2023 Cal Poly Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Symposium: Pathway to Becoming an HSI
Vision
Our vision is to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution that is known for its intentional, innovative, and expansive commitment to the success, empowerment, and achievement of the Latinx/e community at Cal Poly. We aspire to be a model for other polytechnic institutions seeking to serve Latinx/e students and advance equity and racial justice in higher education.
Mission
At Cal Poly, our mission is to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution that is committed to providing diverse curricular and co-curricular experiences that reflect the cultural and intellectual richness of the Latinx/e community. We aim to develop culturally responsive teaching practices, integrate Latinx/e scholarship throughout all disciplines, and expand opportunities for students to engage in research, service learning, study abroad, and learn by doing opportunities that promote social change.
Values
STUDENT SUCCESS
For Cal Poly, becoming an HSI is more than just meeting a numerical quota, it is about being an institution that equitably yields, retains, and graduates all students.
HOLISTIC SENSE OF BELONGING
We are committed to cultivating a holistic sense of belonging that empowers the Latinx/e community to fulfill their unlimited potential.
EXPANSIVE CURRICULAR AND CO-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCES
Our ability to ensure that Latinx/e students, staff, and faculty have enriched educational, professional, and social experiences is essential to our ability to be a premier polytechnic institution.
HSI Task Force
The establishment of a Hispanic-Serving Institution Task Force in 2022 was a critical step towards the university's goal of becoming a designated HSI. The Task Force has developed recommendations that outline what becoming an HSI means for Cal Poly. View the full recommendation document here! The launch of this effort, brings the expansive and intersectional experiences of the Latinx/e community to the forefront of the university's mission.
Learn more about Task Force Members ›
HSI Reccomendations Executive Summary ›
Adelante which translates to "forward" in Spanish is about honoring the past, present, and future momentum of this effort and the collective drive to become an HSI that holistically serves the Latinx/e community.
HSI Symposium Program
Join the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion for an immersive day that explores what becoming an HSI means for Cal Poly.
Tuesday, October 17
Chumash Auditorium
Doors open at 9 am
9:30 - 10:15 am | Welcome - Pathway to Becoming an HSI Overview
10:15 - 11:15 am | HSI Task Force Panel Discussion
11:15 am - 12:30 pm | Lunch & Resource Fair in UU Plaza
12:30 - 2:00 pm| Workshops - Servingness in Practice & HSI in STEM
5:00 - 6:30 pm | Closing Keynote with Dolores Huerta (registration has now closed)
Keynote Speaker: Dolores Huerta
Chumash Auditorium - 5:00-6:30 PM
Registration Required
We are thrilled to announce our keynote speaker for the symposium, the globally celebrated Latina labor leader, activist, and community organizer, Dolores Huerta. Her exceptional journey and dedication to social justice have inspired countless individuals around the world. Her insights and experiences advocating for immigrants' rights, workers' rights, women's rights, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ+ civil rights, promise to be a highlight of the event.
Dolores Huerta is the President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Her lifelong journey has been working as a community organizer and social justice activist for over 50 years. She continues working to develop community leaders to advocate for the working poor, immigrants, women and youth through her work with the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Huerta is a two time United States Presidential Award Recipient; she received the Medal of Freedom Award from President Obama in 2012, the highest civilian award in the United States, and the Eleanor D. Roosevelt Human Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998.
Huerta has played a major role in the American civil rights movement. Most notably she co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Cesar Chavez advocating for farm workers in this country. She is a founding board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation; she also serves on the board of Ms. Magazine. Numerous awards include the Ohtli award from the Mexican Government, the James Smithson Award from the Smithsonian Institution, the Icons of the American Civil Rights Movement Award, bestowed to her in 2011 by the National Civil Rights Museum. She also was named Ms. Magazine’s one of the three most important women of 1997, the Ladies Home Journal’s 100 most important woman of the 20th Century, she is a recipient of the Puffin Foundation award for Creative Citizenship as a Labor Leader in 1984, the Kern County woman of the year by the California State legislature, among many other accolades. She is a former UC Regent and has earned nine honorary doctorates from universities throughout the United States. Her most recent recognitions include her induction to the U. S. Department of Labor Hall of Honor. Huerta was also the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
