In a significant advancement for university-wide initiatives aimed at closing equity gaps, UC Santa Cruz has been awarded a $3 million Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Centering Undergraduate Latinx Thriving with University Racial-Equity Action (CULTURA) Project, a five-year initiative, aims to enhance campus climate and foster a sense of belonging for Latiné students, while improving retention and graduation rates and increasing transfer student enrollment.
Current UCSC student Saúl Ordaz shares, “As a Latiné student at UCSC, I believe it is crucial for the university to provide the equitable resources I need to be successful.” Ordaz, who was part of the grant development team and is now a lead intern with El Centro, adds, “This grant will give us the funds necessary to continue expanding our programming to support the diverse Latiné population, the resources we need to succeed holistically, and the opportunity to get involved in transforming our campus as an HSI.”
What it means to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution
Being an HSI signifies more than just a designation; it embodies UC Santa Cruz’s commitment to serving Latiné students and enhancing their educational experience. As one of only 22 Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions (HSRIs) nationwide, the campus is proud to be at the forefront of change. Since earning this designation in 2014, UCSC has been awarded nine Department of Education HSI grants funding programs that promote educational equity, cultural inclusivity, and academic achievement. By demonstrating positive student outcomes through this work, UCSC has also earned the prestigious Seal of Excelencia certification.
Goals and key initiatives of the CULTURA Project
The CULTURA Project focuses on serving Latiné students with goals to increase retention and graduation rates, improve campus climate and students’ sense of belonging, boost transfer student enrollment from partner community colleges, and enhance coordination among campus partners.
Launched on October 1, 2024, the project includes four key initiatives:
- Strengthening El Centro: Expanding programs and internships at the Latiné Student Servingness Campus Hub, including bilingual service offerings for families and prospective students.
- Latiné Student Success: Coordinating holistic coaching and advising services, warm handoff processes, and increasing validating experiences.
- Health Professions Pathways: Holding articulation summits with community college faculty, using UCSC student ambassadors for outreach to community college students and providing peer mentoring for new transfer students interested in health care careers.
- HSI Servingness Research Internships: Offering robust research training opportunities for undergraduates and informing new research on student success within HSIs.
A focus on student collaboration and engagement
Central to the CULTURA Project is the active involvement of students, whose insights will shape its initiatives and drive new possibilities for institutional change.
The HSI Servingness Research Internships center students as the main drivers of new research projects aimed at influencing UCSC’s institutional practices and policies in our campus’s vision of what it means to be HSRI. Dr. Rebecca Covarrubias, HSI Servingness Component Lead and Faculty Co-Principal Investigator, highlights this transformative potential: “I’ve witnessed research transform students’ lives—both in its capacity to inform better support practices and in its capacity to position students as architects of their own stories.”
As a co-founder of the new HSI Research Colectiva, a national collaboration focused on bridging research, practice, and policy on HSIs in California, Dr. Covarrubias understands the CULTURA grant as an innovative effort to build UCSC’s capacity as an HSRI and to model this for other campuses. CULTURA does this by elevating students as experts, building new campus partnerships, and drawing on UCSC’s established programs that have long supported this campus.
Echoing this sentiment, Xiomara López, Latiné Servingness Component Lead and Director of El Centro, emphasizes the importance of fostering a supportive community. “For 30 years, El Centro has served as a hub of activities and resources that support student transition, retention, graduation, and academic advancement,” she explains. “We help students build a strong sense of belonging by providing a supportive, culturally relevant, and inclusive environment that addresses both their academic and personal needs.”
With CULTURA, El Centro is set to expand its programming, including more student-led workshops, while incorporating student voices through a Student Advisory Equipo. By also offering paid internships, the project ensures that students are not only participants but leaders in their educational journeys.
This collaborative, community-focused approach will ensure that the project’s goals are met in ways that are culturally relevant and sustainable.
Community engagement and partnerships
The CULTURA Project will partner with local community colleges, organizations, and high schools to implement its initiatives. Staff from the Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP), Services for Transfer Re-Entry and Resilient Scholars (STARRS), Campus Advising, and the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) will also play key roles in project implementation and evaluation.
Health Professions Pathways Component Lead and Faculty Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Grant Hartzog highlights the urgency of this initiative. He notes, “There is a critical shortage of healthcare workers in California. This shortage is at crisis levels in rural and agricultural communities and is predicted to worsen. By focusing on students in community colleges that serve these communities, the CULTURA program will recruit and support those individuals who are most motivated and best positioned to address the health needs of the most vulnerable populations in the state.”
Looking ahead: Commitment to equity and student success
The UC Office of the President has set the goal that every UC campus will graduate 70% of its students in 4 years, to eliminate equity gaps, decrease students’ debt, and advance their social mobility. The CULTURA Project directly contributes to this goal by creating pathways for Latiné and low-income students, ensuring they have the support needed to succeed.
CULTURA represents a transformative opportunity for meaningful institutional change at UC Santa Cruz. As Charis Herzon, Principal Investigator and Director of HSI Initiatives, emphasizes, “As an HSI we must seek structural transformation to effectively tap into the strengths and knowledge our Latinx students bring to meet our mission of developing our students' talent and future leaders. Our campus’s ability to be successful in the promises we made to students and families when they were admitted to UCSC and meet the UC Compact goals ask us to lean into a race-conscious reflexive practice to examine Latinx and all racially minoritized students' experiences and outcomes invoking a culture of praxis and collaboration. HSI grants give us a structure to innovate and incubate new practices.”
Looking forward, Herzon adds, “The long-term impact for structural and culture shifts are within our grasp provided we work together weaving and aligning efforts for permanent systemic transformation. UCSC has a bright future given the talent of our students and the dedication that practitioners and administrators bring as a proud Hispanic-Serving Research Institution.”
Dr. Ebonée Williams, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Equity, shares this optimism: “It is so exciting to have our campus gain resources that will directly serve our students that was proposed through the collaborative work of staff, faculty, and students across divisions on our campus.”
For more information on current HSI grants and initiatives, visit the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives website. For additional details about the CULTURA grant, please contact Principal Investigator Charis Herzon at charish@ucsc.edu.
A closer look: definitions and details within this story
HSI: A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is a college or university that enrolls at least 25% Hispanic/Latiné students and is committed to supporting their educational success through dedicated programs and resources.
Servingness: This term, as conceptualized by UC Berkeley faculty and leading HSI scholar Dr. Gina Garcia, refers to the ability of colleges and universities to educate Latinx students through a culturally enhancing approach that leads to both academic and non-academic outcomes.
Student Success: Regardless of their entry point, each individual is entitled to transformative experiences. Students have the opportunity, privilege, and access to engage in learning and unlearning various definitions of achievement. We are responsible for creating the conditions for students to achieve their self-determined goals, experience validation, develop as contributing members of the community, and expand their possibilities.
HSI Initiatives: HSI Initiatives, part of the Division of Student Affairs and Success at UCSC, is committed to long-term change efforts that ensure Latiné students wholeheartedly take part in the campus community, find success on their educational journey, and graduate to make an impact in the world.
UCSC’s Division of Student Affairs and Success (DSAS) encompasses nearly 800 professional staff and 1700 student staff spanning five major units. Our division cultivates an equity-centered environment that fosters scholars and change agents. To learn more, visit our website and follow @ucsc.dsas on Instagram.
