Differing Perspectives on Being a Hispanic-Serving College in a Predominately White Institution (Poster 11)

• In Event: Constructing Educational Possibilities for Latin* Engineering Students: Call to Action for the Institutions and Systems That Serve Them

Abstract

Objectives & Theoretical Framework
This study is concerned about the stagnation in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) around creating inclusive conditions for Latinx students in engineering programs (Capers, 2019). We need more research that amplifies the voices of Latinx engineering students, telling their truth about navigating spaces that were built for white students’ success.

Modes of Inquiry
This qualitative case study investigated a college of engineering’s goal of becoming a Hispanic-Serving College within a larger PWI, through the perspectives of administrators, faculty, and Latinx alumni.

Data Sources
We used a phenomenological approach to interview the three college-level administrators and three mid-level faculty leaders. These faculty participants were recruited from different departments, held the rank of associate professor, and occupied mid-level leadership positions. The faculty held majority racial and gender identities in engineering. When gathering data from the three Latinx alumni who participated in our study, we used testimonios as the methodology (Anzaldúa, 1990; Author, 2022).

Results
College leaders and faculty need to work together to support Latinx students. Leadership pointed to the need for increased Latinx faculty, robust support for transfer students, funding for Latinx students, and equity-minded student services. Leadership also underscored the need for increased accountability measures for integrating this work into the core of college activity, rather than as grant-funded special projects. Mid-level faculty asked for more support from the college to expand their understanding of Latinx students’ needs and broaden representation in their classrooms and research teams. They perceived that this work was undervalued by their college, because of the lack of articulated vision, lack of resources, and disconnection to other core college activities.

Latinx students and alumni need a greater voice in this change process. The Latinx alumni extended the leadership’s call for greater faculty representation to include leadership too. They claimed that college leaders and faculty need more preparation to recognize and meet Latinx students’ needs. They discussed feeling excluded from many existing initiatives and support programs due to unwelcoming faculty, lack of communal spaces, and no opportunities to build affinity-based groups. Finally, they shared ways faculty could make the curriculum more accessible, eliminating assumptions about prior exposure to engineers and their work.

Scholarly Significance
The strategies outlined in our study’s results require a focus on Latinx student voices while ensuring that the work must not fall on the Latinx students themselves. Developing a systems thinking approach is a good starting point for colleges already working on serving Latinx students. Colleges just beginning this work can focus on educating staff and faculty about the lived experiences of their Latinx students and alumni. Additionally, they can begin with low effort, yet high impact inclusive practices in events and courses such as asking students about themselves, providing spaces to reflect, and taking time to learn students’ names, which help Latinx students feel like they matter and belong (Gonzalez et al., 2020).

Authors

• Diana Garza, Wenatchee Valley College

• Esther A. Enright, University of Maine