By Jeff Murphy,
December 6, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – In addition to honoring more than 1,300 new graduates, the University
of Central Missouri will recognize Kansas City newspaper publisher and active member
of the Hispanic/Latino community, Jose “Joe” Arce, during 2017 Fall Commencement exercises
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8-9.
Commencement exercises take place in the Multipurpose Building and begin at 6 p.m.
Friday with the graduate ceremony, followed by one morning and one afternoon undergraduate
ceremony on Saturday. The first undergraduate commencement begins at 10 a.m. and is
for new graduates of the Adrian and Margaret Harmon College of Business and Professional
Studies and the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Degrees will be
conferred upon graduates of the College of Health, Science, and Technology, and the
College of Education at2 p.m.
Charles Ambrose, UCM president, will present the commencement address at all three
ceremonies. Special remarks by Tirth Raj Khaniya, vice chancellor professor, at Tribhuvan
University in Nepal, also will be made during the Saturday afternoon commencement.
The honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, will be bestowed upon Arce during the
10 a.m. exercises Saturday. The honorary doctorate is awarded by the authority of
the university’s Board of Governors and is presented to individuals who have distinguished
themselves through outstanding service and exemplary achievements within their fields
of endeavor in a way that make honorees an inspiration to others. Arce is a newspaper
owner and civic leader in Kansas City who has extended his passion and love for the
Latino/Hispanic community from his hometown to the halls and classrooms on the UCM
campus.
Having grown up in the heart of Kansas City’s Latino community, Arce is a fervent
advocate for opportunities to serve young people through education so that they can
become tomorrow’s leaders. Consistent with this goal, he has worked with three UCM
presidents since 2003 to ensure the university keeps an open door to opportunities
to serve his community’s educational needs. His strong support for the university
and persistence is evident in the overall growth of UCM’s Hispanic/Latino population
which has climbed from 1.4 percent of the total undergraduate student population to
4.1 percent during this time.
An important factor related to the perception Latino/Hispanic students have toward
UCM is an outcome of Arce’s 15 years of service as founder and chair of the Cesar
E. Chavez Committee, which has helped promote the university and support students
through Cesar E. Chavez Scholarships. Three students were honored with $12,500 scholarships
in spring 2017. This is a milestone since the scholarship’s inception, and more than
$200,000 in scholarship funds have now been dispersed to benefit Latino students who
are college-bound for UCM. Arce also has served the university and its students, faculty
and staff in other capacities, including his participation on the Presidential Search
Advisory Committee in 2010.
In his professional role, he has spent the last 45 years covering local news and mentoring
young journalists, having begun his career as a photo journalist and reporter for
WDAF-TV Fox 4. Proud of his heritage and the opportunity to provide members of the
Latino community a voice regarding local activities and issues, he has spent the past
21 years publishing his own newspaper, “Kansas City Hispanic News.” When he is not
gathering and reporting news, he is supporting his profession as the founder and president
of the Hispanic Media Association of Greater Kansas City.
Arce’s personal touch and the care he shows others also is demonstrated through 40
years of involvement on numerous community boards and committees that have a strong
impact on Kansas City and its citizens. Among them is the Guadalupe Centers, where
he has served as a board member and vice president; membership in the Hispanic Chamber
of Greater Kansas City; and service as a United Way Advisory Board member. Additionally,
he is the founder and chair of the Latino Advocacy Taskforce. This advocacy group
provides educational services for families and victims of violent crime in the Kansas
City Latino community on both sides of the state line.
Learn more about UCM’s 2017 Fall Commencement online at ucmo.edu/commencement/fall.cfm.
