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LMU Reaches Milestone, Achieves HSI and AANAPISI Statuses

October 30, 2024 

Dear LMU Community,

I am pleased to announce that LMU is now an Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI), having reached two undergraduate enrollment markers for these federally designated statuses. LMU’s undergraduate population now consists of 25 percent full-time equivalent Hispanic students and 10 percent Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students. 

Our commitment to equity and social justice is an integral part of LMU’s mission and the work of our founding orders, and even more so in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling banning race-based admission practices. Retaining and truly supporting our Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American Pacific Islander students is of the utmost importance in achieving and maintaining HSI and AANAPISI statuses. 

In March, I announced the creation of the Becoming an HSI (BeHSI) task force, led by Vice Provost Kat Weaver and Professor Margarita Ochoa. Among other objectives, I charged them with familiarizing themselves with principles, practices, and policies that will enhance our servingness of the Hispanic student, staff, and faculty community at LMU, in addition to engaging our community in the HSI transformation process.

The task force has been meeting, conducting research, and holding listening sessions since March. They have generated draft recommendations for transforming LMU into an HSI, which I am currently reviewing. Next month, the task force will host additional listening sessions for the community (see details below), offering everyone an opportunity to provide input and shape this important work. Your participation and feedback are essential, and I encourage you to attend and share your voice.

Later this week, along with a delegation of 14 LMU staff, faculty, and students, I will attend the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) conference, where we will engage in the opportunity to learn, share, and take part in meaningful conversation about servingness, programming, retention, and other factors that will support our next steps in the HSI transformation process. 

We plan to launch a similar process for our AANAPISI communities shortly.

Efforts to achieve designation as a minority-serving institution long predate my tenure at LMU, and there are many faculty, staff, and students who have been organizing, volunteering their time, and calling on the administration to pursue this status and affirm our underserved communities. I am deeply grateful for the decades of work that has been done to support these populations, and I look forward to furthering our commitments to these communities.

Sincerely,

Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost
Professor of Chemistry


Register Here to attend a BeHSI Listening Session:

  • Faculty and Staff – Monday, November 11, 1 - 2:30 p.m. in Roski (University Hall)
  • Faculty and Staff – Monday, November 11, 3 - 4:30 p.m. in Roski (University Hall)
  • Students – Monday, November 11, 6 - 7:30 p.m. in Roski (University Hall)
  • Students – Thursday, November 14, 6 - 7:30 p.m. on Zoom – register to receive the Zoom link)