¿Qué pasa, HSIs?

For the final episode of season 6 we bring in a “new to the show” conversation on advising. And the whole episode is about advising and servingness. Dr. Gabe Bermea, a visiting scholar at the The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, is a scholar and expert on advising practices with a keen focus on HSIs. He describes different types of advising models and dives deep into humanistic advising and the ways to use this approach in serving Latine students. He challenges us to think about the conceptual natures and structures of advising as intertwined with servingness. Gabe reminds us that if 63% of Latines are enrolled in HSIs, that means HSIs are responsible for advising 63% of them, not just enrolling them. Advising is a vital structure for serving that must be intentional and can, in itself, be servingness. Listen and learn Guest: Gabe Bermea Visiting Scholar, The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbermea/ https://www.gabebermea.com/ Show Notes - all links are are open access: Compañeros en el Camino: Preparing Academic Advisors to Serve at Hispanic Serving InstitutionsConstruir el Camino: How Hispanic-Serving Institutions Design and Deliver Academic AdvisingAdvising Latino students at hispanic-serving institutions: A strategy rooted in servingness and intentionalityAdvising With Intention: Exploring Academic Advising at Minority-Serving Institutionshttps://doi.org/10.12930/NACR-20-07 APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, June 1). Advising as Servingness. (No.610) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

With over 400 campuses emerging toward 25% enrollment of Latine students and 600 institutions already meeting the threshold, we must talk about what it means to emerge as a campus that truly serves Latine students. Emergingness is the intentionality that goes into embracing servingness, and it is happening across the U.S. In this episode we welcome Kansas to the mic to learn about HSI work going on at Wichita State University. Dra. Sara Mata, Executive Director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives at WSU, is joined by two students, Valeria Paunetto and Dimas Gonzalez, who talk about the HSI movement on their campus, an emerging HSI. They share information about their signature offering, Herencia, a summer bridge program that centers Spanish, and their Somos Shockers campaign, which is the umbrella for all their HSI initiatives. Listening to students make sense of servingness is one of the most important things HSIs and eHSIs can do while they emerge. Sara Mata (she/ella) Executive Director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives, Wichita State University LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-mata-ph-d/ Instagram: @sara.mataphd | Facebook: sara.mata Valeria Paunetto (she/her) Somos Shockers Coordinator, Wichita State University Instagram: @paunettovaleria Dimas Gonzalez (he/him/él) Outreach Specialist, Wichita State University LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimas-gonzalez-bb3440303/ Show Notes: https://www.wichita.edu/about/designations/hsi/index.phphttps://www.al.com/sports/2015/03/what_the_heck_is_a_shocker_and.htmlhttps://www.wichita.edu/about/wushock.php APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, May 18). Emergingness in Kansas (No.609) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

In this episode we get in (racial) formation with Dra. Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, an assistant professor of Counseling and College Student Personnel at California Lutheran University. Dra. Espinoza’s research revolves around racial and organizational classifications, focusing on MSIs; particularly dual and multiple designated MSIs. She lays out the landscape of these institutions drawing on her dissertation titled, “Let’s get in (racial) formation: A three-paper exploration of dual- and multiple-designated Minority-Serving Institutions.” We talk about the complications, but also call on educators in these institutions to work in relation and solidarity across racialized lines. The call to action is to acknowledge that the number of dual and multiple designations is on the rise and we must do servingness work in relation and with responsibility. We also invent new words like, “AANAPI-Rizzies,” nodding to the University of California and other research institutions that are embracing multiple designations while remaining focused on their historic mission. This episode is a must listen for all HSI, AANAPISI, HBCU, and Black Serving Institution (BSI) educators and leaders. Let’s work in solidarity! Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza (she/her/siya) Assistant Professor of Counseling and College Student Personnel, California Lutheran University X/Instagram: @kageceratops https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinejan https://linktr.ee/kristinejan APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, May 4). Racialized Solidarity Across Multiple MSI Designations. (No.508) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Show Notes: https://sheeo.org/project/sheeo-publications/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1pk403dmhttps://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED608022.pdfhttps://doi.org/10.24974/amae.14.3.405https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2024.2349671https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-024-09763-z

What does it mean to be an historic HSI? Since few HSIs were founded with the mission to serve Latine students, the definition of an “historic HSI” is to have enrolled 25% Latine students since 1992 when the Higher Education Act was reauthorized to include HSIs. The historic HSIs are important because they have provided access to Latine students for over 30 years. In this episode we elevate these HSIs that I affectionately call “tia HSIs.” We also touch on the “historic spaces of servingness” which includes cultural centers, ethnic studies, and Trio programs. This plática includes Rosa Isela Cervantes, the Director for El Centro de la Raza at the University of New Mexico, and Julián G. Ángel, an undergraduate student and Program Assistant for HSI Initiatives, who talk critically about their progression from being set in their “tia HSI ways” to embracing servingness. We also interrogate what it means to be a Hispanic Serving Research Institution. This episode allows us to love and honor historic HSIs while also talking about holding them accountable to servingness. Guests: Rosa Isela Cervantes (She/Her/Ella) Director, El Centro de la Raza and Special Advisor to the President on Latina/o Affairs, The University of New Mexico Instagram: @rosaisela742 | @elcentrounm Julián G. Ángel, (He/Him/Él) Program Assistant-HSI Initiatives, El Centro de la Raza, The University of New Mexico Instagram: @juliangangel Show Notes https://elcentro.unm.eduhttps://eid.nmsu.edu/extra-pages/nsf-hsi-hubs-faculty-fellow/nsf-hsi-hubs-faculty-fellow.htmlhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-015-9318-7 APA Citation Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2025, April 20). Historic HSIs and Historic Spaces of Servingness (No.607) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

Developmental mathematics is one of the most pressing educational issues that colleges across the nation are addressing. Many states have passed legislation to address inequities in placement into developmental mathematics while individual colleges are trying innovative approaches to ensure the success of students who enroll in these courses. It’s an issue we may not fully solve, but there are many best practices to learn from. Our guest Dr. Vanessa Hill is a math professor who has spent the last 18 years at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) doing what she loves–teaching mathematics. She has also been involved in efforts to rethink developmental mathematics, both at her college and abroad. She has developed effective models and redesigned curriculum through the lens of servingness, acknowledging that as an HSI, STCC enrolls a large percentage of Black and Latine students who place into developmental mathematics at higher rates than white students. In this episode, we have a lively discussion about developmental mathematics as servingness. Vanessa Hill (she/her) Professor, Springfield Technical Community College LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-hill-phd-26718817/ Show Notes: https://www.stcc.edu/about-stcc/news/stcc-professor-awarded-fellowship-to-revamp-developmental-math.htmlhttps://www.escalaeducation.com/about-escala/copy-of-our-teamhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0162373720973727https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB705https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1705 APA Citation: Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2025, April 6). Rethinking Developmental Mathematics as Servingness. (No. 606) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?.

In this episode we nerd out on all things governance in higher education, with a focus on governing boards and trustees in HSIs. The role of governing boards in advancing servingness is an understudied topic, despite the importance of gaining support from trustees in order to advance equity and social justice goals. Dr. Demetri L. Morgan joins the conversation, bringing a wealth of knowledge on the topic. He is an associate professor of education at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education in the Center for the Study of Postsecondary and Higher Education. His research focuses on the critical role that higher education institutions play in fostering a diverse democracy and researches the influence of culturally sustaining governance on institutional transformation. In this episode we discuss the crucial role of governing boards in HSIs, talking about an article we published entitled, “Mission-based vs. enrollment-based institutions: Segmented governance at a Catholic Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).” We discuss the intricacies of developing this study and the ways we combined two theoretical frameworks to make sense of the fiduciary duty of obedience that trustees have and the ways they must uphold an historic (Catholic) mission as well as an emerging (HSI) mission. Guest: Demetri L. Morgan (he, him) Associate Professor of Education, University of Michigan @DMorganPhD Download the Article (open access): https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.0.a952249 APA Citation for this Episode: Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2025, March 23). Nerding out on Governing Boards at HSIs (No.605) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Show Notes: https://marsal.umich.edu/directory/faculty-staff/demetri-morganhttps://www.aaup.org/programs/academic-freedom/center-defense-academic-freedom/fellowshttps://theconversation.com/trustees-handling-of-nikole-hannah-jones-tenure-application-shows-how-university-boards-often-fail-the-accountability-test-161622Politics: Governance and Governing Boardshttps://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000153doi.org/10.3138/jehr.2019-0006 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94844-3_8-1

What happens when a group of 15 change agents from across campus come together to build an HSI movement? That was the guiding question for a small grant project funded by the Student Experience Research Network (SERN). With the grant we launched “HSI Transformation Teams” at two community college campuses–Santa Rosa Junior College and Fullerton College. In this episode we talk about how the teams came together to transform HSIs in practice, in community, and with the purpose of fostering collaborative research-practice-policy partnerships. Members of the transformation teams learned about HSI scholarship and engaged in participatory action research to develop action-based solutions to address the most pressing concerns on their campus. Our guests on this episode co-led the transformation teams, offering knowledge on the process, the challenges faced, and the wins experienced over the year. Dr. Robert Holcomb, Vice President of Academic Affairs/Assistant Superintendent at Santa Rosa Junior College, and Dr. Julio Flores, Dean of Counseling & Support Services at Santa Rosa Junior College provide insight into their process and are joined by Dr. Flor Huerta, Dean of Counseling & Student Development at Fullerton College. Listen and learn about what happens when a group of dedicated practitioner-activists ignite servingness. Guests: Flor Huerta (​​she/her/ella) Dean, Counseling and Student Development, Fullerton College LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/flor-huerta-ed-d-049943173 Instagram: @dra.florhuerta Robert "Bobby" Holcomb (he/him) Vice President of Academic Affairs/Assistant Superintendent, Santa Rosa Junior College LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robert-holcomb-ph-d-25608620 Instagram: @robert__holcomb Julio R. Flores (he/him/él) Dean, Counseling and Support Programs, Santa Rosa Junior College Attachments / Show notes: https://academicaffairs.santarosa.edu/

The new presidential administration took office on January 20th, 2025, launching a new era of federal politics for colleges and universities that many of us are trying to navigate. But how do we move forward when 47’s administration is releasing daily attacks on public education, research, academic freedom, access, and equity? On this episode of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? we discuss the current federal climate and offer advice for remaining focused on doing good work in solidarity across racial-ethnic groups. Our guest, Dr. Cristóbal Rodríguez, is a policy expert and scholar activist with a track record of advocating for Latine populations. He was appointed in 2022 by President Biden to serve on the White House Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics and Latinos. He shares his experience and some recommendations made by the commission despite it being dismantled as a direct result of one of many executive orders signed by 47. He also talks about state policy implications and the ways we can leverage local governments, policy intermediaries, associations, and state-wide HSI consortia. We don’t have all the answers, but Dr. Rodríguez offers tips on navigating these tumultuous times. Guest: Cristóbal Rodríguez (he/him/él) Associate Provost for Equity, Western Michigan University Chair, American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cristóbal-rodríguez-25656453 Instagram: @dktrcrodriguez Attachments / Show notes: Reports by White House Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics and Latinoshttps://www.aahhe.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.24974/amae.13.3.455https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192715612914

What is a graduate-going culture? Drawing from the college-going culture research, I define a graduate-going culture as one where faculty, staff, and administrators are dedicated to promoting students’ aspirations for graduate school, including planning and preparation. I argue that HSIs should prioritize building a graduate-going culture that provides students with the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed for pursuing and successfully entering graduate programs, including master’s, doctoral, and professional programs. This is essential to HSIs where a large percentage of students are first-generation to college and therefore first-generation to graduate school. The development of a graduate-going culture can be liberatory for students of color and first generation students who may not see themselves as graduate students. Moreover, HSIs are relying on the development of stronger pathways for people of color to enter faculty and administrator positions that require graduate degrees. For this conversation I am joined by Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu, a grad school and productivity certified coach, and Dra. Miroslava Chávez-García, a professor of history and faculty director of the McNair Scholars Program, who wrote the book, Is Grad School For Me?: Demystifying the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students. We discuss the book, which is an accessible, easy-to-read guidebook for first-generation, low-income, students of color interested in pursuing graduate school, and explore the ways that HSIs can use the book and other resources to build a graduate-going culture. Yvette Martínez-Vu (she/her) Certified coach, consultant, author, and speaker Founder of Grad School Femtoring, LLC Website: www.gradschoolfemtoring.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gradschoolfemtoring/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvettemartinezvu/ Miroslava Chavez-Garcia (​​she/her) Professor of History, Faculty Director of the McNair Scholars Program UC Santa Barbara Website: https://history.ucsb.edu/faculty/mchavezgarcia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miroslava-chavez-garcia-779919222/ Attachments / Show Notes: https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/podcast/https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/6-strategies-for-surviving-a-toxic-graduate-school-advisor/https://www.edexcelencia.org/research/publications/hispanic-serving-institutions-with-graduate-programs-ghsishttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/03/key-facts-about-us-latinos-with-graduate-degrees/https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/closing-the-gap-pew-study-calls-for-more-latino-graduate-students https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192719835681

We kick off season 6 of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? with a conversation about advocacy for Latine college students and HSIs. We learn with Dr. Patrick Velasquez, a Chicano educator who serves as Co-Chair of the San Diego Chicano/Latino Concilio on Higher Education and works directly with HSIs in the San Diego region. Patrick is a huge advocate for liberatory outcomes in HSIs and successfully advocated for the addition of an undergraduate, liberatory Institutional Learning Outcome that emphasizes anti-racism and social justice for San Diego State University students. In this episode we talk about the process of ensuring that the campus will commit to liberation as an outcome. We also discuss liberatory education as an essential concept for HSIs, calling attention to the decades of research on diversity, social justice, culture, power, and liberatory pedagogies. Attachments / Show notes: https://sdclchighered.org/https://sdclchighered.org/position-papershttps://digitalrepository.unm.edu/rxsj/vol1/iss1/9https://www.higheredjobs.com/blog/postDisplay.cfm?post=2256&blog=28https://studentexperiencenetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SERN_Garcia_042122.pdfJournal of the Alliance for Hispanic Serving Institution Educators, 1(1), 1-14 APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, January 26). Liberatory Outcomes in HSIs. (No.601) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

We conclude season 5 with a conversation on emergence and the active process of becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO) is one of the last institutions in the 23-campus Cal State system to become an HSI. Comparatively, many of the 23 CSUs have been HSIs for over 20 years, which put Cal Poly in an interesting position to act with intention and joy. And that they did. Dr. Beya Makekau, Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning & Networks, and Dr. Denise Isom, Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, join us for an invigorating conversation about intentionality in this work. They describe how they are flipping the narrative on emergence and leaning into the joy and opportunities of doing important work to bring Latine identities into the campus infrastructure. They also describe strategies for engaging the entire campus community so all members can take responsibility for servingness work. Beya and Denise offer so many ideas, you will definitely need to take notes. UPDATE: Since recording this episode, Cal Poly SLO has reached the 25% eligibility threshold; congratulations to them!!! Guests: Dr. Beya Makekau (she/her/ella), Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning & Networks, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo www.linkedin.com/in/dr-beya-makekau-23a8ab88 Dr. Denise Isom (she/her), Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Show Notes: https://diversity.calpoly.edu/hsihttps://mustangnews.net/cal-poly-students-respond-to-the-universitys-efforts-to-becoming-an-hsi/https://mustangnews.net/cal-poly-is-working-toward-hispanic-serving-institution-status/ APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, December 15). Emerging with Intentionality and Joy: Cal Poly SLO. (No.510) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

In this episode of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? we learn about enacting servingness across space and time. We focus specifically on the similarities and differences of emerging as a community college HSI and a four-year R1 HSI. Yesenia Escobar Mendoza talks about her experience as a counselor at San Jose City College working in a center that was created with a Title V grant and carrying on the HSI legacy over time. She stresses the importance of Title V grants in building a culture of servingness, but believes that the people hired by the grants are even more essential. Elizabeth Gonzalez shares stories of success from UCLA, an emerging HSI, suggesting that her time working at San Jose City College and UC Santa Cruz prepared her to build strategic partnerships across campus at UCLA. She teaches us about the collaboration and strategy necessary to emerge as an intentional HSI. They are joined by Daniela Cortez Bravo who serves as a HSI student liaison at UCLA, bringing student voice to the work and to the podcast. We compare and contrast servingness across spaces and time while honing in on key strategies for success. Guests: Elizabeth Gonzalez (she/her/they), Inaugural HSI Director, UCLA IG: @Hacia_elsol | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/egonzal5 | Facebook: www.facebook.com/haciaelsol Yesenia Escobar Mendoza (she/her/ella), Counselor, San Jose City College IG: @yeseniaescobar Daniela Anais Cortez Bravo (she/her/hers), HSI Student Liaison, UCLA https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-cortez/ Attachments / Show Notes: https://hsi.ucla.edu/https://ucla.app.box.com/v/HispanicServingInstitutionhttps://sjcc.edu/students/academic-programs/metas/default.aspxhttps://the-roar.net/?p=8995 APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, December 1). HSIs Enacted Across Space & Time (No.509) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

Class is in session with Dr. Alexandro Jose Gradilla, an activist professor at Cal State Fullerton who is grounded in liberatory and decolonial praxis. In this episode we learn how to utilize both federal and private foundation grants to enhance servingness with and for Latine undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. In his words he provides us with a “hometown buffet” of things you can do as a faculty member at an HSI including building pathway programs, designing and developing curriculum, and advocating and changing policies that harm students. Dr. Gradilla shares stories of success in institutional mentoring and building curriculum that serves both the Cal State University system and the California Community College system. He has been a co-PI on Title V, Part B grants that are making an impact and is currently the PI for a Mellon Foundation grant that funded two programs at CSU Fullerton: the Escritores Promotores and the Social Justice and Storytelling Institute Summer Program. Dr. Gradilla is a storyteller, an activist, and a healer with a clear vision for what servingness is and should be. Beware, this episode will ignite your desire to make change on your campus and in your community! Guest: Alexandro Jose Gradilla (El/He), Associate Professor Chicana/o Studies, CSU Fullerton IG: @amoxpoa @escritorespromotores | X: @ajgradilla LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/alexandrojosegradilla APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, November 17). Stories of Transformation & Healing. (No.508) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Attachments / Show notes: https://hss.fullerton.edu/latinxlab/storytelling.htmlhttps://hss.fullerton.edu/latinxlab/escritores-promotores/https://hss.fullerton.edu/chicano/faculty/facultyprofile/a_gradilla.aspx

Let’s welcome New England to the mic! In this episode we learn about the HSI Movement taking place in Massachusetts and across the New England region. Our guests include Dra. Elisa Castillo, the Assistant Vice President of Hispanic and Minority Serving Initiatives at Salem State University, and Julissa Colón, the Founding Director of El Centro at Holyoke Community College. These mujeres are fierce and claiming their role as leaders in the HSI movement. They describe the New England Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution Conference which was funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education and talk about the many ways the state is supporting their HSI efforts. Elisa shares the journey of Salem State, an emerging HSI that has laid out a “Roadmap to Servingness” while Julissa contrasts that with the story of Holyoke Community College, one of the first HSIs in the Massachusetts with a longer history of servingness. They talk extensively about the unique identities of the Latines they serve including Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Brazillians and describe the need for Caribbean-specific servingness (think, Bad Bunny, Portuguese, and mofongo). The energy in this episode is high and the knowledge-sharing is abundant. Wepa! Guests: Elisa Castillo (she/her/ella) Assistant Vice President for Hispanic and Minority Serving Initiatives, Salem State University https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-castillo-phd-9192384 Julissa I. Colón (she/her) Director, El Centro, Holyoke Community College Facebook: Julissa Colon | Instagram: @jewelsjuliecolon | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julissa-colón-mpa-9b50981bb/ APA Citation Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2024, November 3). The New England HSI Movement (No.507) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast Attachments / Show notes: https://www.salemstate.edu/hsihttps://www.salemstate.edu/hsiconferencehttps://www.salemstate.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/The%20SSU%20Roadmap%20to%20Servingness_10_23_WEB.pdfhttps://www.hcc.edu/courses-and-programs/academic-support/el-centrohttps://www.masslive.com/news/2023/09/julissa-colon-helps-latinx-students-succeed-at-holyoke-community-college.htmlhttps://www.hcc.edu/about/news-events-and-media/news-stories/julissa-colon

In this episode of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? we spotlight empirical research that is relevant to HSIs. Our guest, Rogelio Salazar, is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education & Organizational Change program at UCLA's School of Education. Guided by critical frameworks and methodologies that center an intersectional lens in interrogating P-16 policy, their research demonstrates how policies, organizational processes, and practitioners can disrupt or exacerbate existing educational inequities. We talk about dual enrollment (DE) and state promise programs, and specifically the ways that racially minoritized students benefit from or are disadvantaged by these programs. We also discuss mentoring practices for Latine students in HSIs, guided by an article published in the Journal of the Alliance of HSI Educators. Throughout this plática Rogelio offers best practices for ensuring that policies advance equity in practice for Latine, Black and first generation students. Guest: Rogelio Salazar (he/him/el), PhD candidate, UCLA Social Media: X: _rogeliosalazar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogeliosalazar007/ Website: https://linktr.ee/rogeliosalazar APA Citation: Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2024, October 20). Research Spotlight: Dual Enrollment & Promise Programs. (No. 506) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Attachments/Show Notes: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8682z75jhttps://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20591Journal of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators

This episode features Dra. Cyndia Morales Muñiz who serves as Senior Director of HSI Initiatives at University of Central Florida (UCF). Dra. Muñiz led efforts that resulted in UCF becoming a federally recognized HSI in 2019. She now works across the university to develop a centralized vision for maximizing this designation in a way that meaningfully serves students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members from diverse backgrounds. In this episode we learn how she leverages her HSI director role to lead the HSI movement on campus, start conversations about servingness, and encourage faculty and staff to get involved with HSI initiatives. She shares the process of UCF achieving the Seal of Excelencia and highlights the value of using the Seal’s guidelines in conjunction with the servingness framework as a way to transform the campus. She also talks about how the campus has used the HSI designation to open conversations about better serving all students, while holding people accountable for talking specifically about Latine student success. She drops so many gems for all HSI campus leaders and shares many stories of success in achieving federal, private foundation, and corporate grants to be innovative in their servingness efforts. Cyndia Morales Muñiz (She/Her/Ella), Senior Director, HSI Initiatives, University of Central Florida LinkedIn: Cyndia Morales Muñiz, Ed.D. | Facebook: Cyndia Morales Muñiz LinkedIn and Facebook: UCF Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives Instagram: @cyndiamuniz and @ucf_hsi APA Citation: Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2024, October 6). ¿Si No Yo, Quien? HSI Directors Leading the Way (No.505) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Attachments / Show notes: https://access.ucf.edu/hispanic-serving-institution/https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-awarded-5-7m-in-federal-funding-for-hsi-initiatives-through-2027/

In this episode Luis Maldonado teaches us about little “p” policy, or public policy, which includes finding solutions to difficult problems. As a policy advocate and lobbyist working with various organizations in Washington, DC for nearly 30 years, Luis has extensive knowledge on how public policy works. He served as director of government relations for HACU for 9 years, successfully establishing in law the federal authorization to create two important funding programs directed exclusively at HSIs: the Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA), or Title V, Part B, and the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education HSIs Grant program at the National Science Foundation. Luis provides us with an overview of how these programs, that HSIs may now take for granted, came into fruition and the long-term advocacy that was needed. Luis is a storyteller, sharing consejos from the trenches of public policy. He also shares his thoughts on the 2024 election and Project 2025 and offers advice for our listeners to become knowledgeable voters. Luis does servingness from the public policy space, advocating for the students and institutions he cares the most about—Latines and HSIs. Guest: Luis Maldonado (he/him), Vice President for Government Relations, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Social Media: @AASCUPolicy Attachments / Show notes: https://aascu.org/ APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, September 22). HSIs as Public Policy (No.504) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/

Do you know the origin story of HSIs and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)? In this episode we dive into the archives, by way of President Abel Chávez, to learn one perspective on how HSIs and HACU came to be. Dr. Chavez shares how Our Lady of the Lake University, or OLLU, played an integral role in the foundation, hosting an important convening of the first 11 colleges advocating for the designation. On January 22, 1986, the meeting titled, “Predominantly Hispanic Institutions of Higher Education Meeting” took place and a week later a proposal was submitted to the Ford Foundation to fund a “center” for HSIs. This episode reminds us that our HSI historical roots must be documented. Dr. Abel Chávez is the 10th president of OLLU, known as an integrative leader and learner. He is a first-generation, first-in-family college graduate, son of immigrants, and bilingual administrator and academic committed to enhancing quality, access, and affordability for all students while serving the needs of families, economies, and communities. Throughout the episode he conceptualizes what servingness is, advocating for an environment that honors Latine legends of the past and Latine cultures of today. Dr. Chávez is a proud HSI president who envisions HSIs to be a cornerstone of higher education. Guest: Abel A. Chávez (he/him/his) President, Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, September 8). The Origin Story of HSIs & OLLU’s Role (No.503) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Attachments / Show notes: https://www.facebook.com/OurLadyoftheLakeUniversityhttps://www.instagram.com/ollu_saints/https://twitter.com/OLLUnivSATXhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR-p8JyaDh51_v2ufrrpUfghttps://www.flickr.com/photos/127464201@N02/sets/www.ollusa.eduhttps://sanantonioreport.org/hispanic-university-of-america-abel-chavez-commentary/https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.948399/fullhttps://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106162

What is a Historically Black [emerging] HSI? This episode of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? breaks it down and delivers the message you didn’t know you needed to hear. We know that HBCUs are unapologetically Black-serving, historically and authentically, but HSIs aren’t. In this episode we talk about what HSIs can learn from HBCUs with a focus on liberatory curriculum and empowerment pedagogies. We also talk about how HBCUs are good servers to Latine students, and especially Afro-Latine students. Importantly, we talk about the complexities of being an HBCU AND an emerging HSI, and whether it is federally possible to be both. The mujeres in this plática are brilliant, empowered, and melanated! (Future) Dra. Stacey Speller is a Nuyorican doctoral student at Howard University (#HBCUOrgullo). Dra. Dwuana Bradley is an assistant professor at the USC Rossier School of Education examining the ways anti-Black sentiment perpetually undergirds the drivers and levers of federal, state, and institutional policies. Dra. Gina English Tillis is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner with over a decade of experience shaping educational experiences at various HSIs, HBCUs, and emerging Hispanic-serving HBCUs. Dra. Natalie Muñoz is an AfroLatina assistant professor at Rutgers University Newark's social work department researching AfroLatine identity development, mental health equity, and educational justice. These scholar activists not only teach us about HBCU-eHSIs, but model what true academic hermandad looks like. Guests: Stacey Speller (she/her/ella) Graduate Student, Howard University X: @mizzspeller | IG: @mizzspeller | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-speller-8376686a/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacey.speller.75 Dr. Dwuana Bradley (she/her/we) Assistant Professor, University of Southern California X: @dwuanabtweeting https://rossier.usc.edu/faculty-research/directory/dwuana-bradley Dr. Gina Tillis (she/her) Associate Researcher Center for Research on Educational Policy, University of Memphis Dr. Natalie Muñoz (She/her/ella) Assistant Professor, Social Work, Rutgers University X: @curlyprofesora www.nataliemunoz.info APA Citation: Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2024, August 25). Historically Black [emerging] HSIs (No.502) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/ Attachments / Show Notes: https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241242752https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.87.3.0311https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312211027586https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pain-and-promise-dr-gina-tillis-sheri-neely/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1B0lwig55ghttps://blackshearbridge.org/https://www.m13f.org/

We kick off season 5 of ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? with a dynamic duo of Chicana-Latina leaders who serve their campuses and advocate for their colleagues through the Classified Professionals Senate. Classified professionals is a term used in the California Community College system to refer to staff who are in non-faculty, non-counselor, and non-administration roles including administrative assistants, financial aid, facilities, and maintenance, to name a few. This episode elevates our awareness of the ways classified professionals, or staff, advance servingness for students while advocating for classified colleagues on campus. Amparo Medina currently serves as the Student Activities Specialist at Oxnard College and is heavily involved in the Classified Senate where she completed 6 years as the Classified Senate President. Desiree Ortiz works at Irvine Valley College Police Department as the Senior Administrative Assistant and is a past Classified Senate President. Amparo and Desiree describe how their volunteer roles in Classified Senate is essential to servingness, both for students and for their colleagues as they advocate for equitable representation on campus. Amparo Medina (she/her) Student Activities Specialist, Oxnard College https://www.linkedin.com/in/amparocmedina Desiree Ortiz (she/ella/her) Senior Administrative Assistant, Police Services, Irvine Valley College https://www.linkedin.com/in/desiree-ortiz-2ab78863/ Attachments / Show notes: https://www.ccccs.org/nonprofit-organization-about-us/4cs