Given the rapid growth of Latinx college students, there is a need to understand Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) especially open-access, two-year colleges. Latinx students disproportionately attend HSI community colleges for a variety of reasons and their poor outcomes are of great concern given the impact on our future workforce. Understanding what leadership looks like at HSIs, and how to fortify leadership that can, ultimately, improve outcomes for Latinx students, a traditionally underrepresented, underserved minority group, contributes to our social goals of greater equity. A mixed-methods approach is used to investigate leadership at 7 HSIs community colleges. A case-study approach and descriptive statistics are used to draw from multiple data sources to examine leadership, leadership styles, and the impact of such leadership on stakeholders. This study juxtaposes three institutions situated in a socio-political context where no state funding exists for community colleges while other institutions have a myriad of funding sources and qualitatively different socio-political contexts. This multi-state study furthers our understanding of challenges faced by leaders at Hispanic-Serving Institution community colleges and offers valuable evidence on how to improve student experiences, retention, graduation, and transition to post-secondary opportunities. This study asks how federal and state policies affect leadership at these institutions. It identifies the main challenges facing leaders in these essential organizations and promising practices. Given that Latinx students are the fastest growing school-aged population in the U.S., failing to address poor outcomes at these colleges will have a detrimental effect on our most marginalized communities.

Authors:
Anthony Hernandez, University of Wisconsin Madison, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Anthony Hernandez is a University Postdoctoral Fellow or Instructor at University of Wisconsin Madison , United States

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