Lives intertwined: A primer on the history and emergence of minority serving institutions.

Abstract

In this article, we provide an overview-a primer-of the rise of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) as context for understanding the contemporary place of these institutions in our broader system of higher education. We also demonstrate how the emergence and the evolution of MSIs stem from our nation's struggle to provide equal educational opportunities to minority communities. Throughout the article, we interweave the shared and individual struggles as well as the successes across these 4 major types of MSIs. Woven throughout this narrative, we explore in-depth (a) the role of the federal government in both suppressing and elevating higher education for minorities, and (b) the impact of various groups and individuals on the growth of MSIs. It is through the historical legacy of MSIs that we showcase how these institutions came to represent the voices and concerns of minority communities to take control and manage their own education. We conclude the article with a snapshot of the place of each of the 4 types of MSIs in contemporary higher education and recommendation for future research.

The Higher Education Act and Minority Serving Institutions: Towards a Typology of Title III and V Funded Programs

“…The majority of these studies is qualitative and explores the benefits to students of culturally driven pedagogies, support services, and course work [26,27,30,33,34]. Culturally relevant pedagogies emphasize the cultural empowerment of a student's background and community.…”

Centering epistemologies on the margins and borders: reflections on an Hispanic-serving institution’s attempts to embrace equity and cultural wealth

“…While critical communication pedagogy (CCP) scholars have continued to call out the lack of attention to race and intersecting identities, Dannels' recent call leads me to ask: to what extent do scholars of communication instruction, education, and pedagogy understand/feel/think about questions of race, racism, and whiteness differentially across identity positions, in general, and in particular in institutional spaces meant to address racism such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Universities and Colleges, and Tribal Colleges? Racism and whiteness affects all institutions, including minority-serving institutions such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) (e.g., Gasman & Conrad, 2015). Gasman and Conrad (2015) explain that minority-serving institutions emerge, evolve, and "stem from our nation's struggle to provide equal educational opportunities to minority communities" (p. 120).…”

“…Racism and whiteness affects all institutions, including minority-serving institutions such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) (e.g., Gasman & Conrad, 2015). Gasman and Conrad (2015) explain that minority-serving institutions emerge, evolve, and "stem from our nation's struggle to provide equal educational opportunities to minority communities" (p. 120). Nevertheless, it is much easier to become a minority-serving institution in name than in actual institutional practices and outcomes.…”

“…Also, this acknowledgement suggests that the problem of racism (in higher education) is not new but omnipresent, including at minority-serving institutions. What is new at this moment is growing attention to minority-serving institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and more recently HSIs to offer new models or serve as leaders in better tackling such problems (Gasman & Conrad, 2015). Grounded in my commitment to CCP and my subjectivity as a racialized/ gendered/immigrant Other, I will unpack pedagogical lessons that I have learned from my involvement in a diversity initiative at an HSI located at the U.S.-Mexico border.…”

Editors' Notes

“…Title V funding is not mandated nor guaranteed for all HSIs. Rather, HSIs must meet stringent criteria as outlined by the federal government to qualify to apply for competitive grants “because it was not based on a compensatory rationale, but instead a demographic increase and shift” (Gasman, Nguyen, & Conrad, , p. 9). Second, although the most recent appropriation of $95 million may seem like a significant increase from the original $12 million, Title V funds have been substantially cut in recent years.…”