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/