Dr. Sara Mata is the Executive Director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives and Assistant Teaching
Professor in Intervention Services and Leadership in Education (ISLE) at Wichita State
University in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Mata received a Bachelor’s in Sociology with an emphasis in Juvenile Corrections and Treatment,
a Master’s in Community Counseling, a Master’s in Sociology, and a Doctorate in Social
Foundations from Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Mata is a proud first-generation and a community college graduate. Sara currently serves
on the Executive Committee for the NASPA Foundation Board as Member at Large as well
as on the NASPA Center for Women Board. In addition, Dr. Mata previously was a 2022-2023 HACU-Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
La Academia de Liderazgo Fellow, and a 2022 NASPA Pillar of the Profession. In addition
to national service, Dr. Mata serves her local community as a Vice President of the Board for CASA-Court Appointed
Special Advocates of Sedgwick County, a Board Member for the Mid America All-Indian
Museum, is on the Scholarship Committee for the Kansas Hispanic Education & Development
Foundation, Board Member for Podemos, Board Member for Oklahoma Tribal Engagement
Partners and most recently named to the Citizens Review Board for the City of Wichita.
HSIs: A Q&A with WSU's Sara Mata
Last fall, when Wichita State released enrollment numbers last fall, it was also announced
that WSU had qualified as an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution.
What exactly is a Hispanic-Serving Institution?
Dr. Sara Mata, WSU executive director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives, is a member
of the Hispanic-Serving Institution Task Force at WSU. She explains what it all means and how it can positively impact students at Wichita
State and beyond.
Q: What is an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)?
A: An Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined as an accredited and eligible
degree-granting institution that has applied to the U.S. Department of Education for
the designation and that has at least 25 percent undergraduate full-time Latinx/a/o,
Hispanic student enrollment at the end of the award year immediately preceding the
date of application.
Q: What are the benefits of this designation?
A: The HSI designation allows an academic institution to apply for federal grant funding
to support strengthening institutional programs and services. Obtaining an HSI designation
also expands educational resources and opportunities for students.
Q: Why does Wichita State University want to become an HSI?
A: The changing demographics of Kansas reveals that the Latino/a/x population is the
largest and fastest-growing population in the state. The state’s largest school district,
USD 259 Wichita Public Schools, has a richly diverse student body. These students
comprise the largest ethnic minority population in the school district, at 37.09% of student enrollment for the 2022-2023 academic school year.
Pursuing the designation process to become an HSI would allow Wichita State to be
more intentional in addressing the systemic and historical barriers that have adversely
impacted the educational experiences of Latino/a, Latinx and Hispanic students, as
well as other minoritized students at large.
Q: How is Wichita State working with other academic institutions on pursuing HSI designation
status?
A: For nearly a year, Wichita State has worked with three other institutions in Wichita,
including WSU Tech, Newman University and Friends University. This HSI consortium
consists of faculty, staff and administrators from all four institutions that recognized
the critical importance of pursuing HSI designation status. Rather than focusing on
being competitive, a collaboration was built to join forces and work together to strengthen
the uniqueness of each institution’s supporting efforts of serving Wichita’s Hispanic
college students.
Q: What does an emerging status mean? Is WSU an emerging institution?
A: An emerging HSI is 15-24% of students enrolled are Hispanic students. Wichita State’s
2022 enrollment numbers show 16% of undergraduate, degree seeking students identify
as Hispanic. As this demographic of enrollment continues to increase at WSU, it is
vital we examine how as a university, we continue the efforts of strengthening services
and support for students now, in preparation of the HSI designation. Although it is
the institutions seeking the federal designation of HSI, it is through the university’s
collaborations not only on campus but also with community partners, local businesses
and corporate partners to fully participate in the importance of serving this population.
It takes all of us to contribute to the success of this work.
Q: Does becoming an HSI only benefit Latino/x/Hispanic students?
A: Pursuing an HSI designation status enables the ability to create more equitable
practices for all students to achieve academic success and build a diverse talent
pipeline to fulfill workforce needs in Kansas and beyond. Ultimately, WSU is committed
to increasing graduation rates and student success for all students.
