El Centro de la Raza and Campus Partners hosting expert on transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions

The University of New Mexico is one of 600 schools in the country to hold the title of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). While UNM wears that title proudly, El Centro de la Raza, which has served as a resource center on campus for 55 years, says more can be done to establish an identity, praxis, and infrastructure to support Hispanic students, faculty, and staff. That is why El Centro with various campus partners is hosting an event this year to strengthen UNM's Hispanic-Serving identity.

El Centro de la Raza will be hosting Dr. Gina Ann Garcia, a professor of education at The University of California-Berkeley, and the author of Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice, on how to better serve and ensure success for Latinx students. The symposium called, Transforming UNM's HIS Identity and Praxis: Beyond Hispanic-Enrolling to Hispanic-Serving will take place on Friday, Oct. 4, inside the Student Union Building Ballrooms from8 a.m. to 3 p.m.All are welcome to attend.

The goal, according to El Centro, is to have a conversation with the academic leadership and community to explore what it means to be an HSI such as addressing an infrastructural disconnect between the university and Hispanic populations (funding, support, and programming). The center hopes Garcia can help create an action plan for UNM that goes beyond Hispanic enrollingto Hispanic serving.

"Institutional practices must value and acknowledge the diverse UNM community by creating opportunities that advance the successes of Hispanic/Latinx students," the release states. "It is important to understand that Chicanx/Latinx students are not a monolith, and we do not truly know who we are serving, nor can we attend to their distinct experiences and needs which are shaped by many social factors such as race, gender, class, and ethnicity, etc., which influence their navigation and success within higher education institutions."

According to the U.S. Department of Education, an HSI is a higher education institution with an enrollment of full-time undergraduate students who are at least 25% Hispanic.

Campus community can register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzdP6ywIc8BVAEalx-o7UgFKEKFU0UvWZq7ww8-y4F5WelLw/viewform

More details can be found at El Centro's website.