Book Dr. Garcia
Keynotes
Advancing Racial Justice at Hispanic Serving Institution
This keynote address is recommended for HSIs or other racially and ethnically diverse colleges and universities that are struggling with racism and microaggressions across campus. In this talk Dr. Garcia argues that in order for HSIs to effectively transform towards a mission of racial equity and social justice, there must be an intentional effort to acknowledge, address, and reconcile the ways that systemic racism lives within postsecondary institutions. She highlights the ways that whiteness manifests in colleges and universities, drawing from empirical examples within the HSI context, and explores ways to disrupt the factors that reproduce inequities in outcomes and experiences for people of color. Dr. Garcia challenges audience members to think about how racism and microaggressions are indicators that institutions are not adequately serving people of color.
Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions
This keynote address is recommended for colleges and universities that may not be HSIs (yet) or just beginning their journey towards this designation. It’s also good for colleges and universities that are not HSIs but trying to understand how to serve an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate population. Dr. Garcia draws from her book Becoming Hispanic Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges and Universities, describing the different “types” of HSIs: Latinx-enrolling, Latinx-enhancing, Latinx-producing, and Latinx-serving. She then provides evidence of how HSIs fit within these types based on empirical data collected with three HSIs in Chicago. Dr. Garcia challenges audience members to think about how becoming an HSI is an individual process for each college and university.
Centering Student Voices at Hispanic Serving Institution (HSIs
This keynote address is recommended for HSIs that are trying to understand how to better serve Latinx students and other students of color. Dr. Garcia will discuss current research about students at HSIs and center their voices. This includes Latinx students, Black students, Indigenous students, Mixed Race students, and Asian American students. The focus is on the ways that students are making sense of servingness. Dr. Garcia calls on participants to engage students in HSI conversations and provides examples of how it can be done.
Defining Servingness in Practice at Hispanic Serving Institutions
This keynote address is recommended for colleges and universities that have already achieved the HSI designation and are figuring out what it means to be an HSI in practice, beyond the 25% enrollment of Hispanic/Latinx students. Dr. Garcia discusses her book Hispanic Serving Institutions in Practice: Defining “Servingness” at HSIs, which is an edited volume offering 16 chapters written by Title III and Title V Directors at HSIs across the country. She lays out the Multidimensional Conceptual Framework for Understanding “Servingness,” providing a definition of the concept of servingness. She talks about the “structures for serving” and gives examples of how HSIs are transforming their structures in practice. She also complicates the “indicators of serving,” providing examples of how HSIs can assess the extent to which they are serving Latinx students. Dr. Garcia challenges audience members to think about servingness as a multidimensional concept that can be addressed in unique ways by each college and university.
Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions
This keynote address is recommended for colleges and universities that have already achieved the HSI designation and that are actively enacting servingness through HSI grant activities and other culturally relevant approaches. It’s also good for colleges and universities that are not HSIs but looking for unique approaches to organizing for equity and justice. Dr. Garcia talks about her book, Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for Equity & Justice, and provides an organizational framework that advances equity, justice, and liberation for racialized organizations. She lays out the framework, which includes nine organizational dimensions, and offers examples from practice. Dr. Garcia encourages audience members to think about how committing to equity and justice is grounded in concepts about organizational change and transformation.
Training Workshops
Assessing Servingness in Practice at Hispanic Serving Institutions
This workshop pairs well with the keynote of the same name but can also be effective as a standalone workshop. All campus constituents are invited to discuss and assess the institution’s progress towards enacting servingness. This workshop is ideal for campuses that have access to data about student outcomes and experiences (e.g., graduation rates, persistence rates, IPEDS, Diverse Learning Environments, NSSE, CECE, campus climate surveys, etc.). Those who have knowledge of programs, services, and curricula that serve Latinxs and other minoritized students will also benefit from this workshop. This training is hands-on, with participants asked to assess both the “structures for serving” and the “indicators of serving,” using the Multidimensional Conceptual Framework for Understanding “Servingness” as a guide.
Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions
This workshop pairs well with the keynote of the same name but can also be effective as a standalone workshop. Participants will engage with ideas from the book Becoming Hispanic Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges and Universities. The training is hands on, beginning with a look at the Typology of HSI Organizational Identities and guided by prompts to help participants determine the type of HSI their institution currently is: Latinx-enrolling, Latinx-producing, Latinx-enhancing, or Latinx-serving, and the type it wants to become. Dr. Garcia provides tangible ways for faculty to rethink their classroom practices, staff to elevate support services that center students’ intersectional identities, and administrators to make decisions that consider the needs of Latinxs and other students of color.
Developing Social Justice Curriculum in Hispanic-Serving Institutions
This training is for faculty and instructors who develop and deliver the curriculum at their institution. Dr. Garcia provides an overview of HSIs and discusses the importance of becoming “Latinx-enhancing,” offering suggestions for how to center Latinxs and other minoritized students in the curriculum and classroom. She also provides a definition of social justice in the curriculum, stressing the need for faculty across the institution, from STEM to humanities and professional schools, to think about equity and justice outcomes. This training is hands-on, allowing faculty to evaluate their syllabi and reflect on their own pedagogical practices.
Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions
This workshop pairs well with the keynote of the same name but can also be effective as a standalone workshop. This training is for campus administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. It will help all campus constituents think about various aspects of the campus that must be addressed for long-term organizational change towards equity and justice, including mission, purpose, curriculum, programs, services, governance, leadership, and external partnerships. Guided by the Transforming HSIs organizational framework, Dr. Garcia provides an experience that is hands-on and helps participants conceptualize organizational transformation on their campus.