Padilla, Klobuchar Lead Charge Urging USDA to Reinstate Hispanic-Serving Institution Fellowship Program
Senators to USDA: “The Department’s decision to suspend EKDLG Fellowship Program threatens the U.S. agricultural workforce pipeline and the opportunities this program provides educators and students nationwide”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Caucus, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, led 11 Democratic Senators in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately reinstate its HSI E. Kika De La Garza (EKDLG) Fellowship Program. The program, suspended by the Trump Administration, supports the nation’s agricultural workforce while uplifting professionals and students of all backgrounds at HSIs, including non-Latino students.
USDA established the nonpartisan EKDLG Fellowship Program in 1998, designing the program to strengthen educational partnerships between faculty, staff, and administrators from HSIs and USDA. These partnerships support professional development, workforce development, and exposure opportunities for HSIs nationwide, offering critical insight and understanding of the federal government.
“USDA’s partnership with HSIs and Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACUs) plays a vital role in establishing a collaborative relationship and creating a nationwide network of educators working with USDA to help grow the next generation of the American agricultural workforce,” wrote the Senators.
“The Department’s decision to suspend EKDLG Fellowship Program threatens the U.S. agricultural workforce pipeline and the opportunities this program provides educators and students nationwide,” continued the Senators. “We urge you to immediately reinstate the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program, similar to Department’s reinstatement of the 1890 National Scholars Program, and to collaborate with Congress to ensure its long-term stability.”
Programs like the USDA EKDLG Fellowship Program are built to help students reach their full potential and reinforce America’s agricultural workforce pipeline. The 2024 EKDLG Program included eight fellowships in Texas, six in Arizona, five in California, four in New York, two in Illinois, one in New Mexico, one in Colorado, one in New Jersey, one in Florida, one in Connecticut, and one in Washington.
Hispanic-Serving Institutions are not-for-profit institutions of higher learning with 25 percent or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time students. There are 600 HSIs in the United States that enroll over 5.2 million Hispanic students, two-thirds of all Hispanic undergraduates, and 32.2 percent of total Pell Grant recipients — empowering and improving communities. California is home to 172 HSIs and 45 Emerging HSIs.
In addition to Senators Padilla and Klobuchar, the letter is also signed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The letter is endorsed by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and UnidosUS.
As chair of the Senate HSI Caucus, Senator Padilla has been a strong advocate for expanding educational opportunities for Latino students. Last year, Padilla passed a bipartisan resolution to designate National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week. In 2023, Padilla introduced the bicameral, bipartisan Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment (HERE) Act, which aims to provide Hispanic and Latino students with the necessary tools and resources to lessen the higher education achievement gap.
Previously, Padilla and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) passed a bipartisan resolution expressing support to close the gap in STEM jobs among Latino students and young professionals entering the workforce. Padilla also unveiled a bipartisan resolution in 2022 recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Hispanic National Internship Program (HNIP), a seminal program of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities known for promoting Latino excellence and creating greater career development opportunities for Latino and Hispanic students across the country.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary Rollins,
We write to express our significant concerns about the suspension of the USDA Hispanic-Serving (HSI) E. Kika De La Garza (EKDLG) Fellowship Program and to ask that you immediately reinstate it.
The EKDLG Fellowship Program was established in 1998 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the program has had consistent support from every presidential administration since its establishment. The program strengthens educational partnerships between faculty, staff, and administrators from HSIs and USDA.
The EKDLG Fellowship Program is non-partisan and supports increasing the professional development, workforce development, and exposure opportunities for faculty, staff, and students nationwide. USDA’s partnership with HSIs and Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACUs) plays a vital role in establishing a collaborative relationship and creating a nationwide network of educators working with USDA to help grow the next generation of the American agricultural workforce. These fellowships are open to faculty, staff, and administrators of all backgrounds that are employed at HSIs or Hispanic-Serving School Districts and students of all backgrounds are eligible to participate.
HSIs are economic engines and shape our nation’s agricultural workforce. In 2022, HSIs enrolled 5.2 million students, including 66% of all Hispanic undergraduate students and over 31% of all college students in non-profit postsecondary institutions in the country. Programs like the EKDLG Fellowship Program equip educators with the tools to help students reach their full potential and support the nation’s agricultural workforce pipeline. For example, the list of 2024 EKDLG participants shows the program’s nationwide impact:
1. University of Houston, Sugar Land, Texas
2. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
3. The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
4. Arizona Western College, Yuma, Arizona
5. Coastal Bend College, Beeville, Texas
6. Adams State University, Alamosa, Colorado
7. California State University, Chico, Chico, California
8. Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey
9. Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas
10. Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona
11. Hartnell College, Salinas, California
12. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
13. City Colleges of Chicago, Harold Washington College, Chicago, Illinois
14. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
15. Maricopa Community Colleges, Tempe, Arizona
16. University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
17. Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois
18. Northern Arizona University, Yuma, Arizona
19. University of California, Santa Barbara, California
20. Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, California
21. University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas
22. CUNY New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn, New York
23. CUNY Hunter College, New York, New York
24. Florida International University, Miami, Florida
25. California State University, Fresno, California
26. Arizona State University, Mesa, Arizona
27. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
28. The University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas
29. Mt. Adams School District #209, White Swan, Washington
30. The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, New York, New York
31. John Bowne High School, Flushing, New York
The Department’s decision to suspend EKDLG Fellowship Program threatens the U.S. agricultural workforce pipeline and the opportunities this program provides educators and students nationwide.
We urge you to immediately reinstate the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program, similar to Department’s reinstatement of the 1890 National Scholars Program, and to collaborate with Congress to ensure its long-term stability.
Sincerely,
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