Advancing “Intersectional Servingness” in Research, Practice, and Policy With Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Abstract

There has been a surge in the number of Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), which are degree-granting, nonprofit, postsecondary institutions that enroll at least 25% Hispanic/Latinx/e undergraduate students. Although HSI scholarship has increased dramatically since around 2010, there is still a gap in knowledge about individuals who fall within the “H” and the diversity among HSIs themselves. Using critical theory and critical methods, the articles in this special topic collection explore the complexities of the Hispanic/Latinx/e identity and the various ways that HSIs fall short of and meet the challenges of serving students at the intersections of identity. This introduction provides a brief overview of the eight articles in this collection and explains the need for this critical approach to HSI scholarship, which we call “intersectional servingness.” We outline the contributions of these eight articles and call on practitioners, scholars, policy intermediaries, funders, and federal agencies to consider the complexities of the “H” while making decisions, advancing research, implementing policies, and creating funding streams that will enhance intersectional servingness.

Security as servingness: Examining links between food insecurity and performance at a Hispanic-serving institution.

“…We draw from our own experiences to make sense of the findings and from multidisciplinary perspectives (e.g., higher education, psychology). As such, this work speaks and adds to growing literature on servingness and aligns with recent calls from scholars to consider servingness from an intersectional perspective (Garcia & Cuellar, 2023). We draw attention to the importance of basic needs as an important indicator of servingness for those who “rely on college for their sustenance and security” (Imad, 2020).…”

“It Was Hard, and It Still Is . . .”: Women of Color Navigating HSI STEM Transfer Pathways

“…Scholars have argued that the structural diversity of HSIs may decrease isolation and promote a culture of inclusivity to better support Latinx and other underrepresented students in STEM (Madsen Camacho & Lord, 2011). However, the foundational premise for HSI servingness asserts that the presence of Latinx students is not enough (Garcia & Koren, 2020). Even so, this representation (across gender and race) was often absent from STEM-specific environments within HSIs and dwindled as WOC moved up in their STEM trajectories (Riegle-Crumb & King, 2010).…”

“…Along with taking an intersectional approach (Crenshaw, 1989;Núñez, 2014) that examines intersectional identities and the dynamics across institutional contexts, the study is informed by Garcia and colleagues' (2019) multidimensional framework of HSI servingness. As we uniquely center the role of HSI contexts in WOC's STEM transfer pathways, this framework shapes our understanding of what it means to move from enrolling Latinx students to intentionally serving them (Garcia & Koren, 2020). HSI servingness involves institutional structures for serving (e.g., diversity of faculty, staff, administrators; culturally relevant curriculum; programs and services for minoritized students; and so forth), which contribute to validating experiences and academic and non-academic outcomes (Garcia et al, 2019).…”

“…Moving beyond deficit perspectives, which focus on the number of WOC who switch out of STEM majors or pursue non-STEM careers, we challenge HSIs to consider the institutionalized practices and STEM disciplinary culture that continue to invalidate WOC's experiences in STEM. Moreover, we offer several suggestions for enhancing structures for servingness at HSIs by improving institutional policies and practices (Garcia & Koren, 2020) to encourage inclusion for WOC in STEM. Such measures could potentially increase access to higher education and careers in STEM for WOC and improve their experiences within the STEM disciplines.…”

Seeking to Serve or $erve? Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ Race-Evasive Pursuit of Racialized Funding

“…Considering these trends and the federal government's reluctance to define servingness beyond these enrollment criteria (Garcia & Koren, 2020), multiple scholars have questioned and helped define what "Hispanic-serving" or "servingness" means in theory and what it could or should mean in practice (e.g., Garcia, 2017Garcia, , 2019Garcia, & Okhidoi, 2015;Garcia & Zaragoza, 2020;Jones & Sáenz, 2020;Marin, 2019). Among such work, Garcia et al (2019) conducted a systematic analysis of the HSI literature "to conceptualize what 'servingness' means in relation to HSIs and Latinx students" (p. 746).…”