Hector M. Flores and Dr. Joe W. Neal have been selected as San Antonio College's Outstanding Former Students for 2004-2005. Flores is National President of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Recruitment Director for the Dallas Independent School District, and Neal is Professor Emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin and founder of many international education programs.
Flores said, "I appreciate the fact that San Antonio College would consider this watermelon picker, cotton-picker, etc. for the honor of Outstanding Former Student." He credited San Antonio College professors with encouraging him "to hone my skills and shoot for the sky."
The Dilley, Texas native attended San Antonio College from 1961-1964 and earned his B.A. degree from St. Mary's University in 1971 - the first in his family to graduate from high school and college. A SAC history professor encouraged him to seek a position with the San Antonio Police Department.
He later worked for the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and worked as a Conciliation Specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice, handling allegations of police brutality as well as minority recruitment. He was Minority Recruitment Specialist before becoming Director of Recruitment and Retention for the Dallas Independent School District, the second largest urban school district in Texas.
In 2002, Flores was elected National President of LULAC, the largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S. He serves as the National Chairman of the LULAC National Educational Service Centers. He also sits on numerous boards, including SER: Jobs for Progress and the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
His honors include the Ohtli Award from the Government of Mexico for Recognition for Assistance to Immigrants (2000), LULAC National Man of the Year Award, Brillante Award, the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Education Award, Leadership Dallas Award, National Volunteer Activist Award, and the National IMAGE Award.
Dr. Joe Neal attended San Antonio College in 1932-1935 at its original location on S. Alamo Street, when he was editor of The Ranger newspaper and won the Texas Junior College Championship in Debate. "This was the middle of the Depression," said Neal. He recalled that he mother unfolded a $20 bill she had saved for him to take to the college, where Mrs. Clyde Barnes registered him for English, physics and math.
"The faculty gave me a head-start, with an emphasis on academics when I entered as a 15-year-old. This foundation helped me all the way through to earning my doctorate in Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin," said Neal, who warmly remembered English teacher Dr. Janie Baskin and government teacher and attorney Clyde Barnes.
Neal enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was President of the Athenaeum Society and earned his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees. At the university, he taught in the Speech Department and then in the Government Department and in the College of Communication.
In 1941 he joined UT's new Institute of Latin American Studies as Coordinator of Inter-American Student Activities and was named Foreign Student Advisor. After spending four years in the US Army, he was appointed Director of the International Office, and in 1985 he became Director of International Programs of the University. He progressed academically from Student Assistant to Tutor, Instructor, Lecturer, Professor and Professor Emeritus.
He also launched and directed the Program in International Communication and is credited with providing assistance and advice throughout his career to more than 10,000 international students, many of whom are serving their countries as professors, government officials, office holders, and business figures.
Neal has founded and served as president of the following organizations committed to international education: the Texas Association of International Education Administrators, the National Association of Foreign Student Affairs, the Association of International Education Administrators, Partners of the Americas, Inc., and Texas Partners of the Americas, Inc. (President Emeritus). He is also former President of the Texas International Education Consortium, the largest group of public universities in the U.S. working in the field of international education.
Neal has served as Consultant for the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Information Agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Institute of International Education, AMIDEAST, and other national and international agencies. In addition, Neal has been involved in the Greater Austin/San Antonio Corridor.
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