Cal State San Bernardino, USDA Create Liaison Office for 59 Southern California 'Hispanic Serving Institutions'

Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will sign a memorandum of understanding on Friday, Dec. 2 to create a USDA liaison office at Cal State San Bernardino.

Its purpose is to serve 59 Hispanic Serving Institutions, colleges and universities in Southern California with more than 25 percent of their enrollment of Hispanic origin. Cal State San Bernardino is one of those institutions.

The memo will be signed by CSUSB President Albert K. Karnig and officials from USDA, including Willis Collie, deputy director for the HSI national program and Dr. Charles A. Onstad, USDA area director for the Southern Plains region. The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2 in the university's Pfau Library, room 4005.

Ramiro Porras Jr., a CSUSB 2000 graduate, has been selected to head the USDA office at Cal State San Bernardino. He will promote internship, scholarship and job opportunities to students, faculty and staff at the 59 institutions.

"We're very pleased that Cal State San Bernardino was chosen to host this office," said Tom Rivera, associate dean of undergraduate studies. "I'm looking forward to the great work Ramiro will do among these colleges."

Porras has worked at the university since August 2004 as an early outreach coordinator, designing various programs to reach students in more than 40 area middle and high schools and community colleges. He is pursuing a master's degree in education at the university as well.

A native of the Coachella Valley, Porras graduated from Indio High School. In college, he served as a volunteer with the Inland Empire Future Leaders program and a representative to the California State Student Assembly (CSSA).