Neely School of Business named one of the best b-schools for Hispanics

by Marisa Treviño of of Latina Lista

FORT WORTH — Did you know that the U.S. Census reports that Hispanic-owned businesses grew 31 percent between 1997 and 2002 across the country? That’s triple the growth compared to the national average of only 10 percent for all businesses.

On top of that interesting tidbit is the fact that $222 billion in revenue has been generated by Hispanic-owned businesses.

What kind of businesses are you wondering?

Well, it seems 43 percent of the businesses span the range from construction to repair and maintenance, while 36 percent are in the retail sector.

Just how many of these business owners are college graduates is not known but with only 3.1 million Latinos 18 and older with a bachelor’s degree, out of a total Hispanic population of 44.3 million, it’s safe to say that a lot of Latino business owners got where they are today by following the basic formula in achieving the American Dream — hard work.

The hard work ethic is especially true here in Dallas where, according to the North Texas Immigration 2005 study by DFW International, between half and 2/3 of Hispanic 9th grade students don’t graduate from high school.

In DISD alone, 68 percent of Hispanic students don’t graduate reports the DFW International study.

But too few people realize that there are two versions to the American Dream. The first version is achieved through back-breaking, sweat-of-the-brow labor that requires little formal education.

The second version is accomplished by having the time and money to attend school. Usually, it’s the second and subsequent generations that achieve Part II of the American Dream.

However finding the right school is always a challenge. Thankfully, it just got easier for North Texas Latinos who want a little easier route than their parents or grandparents into the business world.

Now, instead of traveling to either coast to attend a well-ranked business school, area college-bound Latinos don’t have to travel any farther than Fort Worth.

Hispanic Business Magazine has named Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business as one of the best business schools for Hispanics.

TCU’s selection rounded out the top 20, and while it was the only North Texas school to make the cut, it wasn’t the only Texas school. The University of Texas at Austin’s business school ranked second on the list.

Though to many Latinos, TCU may seem on par with SMU in terms of affordability, the school does offer two scholarships with Latinos in mind: the Henry B. Gonzalez Scholarship and the National Society of Hispanic MBA Member Scholarship.

No doubt the North Texas community needs to do a lot more to ensure that more Latino students graduate from high school and go on to college.

It helps to have schools in the area that are recognized for working with Latino students, because it’s not an issue of showing preferential treatment but recognizing that there are special needs within this generation of Latinos that must be met before they can achieve their version of the American Dream.