Serving on their own terms: Challenging dominant HSI narratives through a Puerto Rican HSI perspective

• In Event: We Demand More: Expanding our Frames and Approaches to Serve the Needs of OUR Community

Abstract

Research has extensively explored what it means to be a Hispanic Serving Institution, defining organizational structures and indicators of “servingness.” However, Puerto Rican institutions are rarely represented in HSI literature. Using qualitative case study analysis, we identified how HSI status is understood and how servingness is articulated by students, staff, administrators, and faculty at two Puerto Rican HSIs. Participants expressed conflicted feelings about the HSI label while recognizing its value. Despite grappling with what it means to be an HSI, participants articulated three key ideas for how “servingness” is enacted in Puerto Rico. Participants expressed that their institutions have a responsibility to serve 1) students’ intersectional needs, 2) the Hispanic diaspora, and 3) la patria (the homeland). 

Authors

• Lauren M. Shook, University of Texas - El Paso

• Edwin J. Perez, University of Texas - El Paso

• Anne-Marie Nunez, University of Texas - El Paso