HSI Week celebrates community, collaboration, and student success
Kicking off Latine Heritage Month for four days in September, the CSULB community convened to recognize what it means to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and the shared responsibility that comes with that designation.
This year’s HSI Week brought students, faculty, staff, alumni, the local community, and campus partners together for a series of conversations, activities, and community-building events centered on student success and belonging.
CSULB was first designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2005. Today, 52.4%, or around 22,000 students, of the university’s undergraduate students identify as Hispanic, underscoring both the significance of the designation and the importance of intentionally creating an environment in which all students can feel fully a part of The Beach community.
That work is supported by Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives (HSII), an initiative of the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs established in fall 2024 within the Office of Inclusive Excellence. HSII works across the university to strengthen cultural engagement, faculty and staff development, community partnerships, data-informed practices, and institutional efforts that support student success.
This year’s HSI Week reflected that collaborative approach, with programming developed through partnerships among departments and units across campus.
The week began with an HSI Forum and Zine Activity at the University Library, creating space for the campus community to reflect on CSULB’s HSI identity and what it means to intentionally serve students. The library’s Special Collections and University Archives team facilitated the Zine activity, allowing attendees to get crafty while making a zine on the theme of “Servingness.”
On Wednesday, current undergraduate students and CSULB alumni took center stage during the HSI Research Panel, sharing their research journeys and how their experiences at The Beach helped shape their academic and professional paths. The hybrid event, which included a community Q&A, was presented through a collaboration among HSII, the Office of Undergraduate Research Services (OURS), and the Center for Latino Community Health.
Thursday’s programming continued the focus on student success across the academic journey. Dr. Sandra Pérez and University Honors led the Centering Latine Honors Student Success through Collaborative Institutional Approaches webinar, followed by a Latine Graduate Student Panel featuring grad students from colleges across the university including Ricardo Nieves, Aliyah River, Emma Gonzalez, and Maria Lara.
Later that afternoon, an HSI Faculty and Staff Highlight, presented in partnership with the Chicano and Latino Studies Department, recognized faculty and staff contributing to this work across the university.
HSI Week culminated on Friday evening with ¡Vente a la Carne Asada! Come to the Carne Asada! at the Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center, bringing students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the Beach community together through food, culture, and connection.
The breadth of HSI Week programming reflected the collaborative approach behind CSULB’s HSII work. HSII partnered with several campus partners including the University Library, OURS, the Graduate Center, Latine Resource Center, University Honors, Chicano and Latino Studies, Center for Latino Community Health, and Alumni to create opportunities for dialogue, fun, and intentional community building throughout the week.
Across all seven HSI Week events, 88.3% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt a sense of belonging, while 94.5% agreed or strongly agreed that they saw Latine experiences represented. 93.6% said their event demonstrated CSULB's commitment to serving Latine students. An undergraduate student said, “it was nice to have something that feels like home.”
Together, these events demonstrate that servingness extends beyond any one event, department, or initiative. It is an ongoing institutional commitment at The Beach to understand students’ experiences, strengthen resources, and create a campus environment where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive.
