Program Topics Overview

We aim to provide relevant information on topics that affect all Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Topics for this year’s conference include:

 

Grant Development and Management

  • Share best practices for effective implementation, management, evaluation, and institutionalization of HSI grant activities

  • Provide examples of effective strategies to develop a case for institutionalization and or examples of scaling up grant activities

  • Provide HSI staff and faculty with the do’s and don’ts to compete successfully for a range of funding sources, including Title III Part F, Title V, USDA, NSF and others

Servingness - Academic:

  • Sessions that offer a culturally responsive approach to education by “serving” students through programs that improve academic outcomes among Latinx, African-American, Native American, first-generation and low-income students. Academic outcomes may include but are not limited to:

    • GPA; DFW rates; course completion

    • Outreach; recruitment; and enrollment

    • Persistence; retention; graduation rates and transfer rates

    • STEM degree completion

    • Employment post-graduation; successful enrollment in graduate or professional school

Servingness - Liberatory:

  • Sessions that offer a social justice approach to education by “serving” students in culturally responsive ways that humanize and empower Latinx, African-American, Native American, first-generation and low-income students. Empowering and liberatory outcomes may include but are not limited to:

    • Mental wellness; sense of belonging

    • Anti-racist orientation; social justice orientation; critical consciousness

    • Political participation; civic engagement; social activism

    • Aspirations for graduate school

    • Positive academic self-concept

    • Racial-ethnic identity

STEMM

  • Highlight innovative programming that creates a sense of belonging and culturally validating space for Latinx students to develop a science identity in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) disciplines

  • Innovate culturally affirming changes to curriculum, examples of culturally responsive pedagogy, programming that increases recruitment or retention of Latinx, African American, and Native American students in STEMM

Professional Development:

  • Focus on innovative practices or programming that guide faculty and staff at HSIs through a reflective process that enhances their cultural humility, skills, and awareness of the multicultural strengths of the Latinx community

  • Include tool (kit) development/implementation, methods for inter- and intra-campus data collection and evaluation, project management, culture shift, meeting facilitation and consensus building, leadership development, equity training, and/or skills to facilitate difficult conversations

  • Provide evidence of institutionalization and/or campus-wide sustainability

For Students, by Students:

  • 40-minute presentations and 60-minute workshops created by undergraduate and or graduate students that:

    • present best practices for engaging undergraduate and or graduate students as active participants and co-creators of HSI efforts

    • center student experiences, knowledge and contributions to HSI efforts

    • describe the successes and challenges faced in centering Latinx student voices in the implementation of HSI efforts

    • model best practices for centering students’ knowledge and contributions in campus decision making and development of the campus HSI identity

    • position students as knowledge holders and experts in the development of HSI efforts including curriculum, pedagogy, tutoring, mentoring, basic needs, and student success efforts

    • supporting graduate and/or undergraduate students through the writing and publishing process, undergraduate research and graduate school exploration, internships and career development, and action-oriented praxis for pre-professional are welcomed