In 2018, Chancellor Carol Christ announced UC Berkeley’s commitment to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) within the next ten years, one of the ‘boldest goals’ in the university’s strategic plan(link is external). Becoming an HSI is not just about a designation based on meeting a numerical target. We are striving to create a campus where every student thrives. In the Chancellor’s words, this happens through “the commitment that all students have equal access to Berkeley’s extraordinary opportunities.”
Becoming an HSI is not an end goal but a continual space to develop “servingness” which is conceptualized as the ability of HSIs to enroll and educate Latinx students through a culturally-enhancing approach that centers Latinx ways of knowing and being, with the goal of providing transformative experiences that lead to both academic and non-academic outcomes.
As a public institution, the University of California, Berkeley has a responsibility to serve the people of California, which includes reflecting the demographics of our state; being a vehicle for social mobility and equity; and providing education, research, and public service to California, the nation, and the world.
This effort stands on the shoulders of all the students, alumni, staff, and faculty who have worked for decades to support Berkeley’s Latinx community. Our Latinx Thriving Initiatives will leverage Berkeley’s Latinx community’s diversity and strengths, honoring the specificity and diversity of communities, collective knowledge, cultural identities and experiences that exist within it. Receiving a federal HSI designation is just a part of this journey. The vision is far greater.
In Gratitude: The path toward a Latinx Thriving university has been paved by the tireless efforts of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners -- lxs activistxs -- whose contributions and dedication throughout history have guided us here. To all of you, we are eternally grateful.
The campus is committed to diversifying the faculty and expanding scholarship into areas of importance to the campus, California, and the world.
Danielle Zoe Rivera, an assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, is one of five members of the Climate Equity and Environmental Justice faculty cluster.
We lift and honor the history of contributions of previous, current, and future generations of Latinx and other underrepresented-minority students, staff, and faculty.
We envision a learning environment where our thirst for knowledge about all communities, particularly historically marginalized communities, holds us accountable for closing access, equity, achievement, and opportunity gaps.
We anticipate that achieving HSI status will bring us one step closer to better serving the people of California.
The number of admitted students from communities underrepresented in higher education, including Chicanx/Latinx students, has increased by nearly 7% over Fall 2020. Check our Data Dashboard for more information.
UC Berkeley eliminates GRE test requirement for vast majority of graduate programs
“The research clearly shows that there are significant race, gender and socioeconomic disparities in GRE scores. We are looking forward to assessing how removing the GRE admissions requirement allows us to develop better assessments and improve our holistic approach to graduate admissions. It’s an exciting time to work in graduate education at UC Berkeley!”
“La Lucha Sigue: The University of California’s Role as a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution System” report was released in July 2021.
By increasing the number of Latinx graduate students and retaining and graduating them, UC can foster the next generation of faculty, leaders, and critical thinkers who are representative of the demographics of the state.
