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Five outstanding Hispanic students will be honored in a special ceremony today at the University of Arizona.

"They're just stellar, they're phenomenal students," said Oscar Luján, executive director of the UA Hispanic Alumni.

UA President Robert Shelton, who has pledged support for increasing ethnic diversity on campus, is expected to attend.

The honorees are being recognized at the UA's 23rd annual convocation celebrating all graduating Hispanic students, said Oscar Angulo, an administrative assistant at the UA Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs Center. Though not everyone will be at the event, Angulo said at least 1,230 Hispanics are graduating this spring.

UA figures show Hispanics total about 14 percent of the school's nearly 37,000 students. Shelton has pledged support for various efforts to recruit and retain Hispanics. The university is working toward reaching the 25 percent Hispanic enrollment needed to be federally designated a Hispanic Serving Institution.

The Hispanic Alumni will give each of the following students a $500 or $1000 award:

● Rebecca Covarrubias, a senior graduating with honors in family studies and human development.

● Marcela García-Castañon, a senior majoring in political science and communication.

● Shannon Fernandez, the UA's first Hispanic to finish a doctorate in physiological science with support from the National Institutes of Health Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity.

● Martin E. Pessah, a graduate student in the astronomy and physics departments. The honors student is in Spain giving a presentation at an international astronomy conference.

● Selena Ortiz, a public-health graduate student described by her colleagues as an activist scholar.

The convocation will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. It is open to the public.