Dear Campus Community,
As we make our way to Spring, we want to take a moment to highlight opportunities, special events, and updates from the Latinx Thriving Initiatives (LTI). Since our last message in September 2022, the LTI Steering and Implementation teams have been collaboratively developing structures, processes, and resources to foster more equitable and responsive opportunities for everyone at UC Berkeley.
One key element of this work is our goal to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by 2027. Seeking HSI designation is part of a broader ecosystem of equity-based endeavors advancing us toward becoming a Latinx Thriving Institution that centers anti-racism and anti-oppression. In conjunction with the goals of the African American Thriving Initiative, our emerging Native American and Asian American and Pacific Islander Thriving Initiatives, and through our pursuit of AANAPISI status, we aim to create a campus where everyone thrives and a UC Berkeley experience where everyone - students, staff, and faculty - can feel valued, supported, and engaged. It is about building community and a culture of belonging across campus. To do that, we must create the conditions that transform UC Berkeley’s systems, policies, protocols, and practices to be more culturally responsive now and in the future.
One small but meaningful act of transformation is moving from hsi.berkeley.edu to lti.berkeley.edu. Updating the domain honors the expansiveness, nuances, and intersections that make up the Latinx community. We invite you to update your bookmark and visit us to take a look at ongoing LTI updates and progress and to opt in to receive updates.
LTI Steering Committee and Implementation Team Updates
In December 2020, the HSI Task Force presented the final Task Force Report to the Chancellor meant to develop a guide and roadmap to becoming an HSI which then pivoted to a broader vision of becoming a Latinx thriving campus community. The report provided some direction that the LTI Steering Committee took and turned into 12 short-term actionable recommendations that have now been passed on to the LTI Implementation Core Team Co-Chairs (more information below). The Implementation Team is in the process of being constituted and membership will start meeting and working mid to late Spring semester. For those interested in forming part in the LTI Implementation Workgroups, please complete this form to nominate yourself. The workgroups are open to faculty, staff, students, and alums with a commitment minimum of at least one year. The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 3rd.
LTI Staff Updates
We are happy to announce the newly appointed LTI Implementation Core Team Co-Chairs Yvette Flores (she/her/hers), Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Educational Partnerships, and Isela Peña-Rager (she/her/ella), Assistant Director of the College of Letters & Science (L&S) Office of Undergraduate Advising. Mitzi Iñiguez (she/her/hers), Engagement Manager with the Centers for Educational Equity and Excellence (CE3), is serving as staff support for the committee.
Serving as Interim LTI Implementation Director is Liliana Iglesias (she/her/hers), Director of the Undocumented Student Program. We will launch the internal search for a permanent LTI Implementation Director this month through Berkeley Jobs and invite interested campus community members to apply. The LTI Implementation Director will be responsible for advancing the campus-wide initiative and providing project management to sequence the recommendations, resources and deliverables to conceive a vision that will lead to the successful implementation of the recommendations of the LTI Steering Committee. Additionally, they will liaise with the LTI Steering Committee and the LTI Implementation Team to ensure project deliverables are met as the project evolves.
Latinx Student Resource Center (LSRC) Update
We want to share an update about the Latinx Student Resource Center (LSRC). Throughout the end of the Fall semester, and into the beginning of Spring, flooding and structural issues left the Center unusable–something we know has caused a significant amount of frustration, disruption, and distress. We share those frustrations while also taking a moment now to express our gratitude to those who have shared their concerns, questions, advocacy, and partnership with us. These solution-oriented conversations and exchanges contributed to the establishment of a temporary space for the LSRC in Hearst Field Annex-B. The Center re-opened in early February and is meeting many of the community’s immediate needs. As campus leadership, we continue to prioritize this issue and are partnering with stakeholders and the community to find a permanent LSRC space before the end of this semester.
News from the Latinx Research Center (LRC)
The historic retrospective of California Chicana feminist artist, Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory, opened at BAMPFA early last month, and will be up through July 23. The exhibition was initiated and supported by the LRC team; it was co-curated by LRC chair, Laura E. Pérez and Chicanx Latinx Studies Program alumna, María Esther Fernández, the inaugural Artistic Director of the Cheech Marin Center of Art and Culture, of the Riverside Museum.
The LRC is preparing to launch the call for its next cohort of Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research Fellowships. Presented to eleven outstanding students and nominated by faculty, the fellowships pair outstanding faculty with outstanding undergraduate students to advance research in US Latinx Studies. A call for applications for graduate student research grants will also be launched shortly. Bookmark the LRC’s website for more information!
Latinx and Democracy Faculty Cluster Hires
Increasing the number of Latinx faculty and faculty whose work touches on the Latinx experience at UC Berkeley is a priority that is crucial to becoming a Latinx Thriving Institution because it will allow us to better reflect who we are as a campus, state, and nation. Therefore, the university has adopted the “faculty cluster hires” strategy to build intellectual communities and diversify the faculty. Cluster hiring recruits and onboards faculty with common academic interests to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary problems to meet a university’s specific goals. This is just another example of how UC Berkeley is changing and reimagining the ways we make this campus more inclusive and welcoming for all.
An interdisciplinary team of professors, led by G. Cristina Mora in Sociology, developed the Latinxs and Democracy cluster hiring process last academic year. This work is essential as it adds richness to the Berkeley community, and in the words of Professor G. Cristina Mora, the cluster "has brought incredible new talent to campus. Their teaching and mentoring will benefit all students, and they will join others in making UCB an important, national center for cutting-edge Latinx Research." They successfully recruited these seven faculty members from across the country and please join us in welcoming them to campus:
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Jenny S. Guadamuz, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health
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Kristina Lovato, Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare
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Lorena Oropeza, Professor, Chicanx Latinx Studies
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Laurent Reyes, Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare
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Michael Rodríguez Muñiz, Associate Professor, Sociology
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Nicholas Vargas, Associate Professor, Chicanx Latinx Studies
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Stephanie Zonszein, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Upcoming Events
AHSIE Conference - March 12-15 in San Francisco
The 15th Annual Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) Best Practices Conference is happening in San Francisco from Sunday, March 12 through Wednesday, March 15, 2023. This conference will be an excellent opportunity to engage with and learn from fellow educators from across the nation who share a commitment to Latinx Thriving work. Vice Chancellor for E&I Dania Matos will be in attendance along with members of the team. We hope to see you there!
Latinx Thriving Initiatives Spring Gathering: Panel & Book Signing with Dr. Gina Ann Garcia - RSVP Today
Join us for our LTI Spring Gathering: Panel & Book Signing with Dr. Gina Ann Garcia on Thursday, March 16th from 4:00-6:30 PM at Anna Head Alumnae Hall (behind Maximo Martinez Commons). Come listen to updates related to LTI and a panel featuring Dr. Gina Ann Garcia, who just recently released her newest book: "Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice." Here’s a peek at our agenda:
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4:00 p.m. Food and book signing
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4:15 p.m. LTI Updates
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4:30 p.m. Panel
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5:30 p.m. More food, community-building time, and more book signing
We’re excited to share that Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion Dania Matos will moderate a panel with Dr. Garcia who will be joined by fellow panelists:
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Dr. Élida Bautista, Chief Diversity Officer, Haas School of Business
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Dr. Maggie Landeros, President, UC Berkeley Chicano Latino Alumni Association;
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Arlyn Moreno Luna, UC Berkeley Ph.D. Doctoral Candidate in Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender Program; and
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Kris Gutiérrez, Carol Liu Distinguished Professor, Associate Dean Berkeley School of Education
After the panel, there will be a book signing with Dr. Garcia and tasty food. The first 100 registrants will receive a free copy of Dr. Garcia's book. We hope to see you there! Register today.
As always, thank you for your continued engagement and deep commitment to supporting the campus’ Latinx Thriving Institution Initiatives. Together, we will transform UC Berkeley into a place where everyone thrives. We look forward to being en comunidad at the Spring Gathering event on March 16th. If you have questions or want to contact us, please email latinxthriving@berkeley.edu.
In community,
Dania Matos
she/her/ella
Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion
Executive Sponsor and Co-Chair of the Latinx Thriving Institution Initiatives
Kris Gutiérrez
she/her/ella
Carol Liu Distinguished Professor, Associate Dean Berkeley School of Education
Faculty Co-Chair of the Latinx Thriving Institution Initiatives
Lisa García Bedolla
she/her/ella
Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate Division and a Professor in the Berkeley School of Education
Co-Chair of the Latinx Thriving Institution Initiatives Steering Committee
Fabrizio D. Mejia
he/him/his
Interim Chief of Staff for Equity & Inclusion and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Equity & Success
Co-Chair of the Latinx Thriving Institution Initiatives Steering Committee
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