News, UCM News

UCM honors Kansas City publisher, community leader during commencement

A Kansas City publisher and community leader was among the more than 1,300 graduates honored Saturday by the University of Central Missouri.

Jose “Joe” Arce was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony, according to a news release. 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.

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 an 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. UCM’s Hispanic/Latino population has climbed from 1.4 percent of the total undergraduate student population to 4.1 percent during this time, according to the news release.

Arce is 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. 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 photojournalist and reporter for WDAF-TV Fox 4. He has spent the past 21 years publishing his own newspaper, Kansas City Hispanic News.

Arce is also the founder and president of the Hispanic Media Association of Greater Kansas City.

He served as a board member and vice president of the Guadalupe Centers. He is a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Greater Kansas City and 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.

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