How To Get Involved

            Request a Consultation with the Somos SJSU Team

As the Somos framework is based on both extensive research and practice, those involved in HSI projects should be committed to learning from the research and practice that inform the framework, including participating in on-going training provided by the HSI Working Group and other aligned organizations (e.g., American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Alliance for Hispanic Serving Educators, Excelencia in Education).  

Those seeking to learn about HSI work can consult a growing body of research that emphasizes the concept of “servingness,”  a multidimensional understanding of how to move from merely enrolling Latinx students to genuinely serving them. Garcia (2019) provides the following recommendations for HSI leaders that are aligned with the approach being developed at SJSU:

1. Approach HSI grant opportunities as a vehicle to enable institutional leadership, faculty, and staff to proactively think about what servingness looks like in practice, and fully embrace and outwardly articulate the value of an HSI identity.

2. Define and enact servingness through a race-conscious lens, and seek out a campus environment that is positive and affirming of the race, ethnicity, language, and cultural experiences of Latinx and other minoritized students.

3. Embrace the great diversity within your student body, and seek ways to identify, recognize, and enhance the cultural wealth and knowledge students bring to campus.

4. Prioritize and measure numerous academic and nonacademic outcomes of interest along the spectrum of servingness.

5. Disrupt negative racialized experiences on campus before they happen, using strategies including ongoing training for faculty and staff on how to be anti-racist in policy and practice.

6. Seek to transform all structures that affect the institution’s ability to serve students—governance, leadership, faculty hiring and evaluation, curricular and co-curricular offerings, decision-making processes, incentive structures, training and development, assessment and evaluation, and community engagement, to name a few.