Artist: Jake Prendez

Hispanic Serving Research Institution (HSRI) + CSI

The federal designation of a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) is an enrollment-driven classification for two-year or four-year not-for-profit institutions of higher education with a minimum 25 percent Hispanic/Latinx undergraduate student population. Scholars within higher education have explored what "serving" means and/or entails across different HSI college and university campuses. UCSB's reputation as a premiere research institution coupled with our dual-status as both an HSI and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), uniquely and advantageously positions research centers at UCSB. Research units hold influential campus roles in supporting research directions, offering research opportunities, and/or showcasing research findings. CSI's mission to promote a research culture among students and post-PhDs to faculty demonstrates how we – as a research unit - serve our campus communities.

CSI views this as a pivotal moment to reimagine UCSB as a Hispanic Serving Research Institution (HSRI) as well as a Minority Serving Research Institution (MSRI) where graduate students and faculty are key institutional actors in promoting research among and about Latinx, immigrant communities. In encouraging more communities of color to enter the academic workforce, we are also training a new diverse generation of UC leadership.

Ultimately, an HSRI viewpoint stresses that research excellence is achieved best through inclusive research practices and collaborations.

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) - Collaborations

UCSB participates in a number of collaborations and coalitions with fellow universities designated as HSIs. Currently, six of the nine UC campuses are designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions with two recognized as "emerging" HSIs a 15% to 25% Latinx undergraduate enrollment. 

UC Hispanic-Serving Institutions Initiative

The UC HSI Initiative brings together researchers, practitioners, community organizations, higher education advocates and student leaders to cultivate fresh ideas and best practices as well as the political will to help campuses leverage their HSI status. 

Campus representatives: Ricardo Alcaíno (Equal Opportunity & Discrimination Prevention Office); D. Inés Casillas (Chicano Studies Institute); and Mario Castellanos (Office of Education Partnerships)

UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council (CLAC)

The UC Chicano/Latino Advisory Council (CLAC) addresses the critical need to meet UC's goals of inclusive excellence by advancing a thriving Chicano/Latino presence on all UC campuses. The Council provides input to UC leadership on approaches to address the lack of representation of Chicanos/Latinos in senior faculty and administrative positions, and it recommends strategies for improving Chicano/Latino student success along the educational pipeline. 

Campus representatives: D. Inés Casillas (Chicano Studies Institute) and Cuca Acosta (Admissions)

Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU)

UCSB is part of this unique Alliance of twenty-one universities that hold the double designation as both an HSI and a research university within the top 5% of universities in the United States, as determined by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. They seek to double the number of Latinx doctorates as well as increase by 20% the number of Latinx faculty by the year 2030.

Campus representatives: Chancellor Henry Yang and D. Inés Casillas (Liasion; Chicano Studies Institute) 

SOL: Strengthening Opportunities for Latinx (UCSB staff/faculty group)

The mission of SOL is to transform the university to be affirmative of diverse perspectives, and facilitate and guide efforts to deconstruct and decolonize structures that limit opportunities and access. We seek to uplift the achievement, equity and advancement of Latinx students, staff and faculty. Working in solidarity with other communities, we create bridges of access to education, and opportunities to advance professional development. We develop leaders who will leave a footprint beyond UCSB, and Santa Barbara. 

Co-chairs: Cuca Acosta (Admissions) and Gerardo Aldana (Chicana and Chicano Studies) 

HSI Action Group (hosted by CSI and the Division of Social Sciences)

A group of faculty within the Social Sciences that meets to discuss how to best demonstrate HSI practices within our division as well as our campus. We meet routinely to address HSI-related research and opportunities to further educate our campus constituents.

Members: Aída Hurtado (Chair), Dana Mastro, Gerardo Aldana, Victor Ríos, and D. Inés Casillas

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) - Student Serving Grants

The following grants were responses to continuing campus calls for research opportunities, hands-on engagement, and for assistance navigating the daily, changing routines of our most vulnerable students. They were collaborative efforts led by the Office of Research with faculty and staff, as well as administrators to seek new ways of serving Latinx undergraduate students.

ONDAS (Opening New Doors To Accelerating Student Success)—The ONDAS Student Center (OSC) was originally funded by a Department of Education Title V HSI grant and now operates as a campus-funded unit. ONDAS functions as a student center that promotes the success and retention of first-generation college students with an emphasis on the first-year transition and underrepresented student experience. The Center provides mentoring and academic support in a learning-centered space for students to connect with faculty, staff, and peers in order to grow personally and excel academically . In practice, they also offer lunches for commuter students, host small group dinners with faculty, sponsor financial workshops, and have championed a “First Gen” campaign on our campus.

ÉXITO (Educational eXcellence and Inclusion Training Opportunities)— The first program of its kind in the UC system, ÉXITO provides a clearly structured pathway for UCSB students to become certified Ethnic Studies teachers. The prorgam offers a “4+1” program in which UCSB students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in an ethnic studies or feminist studies major, then earn a master’s and a teaching credential at the Gevirtz School's Teacher Education Program. Also funded by a Department of Education Title V HSI grant, ÉXITO places aspiring ethnic studies teachers in high school ethnic studies classes and academically prepares them to excel in graduate school.

FUERTE (Field-based Undergraduate Engagement through Research, Teaching, and Education)—A program designed to build students’ foundations to succeed at the university, and to develop the skills they need for a career in conservation and environmental sciences, areas that specifically involve fieldwork when doing the research. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), FUERTE is meant to welcome and support students who are traditionally under-represented in environmental sciences, especially Latinx, Indigenous, Black, and first-generation undergraduates. Because fieldwork is often viewed as an essential yet financially-difficult experience, FUERTE ensures that this opportunity is made possible to Students of Color, including Latinx students.

CEES (Center for Equitable Environmental Sciences)— a program that encourages STEM majors of color to pursue environmental justice internships and careers. Funded by a Hispanic Serving Institute - National Foundation Science (HSI-NSF) grant, CEES was awarded to UCSB in August 2022 (stay tuned for more updates!).

EAEM (Equitable Agriculture and Environmental Management)—in partnership with the University of Arizona and recently awarded a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grant by the US Department of Agriculture, this program will focus on agricultural sciences with a food justice lens (stay tuned for more updates!). 

Art image above "Chicana in College" by artist Jake Prendez