Central Washington University
College of Arts and Humanities
Program Review of Latino and Latin American Studies
Date: April 1, 2009
Prepared by: Michael A. Ervin
___________________________
Program Director
(Michael A. Ervin)
____________________________
College Dean
(Marji Morgan)
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 1
Latino and Latin American Studies Program
Program Review Self Study
Year 2008- 2009
I. Introduction to Program
A. Program Mission Statement: The Latino and Latin American Studies (LLAS) program
seeks to engage CWU students, faculty, staff, and local communities in a study of Latino and
Latin American experiences, peoples, and cultures. Most importantly, the LLAS minor provides
students with broad, interdisciplinary training in the economic, social, political, and cultural
realities of Latino and Latin American peoples. The minor will be useful to those with career
interests in business, government, social work, and teaching, or to those who simply wish to
travel in Latin America. Moreover, the Latino and Latin American Studies minor may also serve
as preparation for graduate study in multiple academic or professional fields.
B. Brief Description of Program Context: Previously called the Latin American Studies
program until fall 2007, the LLAS program is an interdisciplinary minor undergoing its first
program review. Housed in the College of Arts and Humanities, LLAS consists of thirteen
Program Faculty, who teach in LLAS, and seven Affiliate Faculty with research or service
interests in LLAS (for more, see “Appendix A: LLAS Program Faculty Vitae”). Of the twenty
participating faculty, seventeen are tenured or tenure-track and three are non-tenure track. All
faculty are hired by the colleges or departments in which they work, not LLAS, and their classes
are offered as part of their normal departmental teaching loads. The LLAS program is part of an
effort to establish a Center for Latino and Latin American Studies to link the interdisciplinary
academic program with a community partnership initiative (for more information, see “Appendix
B: 2006 Spheres of Distinction Proposal”).
1. Undergraduate Programs: The LLAS program offers a minor in Latino and Latin
American Studies. The program’s requirements include a 5-credit introductory class
(LLAS 102: An Introduction to Latino and Latin American Studies) in addition to 20
credits of upper-division electives in a minimum of three disciplines. A pre-requisite of
one year of language study in Spanish, Portuguese, or French applies.
2. Graduate Programs: The LLAS program offers no graduate programs.
3. General Education Contributions: The LLAS program contributes to the general
education program through its introductory LLAS 102 which satisfies the “Perspectives on
World Cultures” requirement. For more, see “Appendix C: LLAS 102 Syllabi.” One
upper-division class, Dr. Chris Schedler’s ENG 347: Global Perspectives in Literature, also
fulfills the “Literature and the Humanities” requirement. Both classes meet the general
education writing component by requiring a minimum of seven pages of assessed writing.
4. Teacher Preparation Contributions: The LLAS program does not currently contribute
to teacher preparation at CWU.
C. Program Governance: The LLAS program is structured with a program director (elected by
Program Faculty to a three-year, renewable term) who is charged with leading the program to
meet its goals. The LLAS program holds quarterly meetings to solicit faculty input and establish
LLAS, 3/23/09
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priorities. Without dedicated staff, the director is supported by a departmentally-based assistant
to help carry out duties. For more, see “Appendix D: LLAS Program Charter.”
D. Program Goals and Assessment: Following is a breakdown of the goals for LLAS and their
assessment. Because LLAS is a minor without its own dedicated faculty, assessment and
evaluations remain the prerogative of the departments in which LLAS faculty teach.
1. Program Goals: The following goals are taken directly from our program charter.
They are divided into four categories (for students, community members, faculty, and
general). For the purpose of clarity, the goals appear below in sections D.3 and D.4 as
they appear here. In section E.1-2 they are listed in numerical fashion, from goal 1-17,
without delineating the subcategories.
a. The LLAS program’s primary mission is to reach students by:
(1) serving as a tool for recruiting and retaining Latino students
(2) building bridges between Latino and non-Latino students in a broader
educative program that embraces diversity in meaningful ways
(3) demonstrating with actions CWU’s commitment to diversity
(4) exposing students to global experiences, both at home and abroad
(5) enhancing contacts between CWU students and Latino/Latin American
communities
(6) developing students’ research skills
(7) preparing students for professional success
(8) providing students with relevant and enriching personal and professional
experiences
b. The LLAS program seeks to impact community members by:
(9) valuing the surrounding Latino community’s lives and experiences and
incorporating them into our students’ academic training
(10) bringing community voices to Central’s campus
(11) preparing future teachers for working among Latino populations
(12) engaging in outreach through service learning, internships, and other
programs
c. The LLAS program seeks to affect faculty members by:
(13) providing a forum through which faculty members share their expertise
(14) bringing to CWU faculty with Latino and Latin American Studies interests
(15) providing CWU faculty with a platform from which to develop research
projects related to Latino and Latin American issues
d. The LLAS program seeks to impact all groups simultaneously by:
(16) promoting an understanding among CWU faculty, staff, and students of the
diversity of Latino and Latin American lives and experiences
(17) inspiring cooperative efforts and programs between CWU faculty and staff,
and between CWU and local communities
2. Relationship of Program Goals to College and University Strategic Goals: The
LLAS program is dedicated to carrying out the strategic mission of the College of Arts
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and Humanities and Central Washington University more generally. All 17 program
goals are related to achieving each CAH and CWU goal.
a. University Goals
Goal 1: Maintain and strengthen an outstanding academic and student life
on the Ellensburg campus: In addition to its courses, which are among the most
challenging and cutting edge at CWU, the LLAS program creates an outstanding
academic and student life at CWU in many ways. We have helped establish a
new Living Learning Community called Casa Latina that invites incoming
freshmen to live together in Meisner Hall and study common LLAS coursework.
We utilize program funds (a base budget of $1,650) to help fund events (speakers,
films, etc.) that can address the demographic changes that are dramatically
altering the ethnic/racial makeup of Washington State and our nation.
Goal 2: Provide for an outstanding academic and student life at the Centers:
Two upper-division LLAS electives have successfully enrolled students at
CWU’s Centers around the state: Dr. Chris Schedler’s ENG 347: Global
Perspectives in Literature and ENG 461: Chicano Film.
Goal 3: Strengthen and further diversify our funding base and strengthen
infrastructure to support academic and student programs: The LLAS
program has been a leader in the effort to develop “spheres of distinction” that can
bring regional and national renown to CWU and help diversify the funding base
in the process. The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, which won a
$66,000 base funding grant in the first round of spheres funding in 2006, is an
interdisciplinary and interdivisional initiative to unite our LLAS program with a
vital community partnership initiative. Building upon that base in 2007-08, we
applied for a 5-year, $600,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge
Grant. While that grant was unsuccessful, we have developed a seven-member
team (Breedlove, Ervin, Guggino, Lee, McLean, Nover, Schedler, and Wood) to
resubmit the proposal in May 2010. For more information, see “Appendix E:
NEH Challenge Grant Project Narrative.”
Goal 4: Build mutually beneficial partnerships with the public sector,
industry, professional groups, institutions, and the communities surrounding
our campuses: Our faculty have a tremendous record of partnership building
with both the public and private sectors. Most significant has been our effort to
build bridges between CWU and local Latino communities.
Goal 5: Achieve regional and national prominence for the university: In
addition to the research successes of our faculty, the initiative to build a Center
for Latino and Latin American Studies at CWU seeks to provide a model for
similar, regional state universities as we continue to experience the dramatic
demographic changes that now make Latino populations the largest minority
group in the nation.
Goal 6: Build inclusive and diverse campus communities that promote
intellectual inquiry and encourage civility, mutual respect, and cooperation:
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The LLAS program is a leader in the effort to build an inclusive and diverse
campus community. Our curriculum exposes students to the experiences of
peoples around the globe, as well as the diverse communities in the United States,
in many historical eras. Our faculty have developed and led many study-abroad
programs, to Mexico and Spain especially, that allow students to experience the
rich and diverse cultures of the world first-hand. We are partners with other
interdisciplinary programs like Africana and Black Studies, American Indian
Studies, and Women's Studies that infuse diversity into CWU's curriculum and
campus experience. We participate on committees—such as the College of Arts
and Humanities Diversity Task Force, the International Studies and Programs
Advisory Committee, and the President's Diversity Council—that are engaged in
this work. Combined, our efforts help to promote intellectual inquiry and
encourage civility, mutual respect, and cooperation.
b. College of Arts and Humanities Goals
Goal 1: Create and maintain high quality academic programs: In addition to
its courses, which are among the most innovative at CWU, the LLAS program
creates an outstanding academic and student life at CWU in many ways. We
utilize program funds (a base budget of $1,650) to help fund events (speakers,
films, etc.) that can address the demographic changes that are dramatically
altering the ethnic/racial makeup of Washington State and our nation. By linking
Latino Studies and Latin American Studies in one program, CWU and CAH is on
the cutting edge of trends in the field that seek to eliminate the barriers between
fields that are as ephemeral as borders between nations.
Goal 2: Enhance support for faculty research and creative activity: LLAS
faculty have applied for and received university and outside support for research.
This has included quarterly and summer research leave, private foundation grants
to support sabbaticals and summer research. Moreover, a portion of the initial
$66,000 spheres of distinction grant were used in 2007-08 to fund reassigned time
for two tenure-track faculty to develop new coursework related to Latino Studies.
Goal 3: Improve visibility of the college: Through dissemination of scholarly
research in discipline sanctioned forums, faculty have raised their visibility
among their academic peers. LLAS faculty serve on numerous boards and are
active in presentations to the public and publishing articles in popular magazines
and newspapers. Faculty promote service learning opportunities for their students
to increase our engagement with Washington State citizens, especially Latino
communities. Last year, we partnered with Allied Arts in Yakima on a
Washington Humanities Grant to develop a Latino Film Series that greatly
increased the visibility of CAH and the Center for Latino and Latin American
Studies. Finally, the NEH Challenge Grant would be a tremendous boost to the
college’s visibility and a testament to the humanities roots of the LLAS program.
Goal 4: Increase CAH share of resources and match resources to growth:
The LLAS program utilized spheres of distinction funding to establish a new
tenure-track line in Latino Politics and Studies in 2007-08, but that position came
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in the College of the Sciences. We have also significantly increased the FTEs in
our introductory LLAS 102 class as a result of more annual offerings.
Goal 5: Build a more diverse college community: The LLAS program is a
leader in CAH's effort to diversify the college community. Our curriculum
exposes students to the experiences of peoples around the globe, as well as the
diverse communities in the United States, in many historical eras. Our faculty
have led study-abroad programs, especially to Mexico and Spain, that expose
students to the rich and diverse cultures of the world first-hand. We are partners
with other interdisciplinary programs like Africana and Black Studies, American
Indian Studies, and Women's Studies that infuse diversity into CWU's curriculum
and campus experience. We participate on committees—such as the College of
Arts and Humanities Diversity Task Force, the International Studies and
Programs Advisory Committee, and the President's Diversity Council—that are
engaged in this work not only at the college level, but in the University and
surrounding community as well.
Goal 6: Promote interdepartmental programming and collaboration: As an
interdisciplinary program, LLAS promotes interdepartmental programming and
collaboration. Our faculty partner with interdisciplinary programs like American
Indian Studies, Africana and Black Studies, Environmental Studies, Museum
Studies, Resource Management, and Women's Studies.
Goal 7: Develop a climate of fundraising: The LLAS program has been a leader
in the college in grant-writing and fundraising efforts related to building a Center
for Latino and Latin American Studies at CWU.
3. Data to be Used to Measure/Assess Goal Attainment: The LLAS program has many
ways of measuring/assessing the attainment of its goals among students, faculty, and onand off-campus communities.
a. The LLAS program’s primary mission is to reach students by:
(1) serving as a tool for recruiting and retaining Latino students (measure:
University enrollments, graduation rates, and alumni surveys)
(2) building bridges between Latino and non-Latino students in a broader
educative program that embraces diversity in meaningful ways (measure:
classroom enrollments, Casa Latina Living Learning Community activities)
(3) demonstrating with actions CWU’s commitment to diversity (measure: course
offerings and campus event sponsorship)
(4) exposing students to global experiences, both at home and abroad (measure:
course offerings, study-abroad experiences, and campus event sponsorship)
(5) enhancing contacts between CWU students and Latino/Latin American
communities (measure: course offerings and campus event sponsorship)
(6) developing students’ research skills (measure: grading of classroom research
projects)
(7) preparing students for professional success (measure: alumni surveys)
(8) providing students with relevant and enriching personal and professional
experiences (measure: alumni surveys)
LLAS, 3/23/09
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b. The LLAS program seeks to impact community members by:
(9) valuing the surrounding Latino community’s lives and experiences and
incorporating them into our students’ academic training (measure: classroom
activities and campus event sponsorship)
(10) bringing community voices to Central’s campus (measure: classroom
activities and campus event sponsorship)
(11) preparing future teachers for working among Latino populations (measure:
alumni surveys)
(12) engaging in outreach through service learning, internships, and other
programs (measure: existence of such programs)
c. The LLAS program seeks to affect faculty members by:
(13) providing a forum through which interested faculty members share their
expertise (measure: classroom activities and campus event sponsorship)
(14) bringing to CWU faculty with interests related to Latino and Latin American
Studies (measure: classroom activities and campus event sponsorship)
(15) providing CWU faculty with a platform from which to develop research
projects related to Latino and Latin American issues (measure: resources
dedicated to such projects)
d. The LLAS program seeks to impact all groups simultaneously by:
(16) promoting an understanding among CWU faculty, staff, and students of the
diversity of Latino and Latin American lives and experiences (measure: classroom
activities, on- and off-campus event sponsorship)
(17) inspiring cooperative efforts and programs between CWU faculty and staff,
and between CWU and local communities (measure: classroom activities, on- and
off-campus event sponsorship)
4. Criterion of Achievement/Standard of Mastery for Each Goal: The measure for
achieving each goal depends upon student performance in class, program sponsorship of
on- and off-campus events, and the utilization of LLAS program funds more generally.
After each goal, we suggest a few ways of demonstrating their achievement.
a. The LLAS program’s primary mission is to reach students by:
(1) serving as a tool for recruiting and retaining Latino students (criterion of
achievement: increasing enrollments of Latino students at CWU; increasing
graduation rates among Latino students)
(2) building bridges between Latino and non-Latino students in a broader
educative program that embraces diversity in meaningful ways (criterion of
achievement: classroom enrollments, activities in Casa Latina Living Learning
Community, enrollments in study abroad programs)
(3) demonstrating with actions CWU’s commitment to diversity (criterion of
achievement: number of course offerings and campus events sponsored)
(4) exposing students to global experiences, both at home and abroad (criterion of
achievement: number of course offerings, study-abroad experiences, and campus
events sponsored)
(5) enhancing contacts between CWU students and Latino/Latin American
communities (criterion of achievement: number of course offerings and campus
events sponsored)
LLAS, 3/23/09
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(6) developing students’ research skills (criterion of achievement: grading of
classroom research projects and development of community-based research)
(7) preparing students for professional success (criterion of achievement: positive
reviews on alumni surveys)
(8) providing students with relevant and enriching personal and professional
experiences (criterion of achievement: positive reviews on alumni surveys)
b. The LLAS program seeks to impact community members by:
(9) valuing the surrounding Latino community’s lives and experiences and
incorporating them into our students’ academic training (criterion of achievement:
demonstrated incorporation of community into classroom activities and events
sponsored on-campus)
(10) bringing community voices to Central’s campus (criterion of achievement:
number of community voices in classroom and on-campus activities)
(11) preparing future teachers for working among Latino populations (criterion of
achievement: positive reviews on alumni surveys)
(12) engaging in outreach through service learning, internships, and other
programs (criterion of achievement: development of such programs)
c. The LLAS program seeks to affect faculty members by:
(13) providing a forum through which interested faculty members share their
expertise (criterion of achievement: number of guest lectures, class offerings in
faculty research specializations, and on- and off-campus events sponsored)
(14) bringing to CWU faculty with interests related to Latino and Latin American
Studies (criterion of achievement: number of in-class and on-campus events
sponsored)
(15) providing CWU faculty with a platform from which to develop research
projects related to Latino and Latin American issues (criterion of achievement:
amount of resources utilized for such projects and new research directions
inspired through interdisciplinary cooperation)
d. The LLAS program seeks to impact all groups simultaneously by:
(16) promoting an understanding among CWU faculty, staff, and students of the
diversity of Latino and Latin American lives and experiences (criterion of
achievement: number of related on- and off-campus events sponsored)
(17) inspiring cooperative efforts and programs between CWU faculty and staff,
and between CWU and local communities (criterion of achievement: number of
on- and off-campus events sponsored)
5. Major Activities that Enable Goal Attainment: A variety of efforts help enable us to
meet our goals, both inside and outside of the classroom.
a. Classroom Activities: Many of our goals are reached in the classroom, through
students’ exposure to Latino and Latin American peoples and cultures.
Community inclusion in the classroom involves inviting speakers to give
presentations on campus and in class. We also develop off-campus activities such
as community-based research, internships, and volunteering among community
organizations and businesses.
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b. On-Campus Student Support: We especially aim to foment a sense of
community among LLAS students and faculty, and among Latino students in
particular. The Casa Latina Living Learning Community invites freshmen
interested in studying Latino and Latin American subjects to live in the dorms
together, to take a common LLAS 102 course in fall quarter, and to engage in all
kinds of cultural and educational activities throughout the year. Casa Latina is
just the tip of the iceberg in terms of working with student groups to foment an
appreciation of Latino and Latin American subjects on campus. LLAS faculty
advise the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) student club.
We work closely with the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), a
program devoted to fomenting success among students who are the children of
migrant parents (in their majority Latino). We work with the Bridges Program, a
multicultural group of CWU student mentors (in their majority Latino) who work
in school districts throughout our region to promote high school graduation and
college enrollment among underrepresented groups. Finally, we partner with the
McNair Scholars Program and the Douglas Honors College to encourage
excellence and high achievement for our students.
c. Diversity Leadership: LLAS faculty are leaders on campus when it comes to
service in the area of diversity. We are members of the President’s Diversity
Council and its Commission on Latina/o Affairs, which advise the CWU president
and advocate for an increase in the numbers of Latino students, faculty, and staff
at CWU. Whereas the LLAS program is an interdisciplinary academic program,
the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies is an interdivisional partnership
of faculty and staff committed to enhancing our institutional commitment to local
Latino communities. The interdisciplinarity and interdivisionality of our
efforts have been tremendously empowering in an effort to achieve our goals.
d. On- and Off-Campus Event Sponsorship: Much of our work focuses on
inviting campus speakers to engage not only LLAS students but the broader
community in issues related to Latino and Latin American realities. During the
period under review, the LLAS program has been the sole sponsor of about 30
speakers or programs, and a co-sponsor of countless others. The LLAS program
is without a doubt among the most active and visible interdisciplinary programs
when it comes to sponsoring events for our campus and surrounding community.
We have also developed programming off-campus, especially through
partnerships with local community groups. The Washington Humanities Grant
partnership with Allied Arts of Yakima has been the most visible of these efforts.
e. The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies: All of these initiatives
have come together in recent years with the work to establish a Center for Latino
and Latin American Studies, which unites our interdisciplinary academic program
with vital community partnerships. In spring 2006 we were awarded $66,000 in
base funding to begin our work in fall 2006. Those funds have enabled us to
develop a great deal of programming and hire new faculty to add the Latino
Studies component to our academic program.
E. Results for Department Goals
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1-2. Provide results in specific quantitative or qualitative terms and compare those
results to the standards of mastery listed above.
The Latino and Latin American Studies program has not carried out quantitative or
qualitative assessment of its programs, save for standard classroom Student Evaluations
of Instruction for the LLAS 102 class and the alumni survey conducted for this program
review (see “Appendix F: Alumni Survey” for more). We can, however, utilize
additional measures to reflect upon goal attainment. These include CWU enrollment and
retention statistics, surveys conducted by the Commission on Latina/o Affairs, and others.
Most important is a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the on- and off-campus events
sponsored or co-sponsored by the LLAS program and the Center for Latino and Latin
American Studies. Below is an analysis of the results for our departmental goals. In
most cases, we believe we have surpassed our measure for mastery or achievement.
Goal 1 (recruiting and retaining more Latino students) has been met as reflected in the
dramatic expansion of Latino student enrollment at CWU. In the period under review,
Latino student enrollment has grown from 4% of the CWU student body to about 8%. Of
course, the link between these figures and the Latino and Latin American Studies
program or the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies can only be determined
through consistent survey data, which we do not currently have. What we do have is
highly suggestive, though. The Commission on Latina/o Affairs surveyed Latino high
school and college students, demonstrating that the existence of Latino and Chicano
Studies programs help influence Latino students’ college enrollment decisions. We need
more systematic data on the recruitment potentials and realities. We also need more
information regarding retention rates and the role of the Latino and Latin American
Studies program and center in determining them.
Goal 2 (building bridges between Latino and non-Latino students) has been met
especially through the Casa Latina Living Learning Community, whose members include
students of diverse backgrounds. Moreover, our study abroad trips have included Latino
and non-Latino students.
Goal 3 (demonstrating CWU’s commitment to diversity) is met in everything we do in
LLAS. Our program helps to diversify our campus and curriculum in myriad ways.
Goal 4 (exposing students to global experiences) is met through our classes which focus
on Latin American area studies and the study of global migrations to the United States
and our region in the Pacific Northwest. We not only advocate for our students to
embrace study abroad experiences offered elsewhere, but our faculty have also led study
abroad programs. In the period under review, four LLAS faculty (Abbott, Ervin, Mayer,
and Wood) led three study abroad programs to Mexico and Spain, taking 30 CWU
students and faculty abroad in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Goal 5 (enhance CWU student contact with Latino/Latin American communities) is met
through classroom activities and on- and off-campus events. One of our most recognized
series is the “Women and War” event developed by Pacific Northwest human rights
organizations that work among aggrieved communities in Northeastern Colombia. Each
spring, they bring a new speaker to reflect upon the U.S. drug war and its impacts upon
peoples, especially women, in Colombia. Caught between guerrillas and governmentLLAS, 3/23/09
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sponsored paramilitaries, Colombia’s people are engaged in a life-and-death struggle to
carve out dignified lives. In addition to speakers, student groups like MEChA and Casa
Latina are engaged in educational activities that share with the broader CWU student
body an interest in Latino and Latin American communities, traditions, and realities.
Goal 6 (developing students’ research skills) is met through our upper-division electives,
almost all of which require research projects of some sort. One of our most exciting new
developments has been Dr. Gilberto García’s new Latino Politics (POSC 316) class
which is built around community-based research projects. He has also mentored student
researchers to present their findings at regional conferences.
Goal 7 (preparing students for professional success) is met through an analysis of our
admittedly limited alumni surveys. Under the question “My LLAS education helped to
prepare me,” 50% of the respondents said that they “strongly agree” that it did.
Goal 8 (providing students with relevant and enriching personal and professional
experiences) is best reflected in our alumni surveys. All students “strongly agree” that
they were satisfied with the LLAS program at CWU.
Goal 9 (valuing the surrounding Latino community’s lives and experiences and
incorporating them into our students’ academic training) has been met through the
development of campus events and in-class presentations. The best example here is the
2007-08 lecture series on immigration sponsored by the Center for Latino and Latin
American Studies. The series included quarterly presentations by scholars, community
activists, and business representatives to reflect upon the complex questions raised by the
expanded migrations to and numbers of undocumented workers in the United States
today. The speakers not only presented to the public to audiences totaling more than 300
people, but they also went into individual classrooms (both upper-division LLAS
electives and the LLAS 102 class) to share their perspectives.
Goal 10 (bringing community voices to Central’s campus) has been met through
numerous campus events, as well as partnerships with campus organizations devoted to
community outreach. One of the most significant partners we have is the Bridges
Program, housed in the Communication Department and directed by Veronica GómezVilchis. Through Bridges, we have developed an annual Day of the Dead celebration
(November 1 and 2) that takes CWU student mentors to school districts, and that once
brought over 150 junior high school students to CWU to celebrate Latino and Latin
American culture through a memorial/altar-building competition. Partnerships with
student groups like MEChA have been essential, too. In fall 2008 we co-sponsored a talk
by Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers with César Chávez. Her
presentation was enhanced through MEChA’s outreach to our region’s high schools, as
about 300 students from the region came to campus to attend the talk.
Goal 11 (preparing future teachers for working among Latino populations) has been one
of our greatest limitations to date. While CWU offers multicultural training to teachers,
LLAS has had very little engagement with the education program in general.
Goal 12 (engaging in outreach through service learning, internships, and other programs)
has been met through a number of programs like Bridges, and through individual faculty
LLAS, 3/23/09
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initiative. One of our most significant partners in this respect is APOYO, an on-campus
food bank (serving primarily Latino clients) founded and directed by English emeritus
professor Phil Garrison (Dr. Stella Moreno works on the board of directors). APOYO
has been a great source of volunteerism among student groups on campus, and we were
recently confronted with the challenge of convincing administrators to keep APOYO on
campus after Phil received a letter telling him to vacate the campus space as of June
2009. We successfully lobbied to keep APOYO on campus, and look forward to working
with the food bank to maintain its place as a significant community resource for some
time to come. Another source of outreach has been CWU’s Museum of Culture and
Environment. LLAS faculty member Bill Wood directs the museum, and many of our
faculty are engaged in the Museum’s development. Dr. Wood has engaged in a great
deal of outreach to the community in the hopes of creating a museum that serves our
region’s and our community’s needs.
Goal 13 (providing a forum through which faculty members share their expertise) has
been met through the tremendous collegiality that exists among LLAS faculty. We have
done this through guest lectures in our classes, team-teaching experiences, on-campus
events (film festivals especially), and off-campus events. As part of our immigration
speaker series, Phil Garrison gave a wonderful reading of his book, Because I Don’t Have
Wings, that documents stories of migration between Mexico and the Pacific Northwest.
We are searching for funding to transform his book into a documentary film. Another
exciting venue for faculty to share their expertise came in spring 2008 when we partnered
with Allied Arts of Yakima on a Washington Humanities Grant to hold a film festival
devoted to Latino and Latin American subjects. Of the three films shown, two of them
were introduced by CWU faculty (Dr. Stella Moreno and Dr. Gilberto García), who led
discussions that included hundreds of community members after the films’ viewings.
Goal 14 (bringing faculty with Latino and Latin American Studies interests to CWU) has
been met especially through the sponsoring of campus events. Among the speakers for
our immigration series was Dr. Erasmo Gamboa from the University of Washington.
Moreover, we are already planning to hold the 2009 regional conference for the Pacific
Northwest foco of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies at CWU.
Goal 15 (providing CWU faculty with a platform from which to develop research
projects related to Latino and Latin American issues) has been met especially through the
sharing of our passion for the subject matter and our interdisciplinary connections. We
have provided release time for faculty to develop new Latino Studies courses that have
been linked to new research interests. And although we do not have funds to directly
sponsor new research, our partnerships have sparked research interests for faculty
members. One such case was the study abroad class to Mexico in spring 2008 led by
Drs. Ervin and Wood (“Many Mexicos: A Cultural and Environmental History”). As a
result of that class, Dr. Ervin is now undertaking research and seeking grant support to
develop a project connected to post-revolutionary Mexico’s agrarian reform and its
environmental consequences.
Goal 16 (promoting an understanding among CWU faculty, staff, and students of the
diversity of Latino and Latin American lives and experiences) is a constant work in
progress as the LLAS program seeks to educate the campus community regarding the
LLAS, 3/23/09
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realities and experiences of Latino and Latin American peoples. Among the events
sponsored in the last five years aimed at demonstrating this diversity of experience were:
(a) Annual “Women and War in Colombia” series on the daily struggles of
women attempting to live between two fires (guerrillas and paramilitaries);
(b) Immigration speaker series including scholars, community activists and
business representatives to tell many sides of the story;
(c) Mexican Purépecha graduate student engaged in research to tell the story of
his people;
(d) Moi Enomenga, an Ecuadorian native struggling to protect indigenous land
against international oil companies;
(e) Bola Suriana, a traditional/folk musical group based in Morelia, Mexico, that
has performed twice at CWU (Cinco de Mayo celebrations);
(f) Multiple film series and presentations, including Spanish, Mexican, Brazilian,
and films from other regions of Latin America;
(g) Participation in International Education Week each November, including the
Parade of Nations display of regional and traditional clothing from around the
world; and
(h) Annual Day of the Dead and Cinco de Mayo celebrations.
Goal 17 (inspiring cooperative efforts and programs between CWU faculty and staff, and
between CWU and local communities) has been met especially through the Center for
Latino and Latin American Studies. As an interdisciplinary and interdivisional effort, the
Center has gone a long way towards breaking the boundaries between Student Affairs
and Academic Affairs to develop programming and student services that respond to the
changing needs of our students. We have also sponsored community connections
through the variety of efforts listed above, and much more.
3. Interpretation of Results
The results indicate that the Latino and Latin American Studies program is a source of
interdisciplinary and interdivisional energy at CWU. For a small interdisciplinary
program, our goals are ambitious, and we have met or exceeded our expectations in most
cases.
F. Based on the results listed above describe:
1-2. Specific changes to your department and the assessment process as they affect
programs (e.g. curriculum, teaching methods).
During the period under review, we have made a few cosmetic and one big change in our
minor program. In order to compete with other interdisciplinary programs and to expand
the number of minors in our program (which hovered around two in 2002-3), we reduced
the number of upper-division credits (from 25 to 20) and the years of language instruction
(from two to one), and we included French (in addition to Spanish and Portuguese) to the
list of languages that would meet the language pre-requisite for the minor. Currently we
have 15 minors enrolled and many more who are considering joining.
Most significantly, the survey data that was collected through the Commission on
Latina/o Affairs effectively demonstrated the value of developing a Latino or Chicano
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 13
Studies program at CWU. As a result, we added the Latino Studies component to our
minor, transforming our Latin American Studies program into a Latino and Latin
American Studies program beginning fall 2007. This was made possible through funding
faculty development of new Latino Studies courses (Dr. Stella Moreno in Spanish and
Dr. Chris Schedler in English) and by hiring a full-time, tenure-track specialist in Latino
Politics and Studies (Dr. Gilberto García, formerly from Eastern Washington University’s
Chicano Studies Program).
3. Provide documentation of continuing program need including references to the
statewide & regional needs assessment.
As a minor program, LLAS is not tied to specific employment patterns in Washington
State or elsewhere. Our program is intended as a specialization for students who can
demonstrate to employers an engagement with globalization, diversity, and other issues
and enhance their employment potential in many different fields.
At the same time, we believe that a Latino and Latin American Studies program is needed
not only for the benefits provided to student minors, but also as a tool for CWU to recruit
and retain more students, especially Latinos. As stated, the Commission on Latina/o
Affairs has conducted surveys suggesting that the existence of Latino Studies or Chicano
Studies programs are partially determinant of Latino high school students’ higher
education enrollment decisions. These data are particularly important when tied to
Washington State’s demographic and higher education realities. For the demographic
realities, one needs to look only at Latino students as a percentage of Washington State
students. In 2005, Latino students comprised under 9% of 12th graders in Washington
State’s public schools, but nearly 18% of kindergartners. That is, there appears to be a
wave of Latino enrollments coming to higher education in the coming decade. Combine
this fact with the 2006 Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 2006 “State and Regional
Needs Assessment,” which states:
There are several regions that have large disparity between their region’s
participation in higher education and the state average, including Southwest,
Northwest, Tri-County, and Eastern regions. Each of these areas would need to
increase their current enrollments by 30 percent over current levels to match the
average participation rate for Washington. Enrollment patterns from each region
suggest that a large percentage of students stay within the region to attend college.
For instance, 34 percent of students who call the Tri-County region home attend
Central Washington University, 44 percent of students who attend a four-year
institution from the Northwest region go to Western Washington University, and
over 60 percent of four-year students from the Eastern region attend either
Washington State University or Eastern Washington University….It is also of
note that the Eastern and Tri-County regions are the only two in the state in which
the majority of students who attend college do so at a four-year school. The four
regions are good targets for increasing the college participation rate and,
subsequently, the number of degrees Washington produces. Not only does each of
the regions exhibit the greatest gap between regional participation rates and the
state average, each is already served by a public four-year institution that attracts
high percentages of students from the region. As the state looks for different
strategies for increasing the number of four-year degrees produced, both two- and
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 14
four-year schools in each region could play active roles in encouraging more of
their citizens to choose higher education. (p.35)
In other words, the Tri-County area—comprising Kittitas, Yakima, and Klickitat
counties—shows tremendous potential for expanding enrollments in higher education
institutions. Moreover, because Yakima has one of the state’s highest percentages of
Latinos, we believe that a Latino and Latin American Studies program can be of
tremendous utility to CWU during times of economic downturn. The Center for Latin
and Latin American Studies is one way to expand enrollments among an underserved and
underrepresented group in our own backyard.
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 15
II. Description of programs and curricula
Table 1 (Section II, A): Programs Offered
Degree Program
No majors offered
Minor Programs
Latin American Studies
I
Latin American Studies
II
Latino and Latin
American Studies
Totals
Delivery
Location
Instructional Staff
Faculty FTE
Grad Assist
FTE
n/a
n/a
n/a
Delivery
Location
Instructional Staff
# Students in Major
0304
n/a
0405
n/a
0506
n/a
0607
n/a
# Degrees Awarded
0708
n/a
0304
n/a
# Students in Minor
0304
0405
0506
0607
0405
0506
0607
0708
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
#Minors Completed
Faculty FTE
Grad Assist
FTE
0708
Ellensburg
n/a
n/a
0
0
2
4.7
4
Ellensburg
n/a
n/a
2.3
5.3
3
2.3
Ellensburg
n/a
n/a
0
0
0
2.3
5.3
5
0304
0405
0506
0607
0708
2
2
1
2
3
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
4.7
0
0
0
0
2
7
8.7
4
4
1
2
5
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 16
Table 2 (Section II, B): Courses, Contributions, Locations
Contributing area
General Education
Courses
Latin American Studies
102
Latino and Latin
American Studies 102
Totals
Delivery Location
Location(s)
Professional Education
Courses
n/a
Service Courses
Location(s)
Faculty FTE
Grad FTE
2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 200704
05
06
07
08
Location(s)
Faculty FTE
Grad FTE
2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 200704
05
06
07
08
Ellensburg
Ellensburg
Instructional Staff
Faculty FTE
Grad Assist.
FTE
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
FTE
2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 200704
05
06
07
08
3.7
3.8
3.9
7.2
0
0
0
0
0
9.7
3.7
3.8
3.9
7.2
9.7
n/a
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 17
II, C. Describe the currency of curricula in the discipline. How does our curriculum
compare to recognized standards promulgated by professionals in the discipline?
1. Interdisciplinary Coverage: The currency of the curricula meets established
standards in the field, whether one looks to the Latin American Studies
Association, the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, or other
professional organizations in the field. As an interdisciplinary program devoted
to studying Latino and Latin American realities, we provide students with many
paths to analyzing the region and its peoples. We offer classes in Anthropology,
English, Ethnic Studies, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, and Political
Science, and our courses cover the entire region in its economic, social, political,
and cultural aspects. Dr. Raymond Hall, a new professor of Africana and Black
Studies, is a specialist on Afro-mestizo communities in Veracruz, Mexico. We
want to include his classes, including a new study abroad opportunity in Mexico
this summer, to our list of upper-division electives as well. One area that does not
receive the coverage that it should is Brazil. Without a dedicated Brazilian
specialist, it is difficult to promote a systematic and sustained engagement with
Brazilian subjects among our students.
2. Fusing Latino and Latin American Studies: When analyzing the standards of
the profession, one is struck by the division of the field into programs devoted
solely to Latino/Chicano Studies or Latin American Studies. Recently, some
universities, especially at R-1 and liberal arts colleges, have begun to fuse the area
and ethnic studies programs to bridge the gap between the two fields. Thus, the
creation of a Latino and Latin American Studies program at CWU is on the
cutting edge in the field as more scholars see the need to break down the barriers
standing between a study of the region (Latin American Studies) and its
descendants in the United States (Latino Studies).
3. A Model of Community Outreach: At the same time, the effort to build a Center
for Latino and Latin American Studies that connects our interdisciplinary
academic program with community partnership owes itself to different goals than
those of the R-1 and liberal arts programs. As a regional comprehensive
university surrounded by booming Latino populations, CWU can provide other
similar institutions with a model to allow our innovative academic programs serve
specific community needs and desires.
II, D. Effectiveness of Instruction:
1. Departmental Teaching Effectiveness—report a five-year history of the “teaching
effectiveness” department means as reported on SEOIs, indexed to the university
mean on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
All LLAS faculty conduct Student Evaluations of Instruction (SEOIs) through their
departments, not the LLAS program. While we could provide figures for the LLAS 102
class, the comparison that is made between the program, college, and university SEOI
means would be misleading at best. Not only would we be comparing one class to an
average of all classes, but the current SEOI form has no statistical validity or reliability.
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 18
In particular, it does not compensate for the enormous grading disparities that exist
between departments on campus.
2. What evidence other than SEOIs is gathered and used in the department to evaluate
the effectiveness of instruction?
Effectiveness of instruction for LLAS faculty remains the responsibility of the
departments in which LLAS faculty teach. The sole measure of teaching effectiveness in
the program is periodic classroom visits by the program director to the LLAS 102 course.
Following is one example of departmentally based evaluation of teaching standards for
LLAS faculty in the History Department. While all departments are different, we did not
feel it necessary to include the standards for the many departments represented by LLAS
faculty. Upon request, the standards for the seven departments represented by LLAS
Program Faculty can be provided.
This statement on evaluation and standards of faculty instruction is taken from the
History Department’s most recent performance standards:
 Effective instruction is the central element of faculty work. Informed by
active scholarship, it requires thoughtful and responsive course design,
development of appropriate instructional techniques, articulation of
student learning objectives, assessment of student learning, and general
advising. Effective teaching is shaped by formal evaluation using multiple
measures and by ongoing professional development.
 In evaluating faculty dossiers, the following criteria should be used: 1)
Syllabi are clear, complete, including information such as office hours,
email address, phone number, and course schedule, and in alignment with
Department course descriptions and outcomes. 2) Teaching materials
demonstrate knowledge of various effective teaching and learning
strategies appropriate to history instruction. 3) Evaluation criteria are clear
and grading patterns (course grades) indicate that appropriate standards of
quality are being applied. 4) Narrative statement on teaching demonstrates
that evaluation results are used to reflect on and revise classes to help
students meet Department outcomes.5) Classes meet regularly; paper
assessments correspond with department outcomes; grading is done
responsibly.
 Faculty also provide proof of their teaching effectiveness through
activities listed below:
(1) team-taught and interdisciplinary courses
(2) teaching awards
(3) design of new courses or substantive revision of established
ones
(4) attendance at professional conferences, seminars, and
workshops
(5) use of technology in the classroom
(6) study abroad trips for the faculty and/or leading one for
students
(7) undergraduate and graduate advising
(8) direction of undergraduate and graduate research
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 19
(9) student accomplishments
(10) work on graduate committees.
(11) grants where main focus is on teaching.
(12) courses that expand a faculty member’s historical knowledge,
ability to use teaching technology, and pedagogy techniques
(13) providing students with a diverse and interesting set of course
offerings while also teaching the department’s basic service
courses
3. Effectiveness of instructional methods to produce student learning based upon
programmatic goals including innovative and traditional methods—examples
include:
a. Collaborative research between student and faculty: While many LLAS
faculty undertake collaborative research with students, one course in particular
stands out: POSC 316, Latinos in the U.S. Dr. García is developing this class,
which was offered for the first time in 2007-08, as a community-based,
collaborative project to develop students’ research skills and to disseminate their
results by encouraging student participation in conferences. Dr. García took two
of his POSC 316 students to a Portland, OR conference during spring 2008.
b. Inquiry-based, open-ended learning: Common to all LLAS courses is the
requirement that original papers be written by students. Sometimes these are
“think” papers, based on scholarly books or historical documents. Sometimes
these are research papers, requiring Internet and library investigation for sources.
Students are often invited to select a topic of their choice, to assure their
commitment to their area of inquiry.
c. Use of field experiences: Students have often taken the opportunity to engage
in learning outside the traditional classroom. Several have enjoyed traditional
study abroad, and others have gone on LLAS faculty-led trips to Mexico and
Spain. Community-based research is another avenue to exposing students to field
experiences. We also work with Bridges, the mentoring program that has
developed tremendous outreach and field experiences among our region’s middle
and high schools.
d. Classic lectures: While LLAS faculty offer engaging classic lectures, most
enhance their classroom or public presentations with PowerPoint presentations
that include maps, outlines, film clips, and images like political cartoons. Some
faculty also use personal websites or Blackboard to disseminate information, hold
discussions, and respond to student questions.
e. Lecture and inquiry based guided discussions: Customary lectures in
classes invite questions and comments from students throughout the hour and at
the end of the hour. Full class periods are often devoted to student discussion
based on readings, films, or lectures. Sometimes the entire class participates in a
large dialogue and debates, moderated by the instructor or breaks into small
discussion groups to dissect certain issues. The frequency of campus speakers
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 20
invited into the classroom is another way that guided discussions are incorporated
into the LLAS coursework.
f. Service learning or civic engagement: Many LLAS faculty are engaged in
service learning or civic engagement with students. Of special note is the work of
Dr. Loran Cutsinger, who has not only presented papers on service learning and
civic engagement at regional and national conferences, but also engages students
in all kinds of related projects.
g. Distance education and online courses: During the period under review, Dr.
Chris Schedler developed LLAS’s first on-line classes, especially Chicano Film
and Latin American Literature. In summer 2009, Dr. Ervin will be offering the
LLAS 102 class on-line, and Dr. Mayer will offer a Mexican Novel course online. LLAS faculty will be discussing whether to develop an entirely on-line
minor that could suit the needs of students.
II, E. Degree to which distance education technology is used for instruction.
1. ITV: LLAS faculty have attempted to make use of the distance education
technologies, but have found little interest. The most common experience is to get a few
students at the Centers registered early, only to have them drop out during the first days
of class.
2. Online Courses: As stated, LLAS faculty (Ervin, Mayer, Schedler) are developing online classes, and LLAS faculty will be discussing the development of a completely online minor in the near future. This would entail developing some of our upper-division
electives as general education courses to meet the needs of students at the CWU Centers
around the state. The potential is great, but the promises and pitfalls of on-line education
will have to be hashed out among the faculty moving forward.
II, F. Assessment of programs and student learning.
1. List student learner outcomes for each graduate and undergraduate degree
program and note how the outcomes are linked to department, college, and university
mission and goals.
See “Table 3: Program Assessment Plan, LLAS Minor Program: Student and Learner
Outcomes” Below.
LLAS, 3/23/09
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Table 3: Program Assessment Plan
LLAS Minor Program: Student and Learner Outcomes
Department/Program
Goals
Related
Program
Goals*
Related
College
Goals**
Related
University
Goals***
Method(s) of
Assessment
Who/What
Assessed
When
Assessed
Criterion of
Achievement
Serve as Recruitment and
Retention of Latino Students
Goal #1
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Univ. enrollments,
grad. rates, alumni
surveys
# Latino
students
enrolled and
graduating
Annually
Expansion
Build Bridges Between
Latino and Non-Latino
Students
Goal #2
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Class enrollments,
extracurricular
activities like Casa
Latina
Programming
and Latino vs.
non-Latino
participation
With each
event
Mixture of
Latino and
non-Latino
participation or
attendance
Demonstrate CWU’s
Commitment to Diversity
Goal #3
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Course offerings
and campus event
sponsorships
Infusion of
Global/Diverse
Subject Matter
Per class
and event
and
annually
Quarterly
campus events;
enough classes
for student
minors
Expose Students to Global
Experiences
Goal #4
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Course offerings,
study-abroad
classes and campus
event sponsorships
Infusion of
Global Subject
Matter on
campus;
exposure for
students
Per class
and event,
and
annually
Quarterly
campus events;
every other
year study
abroad
Enhance Contacts between
CWU Students and
Latino/Latin American
Communities
Goal #5
Goals 17
Goal 1 and
3-6
Course offerings
and campus event
sponsorship
Contacts
between CWU
students and
community
Per class
or event
Quarterly
campus events;
sizable number
of students
impacted
Develop Students’ Research
Skills
Goal #6
Goals 17
Goal 1 and
3-6
Grading of
classroom research
projects
Student
performance
Per
research
assignment
Passing grade
or better on
research
component
Prepare Students for
Professional Success
Goal #7
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Alumni Surveys
Program
Success
Five-Year
Program
Review
Cycle
50% or higher
saying “agree”
or “strongly
agree”
Provide Students with
Relevant and Enriching
Experiences
Goal #8
Goals 1
and 3-7
Goal 1 and
3-6
Alumni Surveys
Program
Success
Five-Year
Program
Review
Cycle
50% or higher
saying “agree”
or “strongly
agree”
* For the “Related Program Goal” see “1.E.1-2.Goals 1-17” above.
** For the “Related College Goals,” see “I.D.2.b.1-7” above.
***For the “Related University Goals,” see “I.D.2.a.1-7” above.
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 22
2.a-c. List the results for each student learning outcome:
See discussion of assessment in section I.E.1-2.
3. Based upon the results for each outcome listed above describe
a. Specific changes to your program as they affect student learning (e.g.
curriculum, teaching methods).
This is the first year of assessment and no changes have taken place yet, but we are
discussing a new requirement that students must take a minimum number of credits in
both Latino Studies and Latin American Studies to ensure that all LLAS students are
receiving training in both areas.
b. List specific changes related to assessment process if any. Attach an updated
programmatic student assessment plan for the future.
The program has no plans to update the assessment process. If, however, the LLAS
program were to be transformed into a major, we would undertake a dramatic revision
of our assessment procedures.
III. Faculty
A. Faculty Profile: Because the LLAS program is a minor with individual faculty being
assessed for teaching, research, and service activities in their home departments, we have
not statistically broken down faculty teaching, research, and service activities.
B. Faculty Vitae: Please see “Appendix A: LLAS Program Faculty Vitae.”
C. Faculty Awards for Distinction: Please see “Appendix A: LLAS Program Faculty
Vitae.”
D. Performance Standards: Upon request, performance standards for the seven
departments and two colleges represented by LLAS faculty can be provided.
IV. Students for Five Years
A. Student Accomplishments: Because we are a minor program and our alumni survey
was limited, we have not collected information on student accomplishments.
B. Master’s Projects: LLAS does not offer a Master’s Program.
C. Student Advising: Student advising for our 13 students is divided up among the
faculty in LLAS. Because the advising load is not onerous, however, most of the
students come to the program director for advice.
D. Student Services: LLAS students avail themselves of all the regular services on
campus, especially the Writing Center. LLAS students are also connected with four
student groups or university programs on campus: the Casa Latina Living Learning
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 23
Community, the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), the Bridges
Program, and the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). Dr. Gilberto García has
been working through the Alumni Association to develop a scholarship program for
Latino students on campus, but that foundation account has only just begun to accrue
monies. When it reaches the $10,000 level, a first scholarship can be awarded.
V. Facilities and Equipment:
A-C. Describe facilities, equipment, and technology available to the department and
their adequacy. Describe anticipated needs in the next three to five years.
LLAS faculty offices are in their home departments, which is a problem in terms
of community building because our faculty are so dispersed. In part, this is
unavoidable and a basic problem of interdisciplinary programs in a world of
disciplines. At the same time, the lack of space is becoming an issue for the effort
to build a Center for Latino and Latin American Studies at CWU. Without office
space, our community partnership becomes difficult, because we have no place to
send community representatives, campus speakers, and the like to showcase our
work and tremendous progress in recent years.
VI. Library and Technology Resources
The Latino and Latin American Studies program considers the university library to be its
laboratory, every bit as much as the scientists require scientific labs. The faculty work closely
with many library departments to ensure quality resources for students and instructors.
1. Faculty send evaluation cards to Library Acquisitions to endorse the purchase of
key publications and decline acquisition of unsuitable materials.
2. Some LLAS faculty have been or are library liaisons in their departments.
3. Faculty work with the Periodicals librarian to evaluate appropriate journals for
new subscriptions, renewals of current acquisitions, or cancellation.
4. Professors cooperate with several professional librarians, including Gerry Hogan,
Head of Reference; John Creech in Computer Services; and Jan Jorgensen in
Government Documents to prepare tours for students, prepare customized webpages with specialized links to course-specific websites, and offer individual help
with research projects. We also need to work with the head of the now vacant
position in the university archives. It is essential that this position be filled, since
access is limited and acquisition of materials has been suspended.
5. Professors and students make substantial use of library resources and databases,
especially Summit, WorldCat, all Ebsco databases, JSTOR, Project Muse, and
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI).
6. Professors and students use Inter-library Loan services.
7. Most upper-division LLAS classes require a research paper of students,
necessitating their use of the campus library.
8. Instructors assign reserve reading at the library for courses.
9. Media services lends DVDs and videos appropriate to classroom instruction.
10. LLAS faculty are distressed that budget cuts have severely diminished acquisition
of journals, books, and reference materials. In the last year alone, the budget for
books declined by over 10 percent from $335,000 to $300,000. LLAS faculty
commend library efforts to facilitate research under these circumstances,
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 24
especially through participation in the SUMMIT system; the acquisition of
computerized databases that provide scholarly journal articles and primary
sources; supplementary materials acquired by Friends of the Library; and the
establishment of the university archives. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the
library be recognized as a key component to successful research by faculty and
students in an institution that increasingly calls for a growth in research. Let us
commit to acquiring necessary periodicals, indexes and other reference works,
and full-text databases that are not currently available but are essential to
conducting appropriate and relevant research.
VII. Analysis of the Review Period
A. What has gone well in the program?
1. Explain accomplishments of the past five years: From 2003-08, the LLAS
program has taken tremendous strides toward achieving our goals. Below is a list
of accomplishments during the five-year review period. For the most up-to-date
list of accomplishments and activities, see “Appendix G: Center for Latino and
Latin American Studies Status Report, February 2009.”
a. Center for Latino and Latin American Studies sphere of distinction
grant: The $66,000 award in 2006 has enabled us to expand our vision
and realize much more ambitious goals than a regular interdisciplinary
program.
b. Growth in number of minors: In 2003-04, the number of enrolled
minors hovered around two students. For the past four years, it has ranged
anywhere from 10-20 students, currently standing at 13.
c. Revision of minor: In 2006-07, we successfully transformed our Latin
American Studies program into its current Latino and Latin American
Studies program.
d. Hiring of new faculty: Dr. Gilberto García (Political Science), Dr.
Alejandro Lee (Foreign Languages), Dr. Jennifer Lipton (Geography), Dr.
Eric Mayer (Foreign Languages), Dr. Craig Revels (Geography), Dr. Bill
Wood (Anthropology)
e. Inclusion of new faculty as affiliate faculty: Dr. Dan Beck (Biology),
Sarah Bishop (Foreign Languages), Lois Breedlove (Communication), Dr.
Kris Ernest (Biology), Dr. Phil Garrison (English—Emeritus), Dr. Keith
Lewis (Art)
f. Community partnership initiative: We have engaged with the
surrounding community, especially Washington State’s booming Latino
population, to become a resource that serves central Washington.
g. Campus event sponsorships: Few programs on campus have the track
record of LLAS in the past five years for sponsoring campus speakers and
LLAS, 3/23/09
Page 25
events to bring Latino and Latin American subjects to a wider audience.
More than informing LLAS minors, our program seeks to imbue Latino
and Latin American Studies into the CWU campus experience.
h. Diversifying CWU campus: Our events and our faculty are helping to
tackle the problems of campus climate that continue to pose a problem in
CWU’s efforts to attract diverse students.
i. Funding faculty development of new courses: We are very happy to
have provided professional incentives to allow Program Faculty to
develop new Latino Studies courses to help us make the transition to an
LLAS program.
j. Scholarship accomplishments: LLAS faculty are tremendously proud
of our research accomplishments, given the serious teaching loads (36
credits over three quarters) at CWU, during the past five years. Our
faculty present and publish our work in international, national, regional,
and local venues. We publish books, journal articles, newspaper
editorials, translations, and much more.
k. Interdisciplinarity and interdivisionality: We are also proud of our
ability to foster communication across disciplines and divisions at CWU.
Partnerships between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are sometimes
hard to come by, but LLAS faculty have extended relationships across
CWU in an effort to achieve our goals.
l. Student research and mentorship: LLAS faculty are also tremendous
mentors, not only of individual student research, but at developing servicelearning, civic engagement, and other off-campus opportunities for LLAS
and other students.
2. How have accomplishments been supported through external and internal
resources?
a. Internal Resources: CWU provides all interdisciplinary programs with
small budgets to help carry out their work. For LLAS, that budget is
$1,650. In spring 2006, the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
won $66,000 in base budget funds through President McIntyre’s first
“spheres of distinction” grant program. In fall 2008, CAH Dean Marji
Morgan added an $8,000 base budget for community partnership. This
support is greatly appreciated and has allowed us to develop new courses,
hire new faculty, and sponsor events on campus.
b. External Resources: As noted, we are in a constant search for external
sources of funding, most notably the National Endowment for the
Humanities Challenge Grant. Other funding proposals, from the Sundance
Institute and Fledgling Fund, have sought support for turning English
Professor Phil Garrison’s book about Mexican migration, Because I Don’t
Have Wings, into a documentary film. We are also discussing the
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potential for seeking an NEH Digital Humanities grant to develop an oral
history of Latino groups in the Pacific Northwest.
B.1-2. What challenges exist for the department? What are the likely causes of each
challenge, include documentation.
a. Loss of Faculty: We have lost a number of our LLAS faculty to retirement and
other job opportunities. Dr. J. Anthony Abbott, co-director of the Latin American
Studies program in 2004-05, has since departed for Stetson University. Many
faculty find it difficult to develop their research agendas given the extraordinary
teaching demands placed upon faculty at CWU. As a result, we will continue to
lose faculty to universities that provide more research support.
b. Upper-Division Offerings: We continue to suffer from a dearth of upperdivision offerings for our minors. Because LLAS faculty work out their teaching
schedules in their home departments, the LLAS program director is unable to
substantially influence course offering decisions. This issue has not been a major
source of conflict so far, but now that the program is growing, we suspect that
more coordination with department chairs will be necessary.
c. Library Resources: For LLAS faculty to remain engaged in their fields, we
need library resources befitting a university. Our collections are old. Funding for
new acquisitions has languished since the 1990s. Database and on-line resources
have improved, but we can and must do more. Library check-out policies hamper
faculty research. With quarterly fines for some faculty of over $100, the library
should better serve the needs of research faculty. Ultimately, LLAS faculty,
students, and the community at large would benefit from a subject librarian in
area/ethnic studies, bilingual or multilingual librarians/paralibrarians, and/or
librarians with expertise or interest in multicultural information-seeking behavior
and information literacy. The expected increase in the number of Latino students
and diverse faculty makes it necessary to hire diverse library staff.
d. Campus Climate: The campus climate for Latino students is a constant work
in progress. While the number of Latino students has grown, the growth has not
been met by a more profound change in climate. Latino students are frequently
discriminated against, singled out, and harassed in ways that should be
embarrassing to CWU. At the same time, CWU seems to be part of the problem.
When Latino students report offenders, the issues appear to be swept under the
rug by some administrators. As a result, students refuse to report offenses. LLAS
and the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies cannot succeed without
more serious attention to the climate for Latino students on CWU’s campus.
e. CWU Fundraising and the Budget Crisis: Fundraising is a major issue that
the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies will have to contend with,
especially if we win the National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant
(which requires us to match $600,000 in federal funds with $1.8 million in
privately raised funds over six years). To date, we have counted on the support of
Margaret Nover and Catherine Scarlett to develop our fundraising plan, but CAH
recently lost Catherine’s position and currently has no development officer. In
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their comments on our first unsuccessful challenge grant in November 2007, NEH
panelists noted that the principle obstacle to receiving the grant is our fundraising
plan. Although the budget crisis looms, the Center for Latino and Latin American
Studies will need the committed support of fundraising partners in CAH and
across the University to succeed.
f. Lack of Brazil Specialist: One serious issue of coverage not provided by our
program exists: Brazil. While Keith Lewis in the Art Department has developed
his work and engaged in contacts in Brazil, we do not have a dedicated Brazilian
specialist in any discipline at CWU. This issue is of significance, because our
Latin American Studies component only treats Brazil, the region’s largest
country, tangentially through other subjects. In part, this reality stems from the
Foreign Languages Department’s lack of a Portuguese language program. We
would very much support acquiring Brazilian and Portuguese specialists in the
future, especially since Brazil is often viewed as being on the cutting edge of
environmental and other policies at the heart of the twenty-first century economy.
g. Limited Contact with Education Programs: To date, we have not established
firm and long-lasting relationships with the Education Department. Prior to her
retirement, Minerva Caples was a tremendous asset in developing the vision of
the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies. LLAS faculty also work
closely with Dr. Craig Hughes, whose expertise in multicultural education and
interest in Latino issues is certain and outstanding. At the same time, LLAS and
the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies would like to work much more
closely with the Education Department as we educate our state’s future educators,
many of whom are un- or under-prepared for working among Latino students.
h. Lack of Campus Space: NEH panelists also noted the Center’s lack of campus
office space as a challenge that we need to confront. Space for space’s sake,
however, does not seem to be the right answer. We face the dual challenge of
finding the right kind of space in which to build the LLAS program and the
Center for Latino and Latin American Studies. Such a reality can only be
achieved with the support of administrators who perceive the Center’s tremendous
recruitment and retention potential.
i. Unprepared Students: We have found inadequately prepared students being
admitted to CWU and the introductory LLAS course. Because LLAS 102 is a
“W” class, we are especially concerned with the low level of writing of many
freshmen. The cause appears to be low admissions standards that do not weed out
unprepared students.
C.1-2 What past recommendations from the previous program review have been
implemented? How has each recommendation been implemented and how have the
department and degree programs been impacted? Which recommendations were
not implemented and why?
This is our first program review.
D.1-2 Make a comparison between the last program review and where the
department is now. How have the advances been supported (e.g. internal and
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external resources)? Are there still outstanding unmet needs/challenges from the
last program review? What has the department done to meet these challenges?
This is our first program review.
VIII. Future Directions
A. Describe the department’s aspirations for the next three to five years.
In some ways, it is difficult to “think big” in times of economic crisis, but we
believe that the best way to deal with the downturn is to expand programs like
LLAS that promise expanded enrollment potential in the future. Clearly Latino
students must be at the center of enrollment management plans for the coming
decade. And our survey data demonstrate that a Latino and Latin American
Studies program can serve as a recruitment and retention tool for CWU. As a
result, our five-year plan would entail transforming the LLAS minor into a major
with three distinct specializations (Latino and Latin American Studies, Latin
American Studies, and Chicano Studies). Our aspiration continues to be seeing
the creation of the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies through to
completion. During the period under review, we have taken tremendous strides
toward developing the vision and moving towards its fulfillment. We plan to
continue that work so that CWU and the Center for Latino and Latin American
Studies can become a key resource for anyone interested in learning more about
Latino and Latin American lives and experiences.
B. In this context, describe ways the department might increase quality, quantity,
productivity, and efficiency as a whole. Provide evidence that supports the promise
for outstanding performance.
There are a number of steps that LLAS can take to increase quality, quantity, and
productivity, although efficiency does not appear to be an issue. As a small
interdisciplinary program, LLAS provides an excellent product at very low cost to
students and the University. In terms of quality, we need to implement changes in
the minor that demand student engagement with both Latino and Latin American
issues, because our program allows students to fulfill the upper-division electives
without specific requirements in each field. We would also like to hire a Brazil
specialist for program coverage and quality. As for quantity and productivity, we
can advocate with CWU administrators and department chairs to offer more
LLAS classes and to provide LLAS faculty with more time and resources to be
more productive. We would especially like to see the administration support the
expansion of the minor into a major with specializations. We can also work to
develop the minor in an on-line fashion. To do this, we might need to work with
the general education program to allow some of our upper-division classes to
fulfill general education requirements. In Dr. Schedler’s experience, students
from the Centers need upper-division general education classes, and LLAS could
fill a need and expand its student enrollments at the same time. The development
of a completely on-line minor might be an excellent way to expand FTEs.
C. What specific resources would the department need to pursue these future
directions?
We have been happy with the amount of resources devoted to the effort to
transform our Latin American Studies into a Center for Latino and Latin
American Studies. Six areas of future support seem to be significant. First, the
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most important resource that will be necessary if we are awarded the NEH
Challenge Grant would be fundraising support. Our mission will not be achieved
without the decided aid of the fundraising infrastructure at CWU. Second, we
would appreciate providing the director with more reassigned time to develop the
community partnerships that are proving so fruitful to our work on- and offcampus. Teaching 25 credits over three quarters makes travel and community
outreach difficult. Third, we would appreciate being placed on a priorities list for
campus space that can help us achieve our goals. Fourth, we would like to hire a
Brazil specialist in any department. The ideal would be to partner with Africana
and Black Studies to hire a specialist in Brazilian slavery or race relations. Fifth,
we may need the support of administrators and the general education committee if
we decide to move forward with the on-line minor. Finally, we would appreciate
help partnering with the Education Department to train future teachers who will
be teaching growing numbers of Latino students across Washington State.
D. What do you want us to know that isn’t included in this self-study?
We would like to thank Dean Marji Morgan for her leadership and support of
interdisciplinary programs, which can be overlooked even after a few “spheres of
distinction” awards have brought increased attention to them. Dean Morgan does
not hesitate to support our work. She holds nearly monthly socials at her house at
her own expense to help foster a sense of community among LLAS faculty, and
between LLAS faculty and those of other programs. Most impressively, when we
hired a new Latino Studies faculty member, she was receptive to the idea of
locating the faculty member outside of her college in Political Science, which
created an odd situation where Dean Morgan is the budget authority and the
COTS dean is the appointing authority. She did not hesitate, however, to support
innovation and creativity in the service of the Center for Latino and Latin
American Studies. We would also like to thank the staff support that has made
much of our campus event sponsorship possible. Those deserving most of the
credit are Kathy Sala (recently retired from the History Department), Angie Hill
(current History Department assistant), and Lindsay Groce (frequent supporter,
assistant in Foreign Languages). None of what we do is possible without them.
IX. Suggestions for the program review process or contents of the self-study.
A. Need for Assessment of Minor Programs: The program review process adds value
to all programs on campus, although less visibly for minor programs that have little
control over faculty serving in individual departments. Through this review process we
have noticed a couple of areas requiring attention as we move forward, but it is difficult
to justify adding layers of assessment for minor programs with few resources. LLAS
faculty are assessed in their home departments, and that would seem to suffice for the
needs of LLAS. Thus, the overall value of reviewing minor programs is less apparent.
B. Confusing Self-Study Organization: One frustration was the organization of the selfstudy contents. The lettering and numbering system was tremendously confusing and
difficult to keep straight. I found myself renumbering and relettering for clarity about a
half dozen times. In part, the problem is due to overlapping and redundant questions. In
other ways, it’s an unavoidable reality of trying to come up with one document that suits
the needs of so many different programs.
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