Public Benefit Grant Program Case Study Series American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
Reflections from TG TG has long supported a variety of organizations and institutions focused on improving college access and student success for Hispanic students and families. This support has been more strategically organized under the auspices of the Public Benefit Grant Program over the past five years. In large part, these efforts recognize the changing demographics within Texas and across the country and acknowledge the need to improve opportunities for populations that have not traditionally pursued or persisted in higher education. TG supported AAHHE s programming because of the organization s unique aims to influence change in the systems of higher education by working directly with faculty and emerging scholars. AAHHE s efforts have advanced the dialogue and information sharing around issues of student persistence for Latino students and have helped young faculty engage with administrators and senior faculty who can serve as role models and mentors. These activities will continue to influence and shape the higher education landscape for years to come helping postsecondary communities to more closely resemble the nation as a whole. TG invites your careful reading of this publication and would welcome any questions or feedback you may have about the content provided here. Please visit www.tgslc. org/publicbenefit for contact information and other details about our corporate philanthropy. TG commends AAHHE for the excellent work it has begun, and we look forward to many years of continued collaboration. 2 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
Table of Contents Authentic Engagement: AAHHE and the Public Benefit Grant Program... 2 Building Knowledge and Careers... 3 Developing Opportunities for Meaningful Dialogue... 4 Supporting Future Generations of Latino Scholars... 6 Creating Community Within a Challenging Environment... 9 Forging Ahead...10 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 1
There are so few Latinos in higher ed. I m not arguing that only Latino faculty can serve Latino students at all.... But if there are no Latino faculty members, it becomes an untouchable goal in the minds of young scholars to become faculty. They don t see themselves in academics, so why should they strive if they have no pathways that set an example? Dr. Manuel Gomez, Vice President for Student Affairs University of California, Irvine and Latino/a Student Success Institute Co-Chair, AAHHE As the quote above indicates, Latino 1 faculty members and graduate students are not well represented in higher education. Research shows that comparatively few Latinos access and succeed in undergraduate education, and even fewer continue on to graduate programs or to faculty and administrator positions. The absence of Latinos in these positions creates a self-perpetuating cycle: with fewer Latinos to serve as role models, young aspiring Latino scholars lack examples for achieving success in postsecondary education and scholarship. For more than 20 years, the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) 2 has been working to break this cycle. AAHHE is a membership organization that promotes Latino student success in higher education. Its work has three major goals: to expand the pipeline for Latino students and faculty in higher education by providing professional development opportunities for junior faculty and research on barriers to Latino student success; to raise awareness about issues of retention and achievement for Latinos in higher education; and to recognize and advance the accomplishments of Latinos in higher education. Authentic Engagement: AAHHE and the Public Benefit Grant Program The relationship between the TG Public Benefit Grant Program and AAHHE provides a good example of how a funder can collaborate with a grantee to achieve mutual goals. TG provided AAHHE with two grants over two years, for a total of more than $213,000. Both grants from TG included funding to support the following components: 1 The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably in this case study. 2 The organization is an outgrowth of the Hispanic Caucus of the now defunct American Association of Higher Education (AAHE). When AAHE dissolved, members of the Hispanic Caucus decided to maintain and develop their branch, founding AAHHE as an independent organization approximately five years ago. 2 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
Commissions for four scholarly papers focused on access and retention for Latinos in higher education, Development of the Latino/a Student Success Institute, and Fellowships for 10 15 Latino graduate students. Because AAHHE s work closely aligns with the goals of the Public Benefit Grant Program, TG staff members were involved in the planning of the Latino/a Student Success Institute. Chairs of the institute described TG as a strong contributor and were pleased with TG s input. Dr. Manuel Gomez, one of the institute s co-chairs, praised TG s deep level of engagement with the institute, stating: I haven t seen this kind of personal, intense, authentic engagement from a funder in any of my grants. Although the Public Benefit Grant period has ended, much of the work engendered by this partnership continues. For example, AAHHE has institutionalized funding for the commissioned research papers as well as for the Graduate Fellows Program (although with fewer fellows). The Latino/a Student Success Institute was funded by TG in 2009 and by ETS in 2010. Building Knowledge and Careers One of the goals supported by AAHHE s Public Benefit grant is the professional development of junior faculty in order to create pathways for them to earn tenure at colleges and universities. To do this, the grant specifically commissioned a total of eight scholarly research papers that were published in the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. The goals of these papers were twofold: first, to fund research that would inform TG s and the field s knowledge about the barriers to and facilitators of college access and retention among low-income, first-generation students, especially Latinos; and second, to help junior scholars publish in a major academic journal in order to improve their position along the tenure track. To further disseminate research findings generated from the commissioned papers and to provide additional opportunities for junior faculty to gain experience, the scholars were invited to present their research findings at the AAHHE National Conference. AAHHE s conference provided valuable opportunities for these young scholars to connect with seasoned faculty and to explore opportunities for collaboration in future projects. Dr. Stella Flores described how this opportunity directly helped her in her scholarship and career path: Jorge [Chapas] was approached as the person to [write the paper], but to kind of get me involved and to give me an opportunity as a junior scholar... he [asked] if we wanted to write something together. And we planned out the paper, and it turned out that I did more of the work, [so] I got first author on it. American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 3
Titles of Commissioned Scholarly Papers 2007 Latinos in Science: Trends and Opportunities Models of Leadership Institutes for Increasing the Number of Top Latino Administrators in Higher Education Research Considerations and Theoretical Applications for Best Practices in Higher Education: Latina/os Achieving Success Preparing Latinos/as for a Flat World: The Community College Role 2008 Economic Benefits for Latino Student Degree Completions Vanishing Hispanic Males in Higher Education A Synthesis of Retention Literature and Research: A Focus on Hispanics Public Policy, Geography, and Immigrant Students in Higher Education For graduate students, opportunities to serve as first author on a publication are few and far between. Dr. Flores recognized the significant value of this collaboration, as it provided her with a rare opportunity to take the lead on a major publication, enabling her to increase her body of work, disseminate it to a wider audience, and build name recognition in the field. Developing Opportunities for Meaningful Dialogue There is work being done [on these issues], but no one is really focusing in on that, and so I think that AAHHE really does try to do that in multiple ways, to draw attention to these issues. David Perez, Graduate Student Fellow Penn State University AAHHE is well-known for its support of and contributions to emerging trends and issues in research about Latinos in higher education. For example, at recent conferences, AAHHE has explored new research topics, such as undocumented 4 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
immigrants in higher education, the gender imbalance for Latino males in higher education and for Latina females in faculty positions, and the shortage of Latinos in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, among others. AAHHE conferences convene both veteran and young scholars, bringing multiple perspectives together to address priorities and challenges facing Latinos in higher education. While these conferences have been extremely beneficial in multiple ways, many AAHHE members desired more time to devote to looking at challenges and best practices related to issues of access, achievement, and retention for Latino college students. Dr. Laura Rendón, professor of education at Iowa State University and Latino/a Student Success Institute Co-Chair, explains: While these issues have been around a long time, there are folks who can t get a handle on helping Latinos succeed in college. I think [conference participants] need a day to sort through the issues, begin to talk about them in more depth, and begin to get ideas of what they can take home to their own institutions and try them out. So it gives the participants the opportunity to learn more from those who are considered national experts. With funds from the Public Benefit Grant, AAHHE responded to this need by developing and implementing the Latino/a Student Success Institute. 3 The institute gives higher education faculty, administrators, and other interested parties an opportunity to discuss research and best practices that promote the retention and success of Latino students in higher education. Institute objectives include synthesizing current research on Latino student success, identifying a research agenda, and fostering models and initiatives that promote Latino success. Past topic areas have ranged from the community college s role in Latino access to service learning as a way to engage and retain Latinos in postsecondary education. The institutes and conferences afford scholars the dedicated time and space they need to think through pressing issues impacting Latino student success. This is critical for scholars, many of whom want to address these issues but find themselves so overwhelmed by the demands of their profession that they cannot allocate meaningful amounts of time to this endeavor. As Dr. Rendón states, Everybody works in silos. On a day-to-day basis, everybody is really busy, so unless there is some funded initiative that is going to bring them together and some incentive it is likely not going to happen. AAHHE members express deep satisfaction with the institutes. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with participants rating the categories of overall impressions, 3 The institute took place a full day prior to the AAHHE National Conference 2007 and 2008. Approximately 50 participants attended the 2007 institute and at least 70 people attended the 2008 institute. American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 4 5
quality of speakers, practical benefit, and quality of handouts at 4.5 or above on a scale of one to five in 2007. Dr. Patricia Perez, former AAHHE Graduate Student Fellow, was especially grateful for the experience. She was particularly thankful for the opportunity to be in the presence of a community of scholars who focused on common issues and brought diverse perspectives and experience to the table. She states, it was a whole room full of people who were dedicated to the same issue. So it was a great place for folks to connect and to hear what other folks were doing. Supporting Future Generations of Latino Scholars The Public Benefit Grant Program funded 10 Graduate Student Fellows in 2007 and 15 Graduate Student Fellows in 2008. The Graduate Fellows Program brings together Latino master s and doctoral students by supporting their participation in AAHHE s annual National Conference, in part by providing funds for their travel expenses. The program is designed to maximize their participation in the conference (e.g., as presenters), enhance their academic learning, and create a network of colleagues and mentors around common interests and professional development. Fellows attend the conference free of charge and assist AAHHE during the institute through activities such as collecting evaluation forms for the various sessions. Graduate Student Fellows are selected from a pool of applicants by a committee whose chair is usually a past participant of the program. The committee aims to generate a diverse pool of participants representing different disciplines, institutions, and geographic regions. Selection is based on academic achievement, discipline or area of study, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. Once selected, graduate student fellows arrive at the conference two days early to participate in an orientation program. During the conference, some fellows present their research, with members of the parallel faculty fellow programs as discussants. As presenters, fellows gain experience with the process of developing and submitting abstracts and then presenting their work to a large audience. In addition to providing the opportunities to publish and present research and to collaborate with more seasoned professionals, the Graduate Student Fellows program gave participants a chance to connect with Latino faculty and administrators from across the country, which is both empowering and critical for building their professional networks. Brianne Davila, a Graduate Student Fellow from the University of California, Santa Barbara, described the significance of this experience: 6 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
Just the opportunity to meet people, and to network. It... was really helpful to see people who have gone through the tenure process and become deans and chairs of departments and any positions that can really make big decisions on our campuses. So that was very powerful. And then so many of them take the time to get to know us as graduate fellows, get to know our names, what we re studying. That was very humbling too. We sometimes don t have that kind of access to our own campus administrators. While opportunities to network, publish, and present are all critical to advancing academic careers, other less tangible avenues of support are equally helpful in retaining and advancing young scholars of color. For example, one institute cochair noted that the lack of sufficient examples of Latinos in senior faculty and administration positions in higher education can derail a young scholar s drive to seek opportunities in academia. Therefore, providing young Latino scholars with mentors and role models is key to helping them gain confidence and stay the course. To achieve this goal, AAHHE brings together academics and practitioners from around the country to create meaningful connections between junior scholars and tenured faculty. And it works. As David Perez, Graduate Student Fellow from Penn State University, states, As a Fellow, I just felt, while I was there, a sort of invincibility, like I could get through my doctoral program. Moreover, forming connections with other Latino scholars who hold leadership positions in academic institutions helped Mr. Perez expand his vision for his future: I have considered the idea of becoming a university president, but I can t say that up until the point when I went to AAHHE that I had connections, and I have connections with several university presidents now. It should be noted that the benefits of the Graduate Fellows Program are felt not only by the fellows but also by seasoned faculty. These veteran scholars appreciate the connections made with emerging scholars, whose energy and new ideas help invigorate the field. As Arizona State University Professor and AAHHE President Dr. Loui Olivas states, The synergy and the emotional ties that the fellows as well as the faculty now have as a result of their involvement has been a really strong outcome. American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 7
Dr. Stella Flores, Vanderbilt University A former Graduate Student Fellow and AAHHE/TG-commissioned scholar, Dr. Stella Flores has been involved with AAHHE since it was the Hispanic Caucus of AAHE. Since her involvement with AAHHE, she has completed her Ed.D. program at Harvard University and become an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, which has one of the top education policy programs in the country. For Dr. Flores, AAHHE filled a gap, both personally and professionally, by providing opportunities to network with other Latino scholars and to grow as a researcher in areas that she cares most about immigration and education. She sees AAHHE as a critical community of Latino scholars like herself. As one of the few Latinas in her programs at Harvard and Vanderbilt, Dr. Flores is grateful to AAHHE for providing valuable opportunities to connect with other Latino scholars: You have all these Latino students who are one or two of two hundred in a program, so when you come together it suddenly becomes a critical mass. I was at Harvard, where there weren t a lot of Latinos. [AAHHE] became a home away from home. You meet a lot of your friends there. A lot of us are professors now, we write things together. We have professional friendships and personal friendships. In addition to helping Dr. Flores find a community of Latino scholars, AAHHE has also been a major player in Dr. Flores professional development as a researcher specializing in Latino immigration issues, particularly as they pertain to higher education. As mentioned above, after her participation in the Graduate Fellows Program, she teamed up with a former colleague to write a TG-funded paper that AAHHE commissioned for the National Conference. Because her colleague knew the work was related to her dissertation, he involved her on the project, and she ended up being first author. It was great. It gave me the opportunity to show leadership and my scholarship. That... allowed me to begin presenting my work and getting more known as an immigration scholar. This collaboration represented a critical opportunity for Dr. Flores to get her name into the field and gain recognition for her work. 8 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
Creating Community Within a Challenging Environment Forging a career in academia is not easy. The academic landscape is stressful, competitive, and confusing. For underrepresented scholars of color, it can also feel extremely isolating and, at times, unwelcoming. It is, therefore, important for Latino scholars to have opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with both peers and seasoned faculty, particularly since many are challenged to find other Latino scholars and create community in their home institutions. AAHHE, with support from the Public Benefit Grant Program, has been able to provide this community to its members. Brianne Davila describes the importance of this experience this way: I was surrounded by people who had similar goals as me in terms of caring about diversifying higher education caring about having more Latinos in graduate programs and faculty positions. There are plenty of people on campus that care about that, but we are a little more isolated. We don t have as many opportunities to get together and meet about these things. AAHHE is great because you have about five days.... You re together the whole time. You bond quickly. You are able to make connections that you would not otherwise. From a practical perspective, being part of a community of scholars is beneficial simply in terms of trying to navigate the academic landscape and make sense of the bureaucratic hoops involved in advancing one s academic career. While the AAHHE community affords emerging scholars the opportunity to benefit from the advice of veteran scholars, graduate fellows also value the opportunity to learn from their peers, to share graduate school experiences and information about the tenure process at various institutions. Patricia Perez states, My work focuses on student retention, but at the same time I want to be retained. I m going through the process, and we re all about the same age and at similar stages, and so it s nice to go through this process with other folks, and ask about their experience and all the different pieces. Dr. Laura Rendón points out that the importance of AAHHE s community of scholars is not just about making connections but also creating a safe space for young scholars to be heard. She states, Young Latino scholars go there, and not only feel at home but feel a sense of inclusion and that their voices are not drowned out, but rather viewed in a very equitable way. Dr. Perez echoes this sentiment, stating, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 9
This is a special conference for me because it s a place where I feel like my research is valued. In other conferences, they re so huge, and there are folks here and there to appreciate your work, but at AAHHE I feel like everyone appreciates your work because it s relevant to everyone we work with students, policymakers, administrators. It s relevant to the constituency we re trying to help. Forging Ahead The three components of AAHHE that TG s funding supported the scholarly papers, the Latino/a Student Success Institute, and the Graduate Student Fellows program worked synergistically to build knowledge in the field of increasing access and retention for Latinos in higher education, to create a space for Latinos already working or studying in higher education to come together, and to expand professional opportunities for AAHHE members. With support from the Public Benefit Grant Program, AAHHE was able to accomplish the core goals of the project and inform the field about the key priorities facing low-income, first-generation students, especially Latino students. Moving forward, AAHHE continues to address the most relevant research topics for both the field and its members, and is well-positioned to confront the unique landscape facing Latinos in higher education. For more information about AAHHE, visit www.aahhe.org. For more information about the TG Public Benefit Grant Program, visit www.tgslc.org/publicbenefit. 10 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education
About TG s Public Benefit Grant Program TG believes that investing in education and human potential serves as one of the most promising strategies to improve the lives of individuals and of society as a whole. Education including postsecondary education is no longer a luxury. If we expect our nation to continue to prosper and grow, we must improve educational attainment, especially for those students who have not typically been successful in gaining access to or completing a postsecondary education. With this rationale in mind, TG s Board of Directors established the Public Benefit Competitive Grant Program in 2004, recognizing that nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions were in the best position to determine and propose specific solutions to address issues of college access and success for the students and families they serve. TG intends that the primary beneficiaries of the proposed programs be students who are from low- to moderate-income families. In addition, the competitive process favors proposals that also aim to serve the needs of firstgeneration college students or students who are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in undergraduate and graduate education. Reinvesting our financial resources in the educational community and through nonprofit organizations that share our mission and vision is just one more way that TG demonstrates its belief in the value of higher education. But these efforts are more meaningful when others can learn from them, engage in discussion about the findings and outcomes, and perhaps incorporate ideas or promising practices into their own programming. American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE): Creating Pathways for Hispanics in Higher Education 11
Information about TG s grant-making and higher education institutions The Public Benefit Grant Program is open to all schools and organizations regardless of their participation in the federal education loan programs. Successful grantees are selected pursuant to a performance metric established for the grants program. All nonprofit institutions eligible to participate in the federal financial aid programs, as authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, are also eligible to apply for a TG grant. In addition, the program accepts applications from community-based nonprofit organizations that also aim to improve access to or success in higher education. Moreover, there is no correlation between our selection of grant awards and an institution s business relationship with TG. The Public Benefit Grant Program does not subscribe, nor impose, any quid pro quo condition. TG personnel associated with administering the grants program are expected to strictly adhere to this standard. If any prospective or current applicant receives any communication from TG staff or any other person that implies that a quid pro quo condition may exist, please notify TG by calling TG s ethics hotline at (877) 842-6675 or by calling the chief ethics officer directly and confidentially at (800) 252-9743, extension 4966. TG s chief ethics officer will respond to and act upon any concerns received. Calls to either number may be made anonymously.
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