¿Qué pasa, HSIs?

Historic HSIs and Historic Spaces of Servingness

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.edu 
https://eid.nmsu.edu/extra-pages/nsf-hsi-hubs-faculty-fellow/nsf-hsi-hubs-faculty-fellow.html 
Garcia, G. A. & Okhidoi, O. (2015). Culturally relevant practices that “serve” students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Innovative Higher Education, 40(4), 345-357. https://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/
 

Rethinking Developmental Mathematics as Servingness

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.html 
https://www.escalaeducation.com/about-escala/copy-of-our-team 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0162373720973727 
California AB705 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB705 
California AB1705 https://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?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/episode/a3c06889/rethinking-developmental-mathematics-as-servingness

Nerding out on Governing Boards at 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):
Garcia, G. A. & Morgan, D. L. (2025). Mission-based vs. enrollment-based institutions: Segmented governance at a Catholic Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The Review of Higher Education. 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/episode/abacfc74/nerding-out-on-governing-boards-at-hsis 
Show Notes:
https://marsal.umich.edu/directory/faculty-staff/demetri-morgan
https://www.aaup.org/programs/academic-freedom/center-defense-academic-freedom/fellows 
Trustees’ handling of Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure application shows how university boards often fail the accountability test: https://theconversation.com/trustees-handling-of-nikole-hannah-jones-tenure-application-shows-how-university-boards-often-fail-the-accountability-test-161622
ASHE Presidential Podcast Politics: Governance and Governing Boards 
Morgan, D. L. (2021). Nuancing political identity formation in higher education: A phenomenological examination of precollege socialization, identity, and context. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(1), 12–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000153 
Rall, R., Morgan, D., & Commodore, F. (2020). Toward culturally sustaining governance in higher education: Best practices of theory research, and practice. Journal of Education Human Resources, 38(1), 139-164. https//doi.org/10.3138/jehr.2019-0006
Morgan, D. L., Rall, R. M., & Commodore, F. (2023). “Getting to where we need to be”: (Re)envisioning postsecondary education through the Equity X Governance paradigm. In L. W. Perna (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory & Research (38th ed., pp. 1–62). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94844-3_8-1

Transformation Teams Leading HSIs

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
Show Notes:
https://academicaffairs.santarosa.edu/
APA Citation for This Episode: 
Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, March 9). Transformation Teams Leading HSIs (No.604) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/episode/9c7f5c56/transformation-teams-leading-hsis

Federal Politics of HSIs Under 47

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
Show Notes: 
Reports by White House Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics and Latinos
https://www.aahhe.org/
Rodríguez, C. (2019). Achievement, politics, and policy shifts: Expert report on achievement for Martínez/Yazzie v. New Mexico. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 13(3), 116-138. http://dx.doi.org/10.24974/amae.13.3.455
Rodríguez, C., Martinez, M. A., & Valle, F. (2016). Latino educational leadership across the pipeline: For Latino communities and Latina/o leaders. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 15(2), 136-153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192715612914
APA Citation for This Episode:
Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2025, February 23). Federal Policy and Politics of HSIs (No.603) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/episode/b4693131/federal-politics-of-hsis-under-47

Building a Graduate-Going Culture at HSIs

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-ghsis
https://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
Garcia, G. A. & Guzman-Alvarez, A. (2021). Descriptive analysis of graduate enrollment trends at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs): 2005-2015. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 20(2), 196-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192719835681
APA Citation: 
Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, February 9). Building a Graduate-Going Culture at HSIs (No.602) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/episode/9be76898/building-a-graduate-going-culture-at-hsis

Liberatory Outcomes in HSIs

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-papers
Velásquez, P. M. (2024). Cuba’s potential contribution to the success of Chicano students in the U.S.: Directions to decolonize the Raza community. Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal 1, 1. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/rxsj/vol1/iss1/9 
https://www.higheredjobs.com/blog/postDisplay.cfm?post=2256&blog=28
https://studentexperiencenetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SERN_Garcia_042122.pdf
Garcia, G. A. (2021). A love letter to HSI grant seekers/implementers and the federal agencies that fund them: Defining servingness in research, practice, & policy. Journal 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/

Emerging with Intentionality and Joy: Cal Poly SLO

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/hsi
https://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/ 

HSIs Enacted Across Space & Time

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/HispanicServingInstitution 
@ucla_hsi 
https://sjcc.edu/students/academic-programs/metas/default.aspx 
https://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/  

Stories of Transformation & Healing

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.html
https://hss.fullerton.edu/latinxlab/escritores-promotores/
https://hss.fullerton.edu/chicano/faculty/facultyprofile/a_gradilla.aspx