The La Raza Center will benefit the University of Delaware community in a variety of capacities, focusing on three key areas: Student Success, Public Policy Analysis, and Advocacy.  The Center’s staff will provide oversight and expertise to La Raza undergraduate Executive Boards, ensuring the continued success of programmatic goals and advocacy initiatives.  They will foster the social and intellectual development of La Raza members, promoting graduate and professional school while providing requisite guidance and preparation.  The La Raza Center's library will house a vast collection of literature on Latino and Ethnic studies.  Staff will work diligently with UD faculty and administration to bring the brightest minds to UD’s Ethnic Studies departments.  The Center will host annual lectures featuring prominent national and international figures, adding to a list that already includes individuals such as Piri Thomas, Dolores Huerta, Felipe Luciano, Bobby Seale, and the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States.   The Center’s staff will work to integrate students into the initiatives of regional leaders in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, especially those promoting advocacy, civic responsibility, and community service.  Finally, the Center will place an emphasis on coalition building with various other progressive entities across the region.

Direct Benefits to Students
The La Raza Center will:

• Provide academic guidance and development;
• Promote graduate/professional school;
• Provide individual advanced degree and career planning;
• Host and promote annual graduate school fairs;
• Host and promote annual career fairs;
• Promote and provide undergraduate research opportunities within and outside of the Center;
• Promote and provide internship opportunities within and outside of the Center;
• Provide network opportunities for students; 
• Assist students with programmatic initiatives;
• Maintain high graduation rates for La Raza and Latino students;
• Provide or arrange for tutoring services;
• Help students navigate the financial aid process;
• Provide opportunities for social development, such as the acquisition of networking skills, professional presentation, and social etiquette skills;
• Serve as a flagship or home-base for under-represented students;
• Organize student participation in national conferences;
• Host semi-annual leadership development conferences;
• Provide invaluable leadership opportunities and challenges through the Campus Alliance de La Raza;
• Develop and maintain permanent strong relationships with community leaders, CALR alumni, faculty, and staff in an effort to maximize the ability to integrate students into post-graduate arenas;
• Provide job placement services.

• Increase the visibility of the University of Delaware within the Latino community, especially through the National Council of La Raza and its affiliates;
• Enhance the desirability of the University of Delaware to under-represented students, increasing applications from highly qualified prospective students within the Latino community;
• Increase the number of active alumni of the University of Delaware;
• Provide assistantships to graduate students;
• Work with the University to increase the diversity of incoming classes, thus enriching the educational experiences of all University of Delaware students;
• Host annual lectures and other programs featuring nationally and internationally renowned figures, especially during Latino Heritage Month;
• Provide classroom space targeted towards UD’s ethnic studies departments;
• Provide office space for UD faculty within the Latin American Studies department;
• Develop formal partnerships with the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy in promoting Urban Affairs and Public Policy studies and advancing the mutual goals of both the School and the Center;
• Host and promote annual graduate school fairs;
• Host and promote annual career fairs;
• Provide advocacy opportunities that promote social and civic responsibility while combating apathy, especially among the nation’s under-represented population;
• Work with private partners to provide on site first-time homeownership classes open to the entire University of Delaware community;
• Work with private partners to provide students with internship opportunities within the Real Estate Development, Investment and Management arenas.

• Serve as a constant and consistent resource for regional employers to recruit highly qualified, yet under-represented, young professionals;
• Host annual lectures open to the general public;
• Enhance existing state and regional professional networks and associations by serving as a conduit that provides high quality professionals from diverse backgrounds;
• Promote progressive stances on public policy issues;
• Advance the state’s agenda by integrating students into government initiatives and connecting students with the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic Affairs;
• Create collaborative opportunities between regional nonprofits and students, organizations, and others from the University of Delaware;
• Advocate for increased university support of state and local initiatives of great importance to Latinos;
• Promote homeownership and provide first-time homeownership classes, providing the requisite knowledge to ensure success and the acquisition of the “American Dream”;
• Enhance the attractiveness and consequently the value and prestige of the University of Delaware;
• Host and promote annual graduate school fairs;
• Host and promote annual career fairs.