HIGH POINT, N.C., March 22, 2006 – Rodolfo de la Garza, professor of political science at Columbia University, will deliver a talk entitled "Creating a Latino Political Community" in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center on Thursday, March 30 at 11 a.m.

Dr. de la Garza is the Eaton Professor of Administrative Law and Municipal Science at Columbia University, director of Columbia's Master of Public Administration Program and vice president for research for the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, the nation's leading Latino policy think tank.

De la Garza was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic magazine in 1998 and 2004. He served as a vice president of the American Political Science Association and received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Committee on the Status of Latinos in the Profession of the American National Association of Chicano Studies and the Inter-University Program for Latino Research. He is currently a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

While visiting High Point University, de la Garza will also dine with students and teach two political science courses.

"We are thrilled to have Dr. de la Garza on HPU’s campus to teach classes, meet with our students, and give a public talk," said Dr. Mark Setzler, assistant professor of political science. "North Carolina is now home to the nation’s fastest growing Hispanic community, and de la Garza is probably the best person in the entire country to explain how this growth is going to transform our state’s politics and its economy in the coming years."

De la Garza is the author of numerous books on Latino and immigrant political behavior, including most recently: "Muted Voices: Latinos and the 2000 Elections" (Rowman & Littlefield 2004), "Sending Money Home: Hispanic Remittances and Community Development" (Rowman & Littlefield 2002) and "Latinos and US Foreign Policy" (Rowman & Littlefield 2000).

This program is co-sponsored by the HPU Honors Program and the History and Political Science Departments, and is open to the public without charge.

High Point University offers students an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU is a liberal arts institution with approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 52 countries and 36 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report 12th among comprehensive universities in the South and in the top 100 nationally. The university offers 45 undergraduate majors and five graduate-degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference.