When I reflect back, not only on the year covered in this report, but the past eighteen months, I consider how much effort it has taken to make sure that tens of thousands in our campus and community are safe and healthy (physically and mentally), yet also are able to meet their basic needs, be productive, and serve others. It has been a daunting task, but we are UC Davis, and UC Davis has taken this challenge head on.
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has yet to reach 25% Latinx undergraduate fulltime enrollment, the threshold necessary to formally become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Nonetheless, the campus’ commitment to its HSI initiative and vision stands apart from any official U.S. Department of Education (ED) designation. For more than three years, UC Davis has vigorously developed and pursued its own HSI vision of institutional transformation. Together, campus staff, faculty, students, and alums conceptualized the opportunity at hand and articulated HSI priorities at UC Davis in a path-breaking 2019 report, “Investing in Rising Scholars and Serving California: What it Means for UC Davis to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution.” This brief will highlight the momentum leading to the report as well as what has occurred afterwards in terms of implementation.
