Jump to main content

Being an HSI

The University of Northern Colorado is proud to be a Students First university committed to serving Hispanic, Chicana/o/x, and Latina/o/x students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as the local community and our region. We believe that our diversity is our strength and are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where all members of our community feel welcome and supported. 

As a new Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), we have unique opportunies to make a difference in the lives of Hispanic and latine-identifying students, and are committed to providing them with the resources and support they need to succeed academically, socially and professionally. We also believe that it is important to celebrate Hispanic culture and heritage on our campus, and offer a variety of programs and events that highlight the diversity of latine cultures our students and their families bring with them to UNC.

As a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, UNC will continue its long tradition of preparing and graduating leaders who serve and enrich Colorado's culture and economy.

What does 'HSI' Mean to You?

Share your perspective at a listening session with Dr. Whitney Duncan, professor of Anthropology and associate director of Hispanic Serving Institutions.

Student Listening Sessions

Monday, November 18 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Campus Commons 2300
Wednesday, November 20 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., Campus Commons 2300

Learn more and register here.

Faculty and Staff Listening Sessions

Monday, November 11 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Campus Commons 2300
Monday, December 2 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Campus Commons 2300

Learn more and register here.

Apply to UNC

Welcome to Bear Country. ¡Te va a encantar! 

Like you, at UNC we believe in investing in a quality education. With more than 100 academic programs, affordable costs, and small classes, UNC can be the smart choice for you! 

Apply today and join students like Andrea in take your first step toward your future career.  

Apply Now

We approach our work with the following vision elements:

The same vision elements frame UNC's 10-year strategic plan Rowing, Not Drifting 2030.

students first

Students First:
Integrating resources, services and strategies for the benefit of students and demonstrating accountability to ensuring their success.

empower

Empower Inclusivity:
Providing equal access to opportunities and resources for students who in the past may have otherwise been excluded or marginalized.

enhance

Enhance & Invest:
Purpose driven institutional and philanthropic investment in supporting campus and programmatic enhancements geared toward student completion and graduation. 

innovate

Innovate & Create:
Developing an institutional structure focused on building capacity in instruction, faculty and staff development, inclusive hiring practices and advocacy for equitable policy.

celebrate

Connect & Celebrate:
Promoting the excellence of our students by intentionally strengthening networks of alumni, parents and support people and business and community leadership.

Leadership for HSI Initiatives

Rudy Vargas, Director of HSI  

Rudy Vargas 
Director of HSI Initiatives 

Assoicate Director of HSI Initatives

Javier Vinasco Guzman, Ph.D. 
Associate Director of HSI Initiatives 

Associate Director of HSI

Whitney Duncan, Ph.D.
Associate Director of HSI Initiatives 


Tobias Guzmán, vice president of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DDEI), appointed two fellow positions in support of the university's efforts toward becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Learn more about the inaugural leadership for HSI Initiatives. 

  • Inaugural leadership for HSI Initiatives 

    Cristóbal (Chris) Garcia

    Chris Garcia  
    Staff Fellow for HSI Initiatives

    Jonathan Alcantar

    Jonathan Alcantar
    Faculty Fellow for HSI Initiatives

    Cristóbal (Chris) Garcia, associate director in the Office of Alumni Relations has been appointed staff fellow for HSI initiatives and Jonathan Alcantar, associate professor and chair of UNC’s Chicana/o and Latinx Studies program has been appointed as faculty fellow for HSI initiatives. According to Guzmán, Garcia and Alcantar have the essential context needed to be successful in these roles as both have been integral to the work already completed in the university’s pre-implementation phases of becoming an HSI, including serving on the HSI working group for the past two years.

     "Chris and Jonathan’s roles as fellows will be key positions to establishing and structuring our next steps in becoming an HSI,” Guzmán said. “They will offer thought leadership and assist the university in accomplishing measures of success and serve to strategically further the scope and depth of the work necessary to make us successful in this pursuit.” 

    Guzmán said their work will be connected to the existing strategies and key elements outlined in Rowing, Not Drifting 2030, and in service to the main pillars discussed in HSI 201: 

    • Persistence and graduation rates specifically for our Hispanic/Latinx students  

    •  Development of academic identity and self-concept, leadership identity, racial identity  

    • Visibility of cultural signifiers on campus   

    • Compositional diversity of faculty, staff, administrators, and graduate students  

Campus Safety

Brenda Vargas

"I hope that UNC becoming an HSI will make me feel like I'm at home on campus. Where I can hear the sounds of my people, and see the colors of my culture reflected in the very fibers of UNC."

— Brenda Vargas '23, UNC alumna