EWC to host nationally recognized diversity speaker, Dr. Mario Rivas
Thursday, March 18th, 2010 • 11:16 am
March 18, 2010
TORRINGTON, WY –
Eastern Wyoming College will soon welcome nationally recognized diversity speaker Dr. Mario Rivas to the main campus in Torrington, Wyoming. Dr. Rivas will be on campus on April 5-6, 2010.
Dr. Rivas has taught at the community college, undergraduate, and graduate levels of higher education. Currently, he is a full-time professor of Psychology at Merritt College in Oakland, California, teaching a full-range of Psychology courses. As part of his assignment at Merritt College, he is responsible for working with local high schools to increase the enrollment of Latino/a college students.
Upon his visit to EWC, Dr. Rivas will present educational sessions to administrators, faculty, staff, and students on the following topics:
- “Increasing Academic Success for At Risk Hispanic Students,”
- “Teaching Strategies for Retention” and
- “Developing Student Leadership.”
A free public presentation will also be held on Monday evening, April 5, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the college cafeteria. The topic for this session will be” Increasing Academic Success for At-Risk and Hispanic College Students.”
Participants will be provided with strategies that will allow them to
- develop and utilize culturally appropriate and effective practices,
- assist students in student success,
- assist students to become task involved, achieve a strong sense of their own identity and capacity to develop and actualize their personal, educational, and career goals,
- and assist students in promoting greater student responsibility for learning.
Dr. Tom Armstrong, President, Eastern Wyoming College shared the following about the upcoming presentation. “We are fortunate that Dr. Rivas accepted our invitation to share his expertise. Eastern Wyoming College enjoys quality student support and looks forward to expanding opportunities for all students, providing them a level of comfort and confidence as they commit to strengthening themselves and increasing their options. Please, join us as we continue to improve all aspects of learning and services. We truly believe that A Little College is Good for You.”
Dr. Rivas will also be providing a presentation at Torrington High School on the morning of April 6. He will be addressing students, faculty, staff and administrators.
Dr. Rivas is a first-generation-to-college Latino who was raised in challenging circumstances. After experiencing a degree of success while serving in the United State Air Force, he completed a B.A. in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Counseling, and a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology. Dr. Rivas’ dissertation was entitled “An Exploratory Study of a Group Intervention with Underprepared Minority Students in University.”
Following completion of his doctorate, he assumed the position of Director of the Undergraduate Advising Center at San Francisco State University, where he also developed the Learning Assistance Center. Dr. Rivas also served as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at San Francisco State University, and Vice President of Student Services at Berkeley City College. Dr. Rivas left SFSU to become Vice-President of Student Services at Berkeley City College, a position he held for seven years.
Dr. Rivas has also served as co-chair of the Multicultural Concerns Commission of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and has authored and co-authored several chapters and articles focused on improving the achievement and learning success of students of color. Dr. Rivas served as Assistant Director of the Martin Luther King Undergraduate Leadership Advising Office, which served as the primary advising department for students of color.
For more information about Dr. Rivas’ presentations at Eastern Wyoming College, call Anne Gardetto, Student Services Associate Director at 307.532.8328.
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