Dr. Garcia is a leading thinker and researcher on HSIs and we have used her work to guide our planning. Gina’s research provided us with a framework and language to make sense of our transformation and the potential to serve Latinx students to the best of our ability. Her guidance is practical yet grounded in research and she provides higher education leaders with many insights on HSIs at various stages of development. Most importantly, Dr. Garcia pushes our thinking and consciousness to act--beyond a conceptual commitment. I appreciate that her innovative and forward thinking on HSIs.

Pablo G. Reguerín, Ed.D.

Associate Vice Chancellor, Student Achievement & Equity Innovation

University of California, Santa Cruz 

We invited Dr. Garcia to campus to be the keynote speaker for a day of reflection around our efforts to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution. She was outstanding - not only is she a foremost expert on HSIs, she made her work accessible to a broad audience and is incredibly engaging.   We were excited to be able to invite her back as both a consultant and a presenter - through a series of workshops, Dr. Garcia presented our University Leadership Council with a framework for "decolonizing HSIs," equipped faculty with culturally-enhancing pedagogical practices, and provided opportunities for campus stakeholders to think critically about what it means to be truly Latinx-serving.  The follow-up consultation report expertly wove together the scholarship on HSIs with what she gleaned from listening sessions, shining a light on areas that would require our attention moving forward as we aim to not only attract underrepresented students to our campus, but also be intentionally inclusive and supportive. I still reference this report in conversations with university leaders. We learned so much from our time with Dr. Garcia and our campus is a better place for it! 

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Jacki Black

Associate Director for Hispanic Initiatives

Marquette University