From the Dean: Latinx Heritage Month

Dear Poole community,

Next week of October concludes our campus and college celebrations of Latinx Heritage Month. As enrollment from students who identify as Latinx continues to grow at NC State, we joyfully embraced the opportunity to recognize their experiences past, present and future.

What is Latinx Heritage Month?

Latinx Heritage Month is the NC State community’s preferred name for National Hispanic Heritage Month. The celebration was established in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and expanded to a four-week celebration 20 years later.

Latinx Heritage Month was created to recognize the contributions of the millions of American citizens and residents who trace their heritage back to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. As of 2020, more than 62 million people in the U.S. share that heritage.

The date on which the month begins, Sept. 15, is significant in the histories of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragu––all of which celebrate their national independence on that date. Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their respective independence days on Sept. 16, Sept. 18 and Sept. 21.

Poole College was honored to celebrate the community by partnering with Multicultural Student Affairs. Read about our partnership in this Technician article.

We hope you were able to participate in some of these events and walked away from Latinx Heritage Month with increased understanding and appreciation for the numerous contributions this community makes not only around the world, but right here on campus.

Best,

Frank Buckless
Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Dean
Poole College of Management