UC Santa Barbara

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a leading role in supporting educational equity, enrolling two-thirds of all U.S. Latino students despite representing less than a fifth of all American higher education institutions. These colleges and universities manage to provide substantial support and prioritize student-centered organizational outcomes with limited resources, receiving nearly a third less federal funding per student compared to the national average. This makes the study of their leadership practices not only relevant but essential for broadening our understanding of effective educational leadership under constraints. This qualitative multiple case study explores the organizational behavior of university presidents at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) by focusing on their navigation of the job, which is shaped by shared governance, diverse student needs, and external pressures. By examining decision-making processes and leadership approaches, this study aims to enhance the effectiveness of colleges and universities in supporting their diverse student bodies. This work not only contributes to academic knowledge but also provides a wide range of perspectives on managing and leading schools in an increasingly diverse educational landscape and offers practical insights for improving leadership across all types of higher education institutions. Using a thematic analytical approach, this research examined two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 12 California HSI presidents from various backgrounds and institutional contexts. The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was employed to investigate 38 critical incidents by the leaders’ utilization of five dimensions of organizational behavior: collegial, bureaucratic, political, systemic, and symbolic. The results indicate that leadership at HSIs typically consists of a multidimensional approach, where presidents often leverage layered strategies to resolve institutional issues. Additionally, the adaptability of leadership approaches in response to various critical incidents and factors—such as the type of institution, source of the incident, and the president’s level of experience—points to the importance of context-dependent practices and decision-making.