Commencement Speaker

Sara Martinez Tucker, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, will be the speaker for the 122nd Spring Commencement ceremony at The University of Texas at Austin.

“Each year we invite a commencement speaker distinguished by great achievement and the ability to motivate and inspire,” said Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, president of the university. “Sara Martinez Tucker has made an enormous difference in the lives of thousands of young people through her work as chief executive of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.  Sara’s impressive personal story and her important work in education and beyond will make her an outstanding speaker for the 2005 Spring Commencement."

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the nation’s leading organization in support of Hispanic higher education. Under Sara Martinez Tucker's leadership, HSF’s annual scholarship giving has increased from $3 million in 1996 to more than $25 million in each of the last three years. HSF has adopted an aggressive goal of doubling the rate of Hispanics earning college degrees by 2010.

Since becoming president of HSF in 1997, Martinez Tucker has created several new support initiatives, including outreach efforts to engage parents, college preparation programs for students, peer support networks on college campuses, and an alumni network.

She is a founding board member of the National Center for Educational Accountability and a member of the steering committee for the Council for Aid to Education. Hispanic Magazine named her the Hispanic of the Year in 2000, and Hispanic Business magazine included her among the 100 Most Influential Hispanics for three years in a row.

Prior to joining HSF, Martinez Tucker spent 16 years at AT&T, becoming the first Hispanic female to reach the company’s executive level.

A native of Laredo, Texas, Sara Martinez Tucker received her undergraduate degree in journalism, with honors, from The University of Texas at Austin.  She became a general assignments reporter for the San Antonio Express before returning to UT to earn an MBA. She has served on UT's Commission of 125 and as a member of the advisory councils of the College of Natural Sciences and the College of Communication.

In recognition of her outstanding leadership, Martinez Tucker was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Notre Dame and will accept an honorary degree from Boston College in May 2005.