We continue down the path of healing while weathering the storm of Title V defunding with colegas from Cal State LA. Our guests include Dra. Jessica Morales-Chicas, Co-PI of DHSI Grant, Reclaiming Pedagogy, Community and Student Success, and Wendy Vaughn, Project Director of the grant. They explain how their five-year grant, focused on faculty professional development to better serve the campus's predominantly Latine/x student population, was defunded and the ways they are sustaining the work. Our guests describe the impact of federal funding cuts to HSI grants, including the fear of job loss, significant stress on staff, and difficult conversations with the campus community. They also outline the ways they are actively working to institutionalize and sustain the program's initiatives beyond the grant period, including positioning some efforts within the provost's office. However, they face challenges in securing ongoing funding for all the program components. Despite the challenges, the team is finding hope and optimism in the transformative impacts they have seen so far and their determination to find ways to sustain the program's initiatives. They emphasize that HSIs will not die, but will rise to meet the challenge.

Jessica Morales-Chicas (she, her)

Professor and Co-PI of DHSI Grant, Reclaiming Pedagogy, Community and Student Success, CSULA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-morales-chicas/

Instagram: dr.morales_chicas

Wendi Vaughn (she, her)

Assistant Director, Pathway Programs and Project Director of the DHSI Reclaiming Grant, CSULA

LinkedIn: WendiLVaughn

Instagram: @iamwendiwithani | @wendilvaughn

APA Citation:

Garcia, G. A. (Host). (2026, March 15). Weathering the Storm to Sustain & Institutionalize HSI Work (No.705) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?.

Show Notes:

• Dhillon Brar, M. Morales-Chicas, J., Morris, S., Rivera, I.*, Cannara, R. (2025). Intergroup dialogue empowering action for transforming equity in higher education. Education Sciences, 15(1), 1-38. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010038
• Morales-Chicas, J., Ortiz, J., Tanimura, D. M., & Kouyoumdjian, C. (2023). Understanding Latino boys’motivation to pursue STEM while navigating school inequalities. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2021.1944864
• Graham, S., Kogachi, K., & Morales-Chicas, J. (2022). Do I fit in: Race/ethnicity and feelings of belonging in school. Educational Psychology Review, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09709-x
• Morales-Chicas, J., Gomez, M., Gussman, M., & Kouyoumdjian, C. (2022). A cultural wealth approach to understanding Latin@ s’ STEM mentee and mentor experiences. Equity & Excellence in Education, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2022.204741