LARES Family Day is designed for FY admitted students and their families to meet Latino UIC students, staff, and LARES Academic Advisors while learning about the UIC Latino student experience. It offers bilingual sessions on UIC financial aid, campus programs, and academic and scholarship opportunities.

• Spring 2022
• Spring 2023

LARES hosts its annual LARES Open House for the UIC community every fall semester. It allows students, faculty and staff to meet the LARES staff, space, learn about LARES’ services and opportunities through interactive activities, food and prizes, and foster personal connections and establish a sense of belonging among UIC students, faculty and staff.

• Fall 2022 | Aug. 31
• Fall 2023 | Sept. 6

Since 1986, the LARES program has hosted the Annual Recognition Dinner for Latino Graduates in order to recognize and honor the academic achievements of our Latino graduates. Each spring semester, this event has grown in size and scope as a direct result of recruitment and retention efforts by the LARES program. In fact, as the number of UIC Latino students began to grow in size, so did the number of Latino graduates receiving Bachelor, Masters, and Doctoral degrees.  This recognition dinner provides a special opportunity to celebrate UIC’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) status; the major retention efforts of the University; the success of the LARES program and Latino faculty/staff; and ultimately the achievements of our Latino graduates alongside their families and friends.

• 34th Annual Recognition Dinner for Latino Graduates

The Latino Employee Networking Reception is organized by the LARES program to not only welcome new Latino hires, but to also establish strong networks of support and comradery among UIC’s Latino workforce. This event not only recognizes the hard work and dedication of UIC’s Latino faculty and staff, but it also empowers all UIC Latinos to work together to further UIC’s mission of providing the broadest access to the highest levels of intellectual excellence and creating knowledge that transforms our views of the world.

• Fall 2022 | Dec. 8
• Fall 2023 | Dec. 6

LARES celebrates the life and memory of deceased loved ones at the LARES Dia de los Muertos Workshop(s). Students and the UIC community are invited to join for some fun-filled creativity through different Dia de los Muertos inspired crafts/projects.

• Fall 2022
• Fall 2023

BIENESTAR: Building Resiliency Skills Converstation Starters is designed to provide a brave space for Latino students to share experiences, identify strengths, and learn about self-care practices that support well-being through a series of workshops.

LARES is a proud partner of the Urban Public Policy Fellowship (UPPF) program. UPPF is a leadership development program designed to expose historically underrepresented minority undergraduate students at UIC to key public policy issues. UPPF pairs its fellows with partner organizations who provide students with insight into government, community-based initiatives, non-for profits, and public policy. Fellows develop a public policy project guided by a research question that enhances their internship experience and present their projects at an annual research conference.

A weeklong event, where hundreds of student organizations, community service partners, and campus departments table each day showcasing their services and opportunities to UIC students so they may Explore, Expand, and Excel as a UIC Flame!

UIC Open House is an annual signature drop-in program open to everyone with sessions that cover everything from mock classes and campus tours to one-on-one meetings with financial aid. The program includes the chance to speak one-on-one to representatives of more than 50 departments, colleges, student organizations, and offices dedicated to UIC success.

• Fall 2022

The mission of Illinois LAtino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE) is to work collaboratively with colleges, universities, and other stakeholders to increase the access, retention, and advancement of Latin@ students, faculty, and staff in Illinois higher education institutions. Each year, ILACHE hosts a conference aimed at transforming higher education in the state.