UC Santa Barbara

A growing Latinx population within the United States and California has given rise to an increase in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and a proliferation of a new and lesser-known institutional type of HSI, the Hispanic-Serving Research Institution (HSRI). With HSRIs historically being identified as predominantly white institutions (PWI) and HSI designation largely decided by a Latinx enrollment reaching 25%, the question of whether HSRIs are simply “Hispanic-Enrolling” or truly “Hispanic-Serving” is worthy of examination. This study explored and analyzed Servingness and Campus Climate within Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions thorough a qualitative multiple case study design with data collection occurring via interviews with key leaders at two HSRIs. Findings reveal that participants identified a strong focus on community building, intentional organizational structure and planning, leadership engagement at all levels of the institution, and leveraging research institution advantages as important factors contributing to servingness goals and positively impacting campus climate. Moreover, the findings illustrate multiple implications for practice including: creation of a clear and recognizable servingness infrastructure (e.g. Minority-Serving Institution Plans) is critical to meeting servingness goals; intentional efforts to engage with local and external campus vecinos can be a powerful strategy for building community and positively impacting campus climate; and HSRIs are uniquely equipped to enhance the compositional diversity of the professoriate and higher education administration across all HSIs and throughout higher education.