UC Santa Barbara earned yet another distinction this week when it was announced that the university has been designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) by the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities. The status is a recognition that at least 25% of the student body are Latinos. While three other UC campuses – Merced, Santa Cruz, and Riverside – already hold that designation, UCSB becomes the only HSI that is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), an elite group of 62 leading research universities in the U.S. and Canada.
As an HSI, the university is now eligible to compete for grants and funding for various initiatives, including the acquisition of lab and scientific equipment for teaching; development of faculty; and support services for all students.
Education Ph.D. student Priscilla Pereschica is doing her dissertation research on Hispanic-Serving Institutions.One UCSB graduate student who was happy to hear this news is Priscilla Pereschica, a fourth-year doctoral student in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education whose emphasis is Educational Leadership and Organizations. The GradPost featured Priscilla in a Graduate Student in the Spotlight column in October 2014.
Priscilla, who also works on campus as a Conduct Officer in the Office of Judicial Affairs, grew up in the Central San Joaquin Valley. “As a first-generation college student, I faced barriers, lacked the appropriate knowledge and capital, and often navigated the process alone,” Priscilla told the GradPost. “My experiences influenced my research interests, and I wanted to understand how to increase degree completion rates for students of color and how institutions can best serve their underrepresented populations.”
Those dissertation research interests focus on Hispanic-Serving Institutions. “I got involved in HSI research through my former advisor, Patricia Marin. We are working on a research project that examines the perspectives of graduate students as their institution transforms into a Hispanic-Serving Institution,” she said. “For example, we sought to understand if this transformation has any meaning to them and if they thought that graduate students should have a role in this process. What’s interesting about our research is that the HSI definition is only contingent on the undergraduate student population, yet many of our graduate student participants believed that they could and should have a role in this process since they interact with undergraduate students in a number of capacities.”
"I want people to know that the Hispanic-Serving Institution status will benefit all students, and not just Latino students. This HSI status also means that UCSB is becoming a bit more diverse and accessible, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of UCSB’s diversity."
– Education Ph.D. student Priscilla Pereschica
There are several reasons Priscilla is both proud and excited that UC Santa Barbara has become an HSI. “First, as a Latina, I believe this milestone highlights the fact that my community is enrolling in college at an increasing rate and, on top of that, we have an increasing number of Latinos enrolled in this top-tier research university," she said. "It’s not enough to just enroll more Latino students. We have to truly serve them and ensure that they are completing their degrees by providing the appropriate support and resources. It will be interesting to see how the university will transition with its new status and how our campus community will embrace it. I want people to know that the HSI status will benefit all students, and not just Latino students. This HSI status also means that UCSB is becoming a bit more diverse and accessible, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of UCSB’s diversity. Another important piece of this milestone is that UCSB is the first member of the Association of American Universities, which is a select group of the top-tiered research universities, to become an HSI. The majority of HSIs are state colleges and community colleges, so UCSB is changing the landscape of what HSIs have historically been.”
Graduate Division Dean Carol Genetti agrees with Priscilla that this designation ultimately is a benefit for all. “It is exciting to know that more and more students of Chicano/Latino backgrounds are gaining access to UCSB's cutting-edge research and faculty,” Dean Genetti said. “This will allow us to prepare many more students for graduate school and beyond, so we can develop all that untapped talent, diversify our perspectives, and increase Chicano/Latino impact on the state, the nation, and the world.”
For more information, read the Office of Public Affairs and Communications news release and a Los Angeles Times article.