Theorizing a Catholic Hispanic-Serving Institution (C-HSI) Identity Through Latinx Theological Lenses of Lo Cotidiano and Traditioning

Abstract

As the students entering U.S. colleges and universities become increasingly diverse, the number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI's) continues to increase. Catholic colleges and universities, similarly, are seeing an increase in student diversity on campus, with an emergence of Catholic HSIs as well. As the number of Catholic colleges and universities in the United States that are HSI-eligible increases they must grapple with what it means to be both Catholic and Hispanic-serving. The purpose of this article is to propose a U.S. Catholic HSI (C-HSI) identity that brings together the extensive literatures on Catholic identity and HSI identity through the lens of decolonial theory and Latinx theologies. We argue that in order to effectively serve students of color who have intersectional identities, Catholic HSIs must intentionally recognize the ways of knowing (epistemologies) and being of these groups, which includes a collective understanding of the theo-political, social, historical, and economic forces that have subjugated them since before the founding of the present day United States and long before the founding of the first Catholic institution in the country. Building off the Catholic Identity and Mission Models (CIMA) currently used by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities to assess mission integration, we propose a C-HSI model.