Co-creating with Colegas: Examining Staff’s Perception of Workplace Climate at a Texas HSI Community College

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Abstract

Most research on Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) do not focus on academic staff’s experiences, particularly within community college contexts. This study addresses that gap by exploring the workplace experiences of academic staff at a South Texas HSI community college. Grounded in personalismo and humility (Manzo et al., 2020) and employing the Tailored Critical Methodological Approach (García-Louis et al., 2023), the study analyzed 512 open-ended responses collected from 170 staff participants. Findings highlight how academic staff actively contribute to the institutional goal of servingness through labor, communal values, and sustained peer support. The study expands current understandings of servingness by centering staff voices and emphasizing the need for inclusive, culturally grounded frameworks that reflect realities of those who support students beyond the classroom.

Authors

• Monica Hernandez, University of Texas - San Antonio

• Claudia García-Louis, The University of Texas San Antonio

• Eric Luis Uriegas, University of Texas - San Antonio