College of Arts & Sciences Annual Report 2006 - 2007
Chicano Studies Program
Introduction: Chicano Studies is an interdisciplinary field of instruction and inquiry that
examines primarily the social, economic, and political experience of U.S. Mexican origin
Latinos/as. Since Latinos have become the largest non-white racial/ethnic group in the United
States and because their continued growth is expected for years to come, the importance of a
Chicano Studies degree has taken on increasing importance for the University of Wyoming. The
Wyoming Mexican American experience dates back to the 16th century through Spanish
conquest, exploration, and colonialism. Today Mexican Americans are the dominant non-white
racial/ethnic group in the state and on campus. In fact, recent census estimates show that the
Latino growth rate (12.8%) was four times that of the state’s overall growth rate (4.3%) between
2000 and 2006.
With guidance from its 2004 – 2009 academic plan and a dedicated faculty, the Chicano Studies
Program continues to acquire local, regional, and national notoriety. In particular, the Chicano
Studies program assists the university and the College of Arts and Sciences in reaching goals
related to diversity, interdisciplinarity, internationalization, access, and structure of the
curriculum. Below is a list of program highlights from the preceding fiscal year and summer.
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“Diaspora Study in the Yucatán”—Summer Study Abroad Course Offering (3rd year)
“Alicia in Wonder Tierra”—Snowy Range Summer Theatre and Dance Festival Children’s
Show at Vedauwoo State Park and State Fall Tour, Dr. Cecilia Aragón, Director
“Social Justice in the 21st Century”—Freshman Interest Group (3rd year)
“Underground Hip-Hop Show”—Free September Student Concert featuring Quanstar from
the Metrognome and Adrian Molina
“Hip-Hop, Gender, and Feminism”—Open Forum facilitated by Adrian Molina
“Quinceañera and Other Coming of Age Rituals in Latino Communities”–Hispanic
Heritage Month Lecture, Dr. Norma Cantu, University of Texas at San Antonio
“Teaching Civil Rights for Social Justice”—Paper presented by Dr. Margie Zamudio with
Drs. Jacquelyn Bridgeman and Caskey Russell at the annual meeting of LatCrit: Latina/o
Critical Legal Theory, Inc., in Las Vegas, NV.
Hip-Hop Lecture Series
o “African, Jamaican, and Latino Roots of Hip-Hop,” Dewey Gallegos
o “Hip-Hop in the Marketplace of Ideas,” Gracie Lawson-Borders
o “In the Name of Justice: Hip-Hop’s Activist History,” Adrian Molina and Kathleen
Vernon
o “International Hip-Hop,” Lauren Neeff
“Hip-Hop Revolution II”—Shepard Symposium for Social Justice Opening Keynote
Lecture by Jeff Chang
“Trabajo y sueños en todo los gneraciónes de mestizaje en Wyoming”—Wyoming Latino
History Mural by Ruby Chacon unveiled at the 3rd annual Cesar Chavez Dinner “Sueños para
los Niñas/os,” commissioned by Movimiento Estudiantíl Chican@ de Aztlán (MEChA)
“Assessing Chicano Studies Student Learning”—Workshop facilitated by Dr. Ed A.
Muñoz and Adrian Molina at the annual meeting of the National Association for Chicana and
Chicano Studies, San Jose, CA
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“Phantom Discourse: Life, Death and Chicanism@”--A play written, produced, directed,
and performed by Adrian Molina
“Latinos in the Diaspora: Education in Rural Settings”—Regional Conference hosted by
UW Education Studies, Chicano Studies, and USA Funds
“Portraits of Latinas in Albany County”—Gala/Award Reception service learning project
for Dr. Carmelita Castañeda’s CHST 3200: Perspectives in Chicana Studies recognizing
outstanding Latina Leaders in Albany County
Academic Planning Implementation: Below is a brief review of progress made towards action
items listed in the Chicano Studies Academic Plan II.
CHST 1. The assessment of two Chicano Studies student learning outcomes began in the
Spring semester. The four remaining student learning outcomes will be assessed in
the upcoming academic year.
CHST 2. In large part, the streamlining of the Chicano Studies Minor curriculum has been
responsible for an upsurge in CHST minors.
CHST 3. A Freshman Interest Group, an Intellectual Community course, and a Study Abroad
course continue to experience collaboratively success with other interdisciplinary
programs. Exit interviews with CHST minors indicate the desire for a more inclusive
U.S. Latino Studies program.
CHST 4. Interdisciplinary curriculum and faculty partnerships within and outside of Chicano
Studies’ traditional core disciplinary areas of the humanities and social sciences have
not made much forward progress since last year’s annual report.
CHST 5. The recent combined relocation of ethnic and women’s studies interdisciplinary
programs has proved beneficial and should provide continued opportunities for
synergistic collaboration with a number of events and program. In accord with
CHST minors comments during exit interviews, the viability of a CHST and/or
Ethnic Studies distributed major degree program will be investigated during the next
academic year.
Teaching Activities: Drs. Aragon (Theater and Dance), Muñoz (Criminal Justice), and Zamudio
(Sociology) continue to provide the majority of programmatic teaching and service support.
Additional teaching resources were provided by three adjunct faculty (History, Bantjes;
Education Studies, Rios and Castañeda); three temporary instructors (Criminal Justice and Law,
Molina; Education Studies, Gallegos, Adult Learning and Technology, Duran); and two nonaffiliated faculty (Agriculture, Wangberg; American Studies, Sandeen). This instructional
faculty was responsible for teaching one independent study project, two core courses (59
students), and one special topics seminar (7 students) in the summer session of 2006; two
independent study projects, three core courses (66 students), two non-core courses (54 students),
and one special topics course (4 students) in the fall semester of 2006; and one independent study
project, five core courses (124 students), two non-core courses (99 students), and one special
topics course (9 students) in the spring semester of 2007.
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Student teaching evaluations show considerable praise for Chicano Studies faculty and
course curricula. Nevertheless, an additional faculty line is necessary to offer History core
curriculum courses on a regular rotation, to increase the level of distance learning, and to provide
more USP supporting courses such as CHST 1030: Social Justice in the 21st Century (I, D);
CHST 1100: Intro to Chicano Studies (CS, D), CHST / HIST 2370: Chicano History, Origins to
1900 (CS, D), and CHST / HIST 4485: Latino Diaspora, Comparative History of the U.S. (WC,
D). This becomes even more urgent considering reduced temporary teaching resources and the
non-renewal of a shared teaching resources commitment with the College of Education (Rios and
Castañeda) that carries the potential of hampering short- and long-term curriculum development.
The study abroad course “Diaspora Study in the Yúcatan” experienced continued success
last summer and again was selected for 2007 Summer Course Initiative funding. This course
combines a classroom component on the historical and contemporary Latino Diaspora with an
experiential study abroad component in Mérida, Yúcatan, México. The past summer course had
its largest enrollment (7) to date with the help of minority study abroad scholarships funded
through a federally sponsored grant administered by the UW International Programs Office. The
course’s outlook for the future appears sound as Dr. Muñoz received an International Studies
Course Development grant to assist him in the institutionalization of the course as CHST / HIST
4485: Latino Diaspora, Comparative History of the U.S. It will be offered every other spring
semester with alternating study abroad sites in Mérida, Mexico and San Juan, Puerto Rico around
the spring break week. Finally, the possibility of Latino Diaspora being offered through the
Honors Program is being investigated.
Additional efforts to broaden the curriculum at the programmatic, departmental, college,
and university levels have proved successful. Dr. Zamudio’s CHST / SOC / WMST 3800:
Chican@s in Contemporary Society, approved for USP status (CS, D), was taught for the first
time last spring to excellent reviews. Her popular special topics course CHST 4990: U.S.
Women of Color will be submitted for permanent curricular and USP status (CS, D) next year.
Dr. Aragón’s CHST 4470: Studies in Chicano Folklore will provide additional USP support (CH,
D) in the spring. She is continuing with the development of a Latino Children’s Theatre course
that will support requirements for a theatre education certification with the College of Education.
There was continued success for the USP (I, D) course AAST / AIST / AMST / CHST /
INST / WMST 1030: Social Justice in the 21st Century. This course serves as the anchor course
for the interdisciplinary Freshman Interest Group (FIG) Social Justice in the 21st Century. A
mainstay of the course and its success has been its continued collaborative service learning
projects with the Lincoln Community Center in West Laramie. The Office of Academic Affairs
once again has decided to offer Social Justice in the 21st Century as part of its Fall 2007 menu of
Freshman Interest Groups. Dr. Gracie Lawson-Borders will be the instructor of record for the
upcoming semester.
There was high praise for College of Education faculty who taught CHST core and noncore courses through a shared resources agreement between the College of Education and the
College of Arts and Sciences. In fact, Education Studies faculty members Drs. Francisco Rios
and Carmelita Casteñada brought high visibility to the program with special events that were a
large part of their students’ course requirements.
With funding assistance from USA Funds, Dr. Rios organized and hosted a regional
conference entitled “Latinos in the Diaspora: Education in Rural Settings.” Conference
presenters from institutions located in the inter-Rocky Mountain (i.e., Arizona, New Mexico,
Wyoming) and Pacific Northwest (Washington, Idaho) regions came together to discuss issues
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and best practices on educating Latin@ students in rural settings. Students in Dr. Rios’ online
Outreach course CHST 4990: Latinos in Education actively participated in conference
proceedings that were attended well by UW students/faculty/staff and non UW
students/faculty/staff as well.
As part of their service learning project in Dr. Castañeda’s CHST 3200: Perspectives in
Chicana Studies course, students secured grant funding for their gala award dinner reception
from the Wyoming Humanities Council, ASUW, KOCA La Radio Montañesa, and the Chicano
Studies Program. Past and current Latinas from Albany County were recognized for their
leadership in their respective professions, and more importantly, for their volunteerism in the
community.
Finally, ongoing student learning assessment activities have worked to encourage high
quality teaching as faculty members have engaged each other formally and informally in serious
and reflective discussions about Chicano Studies student learning outcomes. A direct reward
will manifest soon in the publication of a refereed journal article that will be submitted at the end
of the summer. Indirectly, the Chicano Studies Program undoubtedly has established itself as a
high visibility program that addresses some of the most pressing social, economic, and political
issues in contemporary society. Evidence for this claim can be seen in temporary lecturer Adrian
Molina’s recent ASUW Distinguished Service Award presented to a staff or faculty member for
their dedication to students. Additional evidence manifests in the relatively high level of
advising for undergraduate/graduate independent research (4), McNair Scholars (2), and Masters
Thesis projects (4).
Research and/or Creative Activities: Programmatic and departmental parallel tenure and
promotion reviews have provided consistent assessment and feedback to CHST faculty whose
research and creative activities are highly variable due to the interdisciplinary nature of their
work. Overall, CHST faculty members are making significant research and/or creative
contributions to their disciplinary fields.
This year Dr. Ed A. Muñoz became the first University of Wyoming CHST faculty
member to be tenured and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. As Dr. Munoz’ T&P
external reviewers note, his scholarship demonstrates an insightful blend of the distinct academic
disciplines his research contributes to—Sociology, Criminal Justice and Chicano Studies. In the
past year, Dr. Muñoz had a referred article accepted for publication in the Journal of Criminal
Justice and Ethnicity and an encyclopedia chapter in Latino America: State by State. His
collaborative work on a traveling exhibit with the Wyoming State Archives and Historical
Museum entitled Construyendo Latinidad: The Hispanic Mexican Influence in Wyoming, 17th –
21st Century, debuted on the University of Wyoming campus during Hispanic Heritage Month.
A second showing ran during Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Days of Dialogue. Most recently, the
Albany County Public Library and the Carbon County Museum have displayed the exhibit.
Dr. Zamudio has an active research agenda that has positioned her for continued success
in the coming years as she is increasingly establishing her reputation as a leader in the area of
Latina/o transnational labor and labor organizing with her work that examines the labor
dynamics of African-Americans and immigrant Latina/os in the service industry. She is also in
the preliminary stages of research projects focusing on immigration and economic development
in Wyoming. Most recently, refereed journal articles accepted for publication in Sociological
Perspectives and Equity & Excellence in Education have broadened her national audience among
scholars investigating the manifestations and implications of modern racism in today’s “color
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blind” society. Equally important, this work has provided the foundation for UW Chicano
Studies student learning outcomes. Her cross-disciplinary collaborations with scholars in
Education Studies, American Indian Studies, African American Studies, and Women’s Studies
on teaching Civil Rights for Social Justice is sure to advance her notoriety in critical race theory
and pedagogy scholarship.
Dr. Aragón continues to be productive in both research and creative activities. This past
year Dr. Aragón published a book chapter in Children of the Sun: Monologues and Scenes for
Latina/o Youth. What’s more, her production and direction of Alicia in Wonder Tierra by Silvia
Gonzales S. received local and regional accolades for its summer Vedawoo amphitheater and fall
state tour performances. Dr. Aragon’s creative activities were supported by a significant grant
from the Wyoming Arts Council. As of late, she is developing a line of research area that entails
several manuscripts examining performance as pedagogy for social justice. This work revolves
around her work in advising, directing, and producing local Hip-Hop events, as well as her
participation with immigrant rights rallies and teach-ins. Taken together, this work will soon
place her as a leader in the area of children and youth theatre performance.
Service, Extension and Outreach Activities: The program plays a critical role in advancing
the University’s commitment to diversity with numerous students, staff, and faculty providing
their expertise and effort for various committees and projects at the programmatic, departmental,
college, university, state, regional, and national levels. The Chicano Studies Program works
collaboratively with Movimiento Estudiantíl Chicano/a de Aztlán (MEChA), Sigma Lambda
Gamma Sorority, Inc., and the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Hispanic Student Programming to
develop and implement programming for campus and non-campus communities that highlight
Latino history and culture (i.e., Hispanic Heritage Month, Cesar Chavez Celebration, and
Semana Primavera). A particular collaborative accomplishment this year was the unveiling of a
Wyoming Latin@ History mural at the annual Cesar Chavez dinner.
In addition, the faculty is often called upon to provide keynote and inspirational remarks
for ethnic/minority recruitment and retention programs offered by the Division of Student Affairs
and non-campus entities (i.e., Minority Higher Education Day; Minority Student Leadership
Initiative; Women’s Leadership Conference; Rawlins Fiesta Days; Rawlins Youth Conference).
This marked academic/student affairs collaboration allows for enhanced services, recognition,
and honors for Latina/o students.
The faculty participates in a number of local, regional, and national academic and nonacademic conferences/seminars/meetings/workshops. Dr. Zamudio participated in U.S.
Representative Barbara Cubin’s immigration forum, and conference proceedings with LatCrit:
Latina/o Critical Legal Theory, Inc. Dr. Aragon presented theatre workshops at this year’s
Shepard Symposium for Social Justice, and consultations for Wyoming High School Theatre
Teachers and the Utah Arts Council. Dr. Muñoz continues to be actively involved in conference
proceedings of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and the Latina/o
Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association. Also this year, he was invited to
be a Wyoming Humanities Forum lecturer.
Presently, there is no Memorandum of Understanding with the Outreach School, nor is
there an extensive community college articulation or relation. However, this may change in the
near future as the Chicano Studies Program and the Outreach School collaborated on an
experimental video conference offering of Intro to Chicano Studies. The ultimate goals are
twofold. In general, the program can assist in delivering more USP course offerings to
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community college students planning to transfer to UW. In addition, CHST course offerings
through the Outreach School can help in recruiting minority students who have been found to
attend community colleges prior to attending a four-year institution at a higher rate than their
non-minority counterparts.
Student Recruitment and Retention Activities and Enrollment Trends: Since the Chicano
Studies Program has no official FTEs it is difficult to interpret OIA data with a reasonable level
of reliability and validity. In addition, the Chicano Studies Program offers only a minor degree
program. In any case, OIA data shows that student credit hours (561 – 554) decreased slightly
(1.2%) from the 2001 – 2002 to the 2005 – 2006 AYs, while the average student class size (30.8
– 20.2) decreased by 34.4% during the same time period. A relative trend towards stability in
instructional resources can help explain decreases in enrollment data.
Prior to the 2004 – 2005 AY, most of the student credit hours came about through upperlevel courses taught by a non-tenure track temporary lecturer. Afterwards with the appointment
of three tenure-track and four adjunct tenure-track and tenured faculty, the curriculum was
broadened with attention to enhanced academic rigor. This faculty agreed that without any
graduate teaching assistance, lower course enrollments were necessary in order to effectively
instruct and assess academically rigorous courses that involved increased levels of reading
comprehension, as well as oral and written skills for all core and non-core curriculum courses.
The streamlining and regular offering of CHST core courses has allowed for a marked increase
in CHST minors (300%) during the five-year time period 2001 (n = 2) – 2005 (n = 8) .
As mentioned earlier, the bulk of the program’s recruitment efforts are coordinated
through better equipped student affairs units such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the
Office of Admissions. For example, a welcome letter from the CHST director and program
flyers are part of student packets for programs such as Minority Higher Education Day.
Additional efforts have been cultivated through regular participation with Weeks of Welcome;
Resource Fairs, Discovery Days, and the Summer Session Fair. Other recruitment efforts
include formal and informal efforts by affiliated faculty in the completion of their teaching,
research, and service related responsibilities. Faculty often make known the merits of a Chicano
Studies degree in their courses, through collaborative independent research projects, at academic
conferences and invited speaking engagements, and through non-academic organizational
participation (i.e., Wyoming Latino/a Coalition).
Recruitment and retention are distinct, yet reciprocal efforts. Because of this,
programmatic retention efforts are inextricably tied with recruitment efforts that are outlined
above. In addition, the Chicano Studies Program formally administered the Hispanic Heritage
Scholarship competition that produced two deserving recipients, one an incoming student and a
repeat recipient from last year. The program sponsored the fourth annual Chicano Studies
graduation reception and recognized graduates for their scholarly and extra-curricular
accomplishments.
Development Activities and Public Relations: Unfortunately, limited professional staff and
full-time faculty resources prevent the CHST Program’s systematic effort towards development
activities. Nevertheless, Rawlins city councilman, Louis Espinoza, has proved critical in
securing cultural programming, outreach, scholarship, travel, and research monies for the
program through Carbon County government agencies.
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Thank you letters from the director and Hispanic Heritage Scholarship award recipients
are a step in the right direction for added replenishing of the Hispanic Heritage Fund. However,
additional work needs to be devoted to the development of a formal solicitation letter and an
alumni data base to ensure the scholarships long-term survival. This work needs to be
coordinated with other campus and non-campus organizations such as MEChA, OMA, and the
Wyoming Latino/a Coalition.
The program does use a variety of public relations outlets to inform constituents about
the program’s endeavors and successes. Regular and special advertisements of the program’s
events and programs are published in the campus newspaper. Periodic updates about the
program’s scholarly contributions are announced through the College of Arts and Science
newsletter. Faculty are been called upon to facilitate workshops, deliver keynote remarks and
public seminars. The Chicano Studies Program and their faculty have been featured several
times in various non-campus media outlets.
These newsworthy events will soon be integrated links on the CHST website that is
maintained and updated by the CHST office assistant senior. Our solicitation letter will be added
to the website when completed, as well as links to other relevant Chicano/Latino websites such
as the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and LatCrit: Latina/o Critical Legal
Theory, Inc.
Classified and Professional Staffing: The CHST office assistant senior plays a critical role in
providing efficient administrative service. In addition to providing general receptionist support,
he quickly and competently performs the various administrative duties associated with an
academic program (i.e., budgetary items, course loading, event programming, etc.). Also
pleasing is his supervision of a student work-study that allowed for added participation in
university wide extra-curricular activities (i.e., Discovery Days, Resource Fairs, etc.).
With all the academic and non-academic activities the program engages in and the office
assistant’s half-time status, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to efficiently meet all
of the program’s immediate demands. Thus, we are forced to prioritize completing required
tasks with jobs such as development, newsletters, brochures, and website maintenance receiving
less attention than necessary. We are discussing strategies on how to better make use of work
study employees and to streamline tasks for the upcoming year.
Diversity: The Chicano Studies Program did not conduct a faculty hire in the previous year, nor
does it have a graduate study program. Considering its limited resources, the program continues
to be instrumental towards increasing diversity in the college and the university primarily
through curricular instruction and extracurricular programming. Innovative strategies have
allowed for the recruitment and retention of student/staff/faculty. Collaboration with other
academic units and across colleges have increased instructional resources, both Chicano and
non-Chicana. On the other hand, the lack of dedicated FTE lines prevents the serious
recruitment of well qualified Chicano Studies scholars. A historian is of the utmost import for
the future growth of the program.
Finally, efforts to increase diversity in the Chicano Studies program must take into
consideration the implications of renaming the program to Chicana/Latino Studies. This is an
issue contained in the program’s academic plan and one that should produce healthy and
reflective debate. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Chicano Studies minors are a
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racially/ethnically diverse group with 4 Latin@s, 3 whites, and 1 African American. The group
has a gender imbalance of 1:3 males to females.
Assessment of Student Learning: The program’s mission, goals, and student learning outcomes
can be accessed through the CHST website (http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/ChicanoStudies/).
CHST student learning outcomes also can be accessed through the UW Assessment of Student
Learning website (http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/AcadAffairs/assessment/pages/). Assessment
activities for the past year focused on collecting and analyzing data related to Chicano Studies
student learning outcomes developed in the 2005 – 2006 AY. In addition, an informal exit
dinner was held with three Chicano Studies minors for additional feedback.
In terms of student learning outcomes, the faculty agreed to stagger the assessment of two
student learning outcomes per academic semester. In each semester, one student learning
outcome in an upper- and a lower-division course would be assessed using an agreed upon
assignment/activity rubric relevant to the outcome being measured. Two independent readers
were identified from the African American Studies and American Indian Studies programs to
help provide unbiased evaluation of student learning outcomes from chosen course
assignments/activities.
The Chicano Studies “organic insight” student learning outcome was assessed through a
CHST 1100: Intro to Chicano Studies written assignment, demonstrating the development of a
contextual framework for understanding one’s own and others’ experiences in relation to the
Chicana/o experience. The independent reader states that, “The students were very positive
about their learning in the CHST 1100 class. They expressed many positive impacts on their own
lives as well as the constant exposure to new knowledge and perspectives.” One student
reflected about “the eye opening content taught in the class….Of course not knowing anything
about Chicano culture I had a negative stereo-type in my mind about how all Chicano’s were. I
think in my mind I had a picture painted of all Chicanos as gang banger homies. This negative
stereo-type that I had, affected how I acted towards some of my Mexican co-workers. I now
realize that I had no right to treat some of them how I did.”
The Chicano Studies “aesthetics” student learning outcome was assessed through a
CHST 4470: Studies in Chicano Folklore final paper, demonstrating the development of an
appreciation and awareness of the aesthetics evident in Chicano art, music, theater, literature, and
other artistic expressions. The independent reader states that, “The students did a very good job
linking what they had read and discussed in class to the various topics that they researched. I
believe that the five course goals outlined in the course syllabus were met. I enjoyed reading the
papers.” The independent reader’s comments on one paper describes the impact of employing
multimedia in developing persuasive arguments…”Interesting imagery in the PowerPoint slides
– powerful - Great discussion on how the Virgin of Guadalupe is used to socialize women into
the role of ‘good woman, wife, mother and nurturer’. The presentation of the contemporary
images casting her in a more active role challenges the historical role.”
From this fall semester data it appears that CHST faculty are meeting student learning
outcomes through their selected course materials and pedagogy. A more definitive statement can
be made after analyzing data collected at the end of the spring semester. The “historical
perspective” student learning outcome will be assessed through a CHST 2370: Chicano History,
Origins to 1900 assignment, with “relational awareness” being assessed through a CHST 4990:
Special Topics, Latin@s in Education assignment. In the Fall 07, the “power for social change”
student learning outcome will be assessed through a CHST 1030: Social Justice in the 21st
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Century assignment, with “intersectionality” being assessed through a CHST 4990: Special
Topics, U.S. Women of Color assignment. The Spring 08 semester will be reserved to reflect
upon the data and develop any curricular adjustments needed before we begin the assessment
cycle again in the Fall 08 semester.
An informal dinner with CHST graduating minors was held at a downtown restaurant in
April to supplement direct feedback on student learning. The invitation was open to all minors,
but due to conflicting schedules only three females were able to attend. An attempt to hold brief
informal individual exit interviews with graduating CHST minors proved unsuccessful. In
general, volunteers had high praise for the faculty and the curriculum. There comments
suggested that the faculty’s varied research and teaching expertise helped to broaden their
knowledge about Chicana/o history, culture, and social status.
Even so, students voiced a desire for a broader curriculum that they realized could only
come about with additional faculty resources in disciplines outside of the traditional core of
Sociology, English, and History. Students also felt that a more inclusive curriculum with regards
to other Latino ethnic groups would be beneficial in recruiting more students. And since
students had taken other interdisciplinary courses that they felt connected with their Chicano
Studies minor, there was interest in the possibility of an Ethnic Studies major.
When asked if they felt their Chicano Studies minor would benefit them in the long run,
volunteers responded positively. One student voiced that her Chicano Studies courses improved
her “cultural competency” that is becoming a skill increasingly desired by employers. Another
student did not give direct credit to her Chicano Studies curriculum, but did state that she was in
her current position as claims adjuster due to the fact of her Mexican ancestry and bilingual
speaking ability. Noteworthy among three out of six graduating minors is their acceptance into
graduate school programs at Iowa State University and the University of New Mexico to pursue
advanced degrees in the field of academia.
Upon complete analysis of additional direct and indirect assessment data, a postgraduation survey will be developed and distributed to CHST alumni. A CHST alumni database
is being developed with the help of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Hispanic Student
Programming and the College of Arts and Sciences Development Office. In addition,
assessment activities and results will be posted on the Chicano Studies website for viewing by
prospective students, current students, and potential donors.
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