek to triumph over adversity through dedication, persistence and tenacity. His national reputation as a leader and spokesman for minorities in our communities earns the respected appreciation of his fellow regents.”

Walsh added the result of Salas’ hard work for programs designed to improve the situation for Latino students in UW schools was the beginning of operations for the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute in November 1970. Today, there are more than 1,000 Latino students at the university and hundreds of Latino students have graduated since.

“Jesus Salas has used his success to effect positive change for others championing access to education through improved recruitment and attention of minority students in the UW System,” Walsh said. “Many students benefited from his passion for learning, which he demonstrated in the classroom and through his community service and role as a regent.”

The Jesus Salas Academic Activist Scholarship was established in Salas’ name for his continuous commitment and dedication to the advancement and wellbeing of the Chicano and Latino communities.

Salas in turn his gratitude for the board, and addressed a few of the memories shared with several members throughout his four years of service as a regent.

“It was an extraordinary time when we came here in 2003. We all remember the multimillion-dollar deficit that the state was in and the deep cutbacks, and the attempt that we [made] to maintain the quality of this institution,” Salas said. “But I think that you really took the school through difficult times, and I think that this state really owes you a lot of gratitude.”