Mexicanidad on the Westside: Tracing the Legacy of Incomparable Servingness at Our Lady of the Lake University

Mexicanidad on the Westside

Tracing the Legacy of Incomparable Servingness at Our Lady of the Lake University

Rick Sperling and Micaela Cruz

The Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI) designation is a statistical-based identity given to colleges and universities with a 25 percent or higher Latinx student population. While HSIs are eligible to receive federal funding based solely on that designation, there are no definite guidelines to ensure that the money is spent in a culturally responsive manner. However, Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) continues to provide high quality education to their Latinx students. In this presentation, we traced historical events that influenced OLLU to develop a Latinx-conscious identity and then compare their institutional behavior to that of another university located on the Westside of San Antonio: St. Mary’s University (StMU). Aspects such as campus ecology, the influence of gender, and ethnic identity are observed and elaborated upon within the project. Through this project, we aim to contribute to the Westside community’s perspective of the historical higher learning institution known as “The Lake.”

The slideshow above about provides introductory information regarding this research. To provide further information, the authors included audio of themselves explaining the project. Be sure to raise your volume and hit play to listen to that audio.


css.php