Amid national cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) opened the doors of the new Latinx Success Center this week.
As the last UC to receive a Latinx center, the university hopes it will be a space where students can feel a sense of belonging while gaining resources to help them succeed in their educational journey at UCLA and into their post-academic careers.
“The center will provide holistic, culturally responsive student services for all students, and of course, emphasizing the Latinx community, low-income students and first-generation college students,” said Claudia Salcedo, assistant vice provost for academic partnerships, and one of the hundreds of staff, faculty, students and alumni who helped bring the center to fruition.
The Latinx Success Center is part of UCLA’s efforts to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), which is attained when a university has at least a 25% Latinx student population. The university is just shy of that benchmark, with 24.4% of undergraduates identifying as Latinx.
“When we’re working with Latinx students, who oftentimes are first in their family to go to campus, they experience almost culture shock when they enter UCLA,” said Salcedo.
“When California is almost a majority Latinx, you walk into UCLA and it does not reflect the state. It does not reflect the community in Los Angeles.”
Approximately 40% of Californians and nearly half (48.6%) of LA County residents are Latinx, according to the United States Census Bureau.
“We wanted to ensure that there was a space where students not only felt a sense of belonging, but also where they felt that their culture was being celebrated,” she added.
In 2022, the university’s HSI task force released “The Seeds of Change” report, detailing how UCLA could reach its goal of expanding Latinx enrollment. One of the main recommendations, which was continuously brought up in student focus groups, was the need for a Latinx resource center, said Salcedo.
The university secured funding through a gift of $3 million from the UCLA Foundation, half of which is being allocated towards scholarships for first-year students and transfer students, said Salcedo, who also serves as the director of the Center for Community College Partnerships (CCCP). The rest of the funds were used for building out the space and staffing costs and were put aside as a quasi-endowment for the center’s future.
“This is just the beginning,” said Salcedo. “The work is ahead of us.”
During the ceremony, it was announced that Arlene Cano Matute, Ph.D., co-chair of the HSI Advisory Board, would be the inaugural executive director of the Latinx Success Center.
The ribbon cutting ceremony titled “Floreciendo en Comunidad,” “Flourishing in Community,” took place on Cesar Chavez Day and included remarks by Chancellor Julio Frenk and performances from Las Cafeteras, Mariachi de Uclatlán and Danza Azteca Tonatiuh.
“Communities thrive through connection. And at its core, that is what we are celebrating today: connection,” said Frenk. “The Latinx Success Center is more than just a physical location. It is a space where everyone can feel a true sense of belonging.”
Having the event take place on what would have been the labor leader’s 98th birthday held special significance for Salcedo, whose grandparents and parents were part of the United Farm Workers movement.
“While the advocacy, the boycotting they did, was for farm workers’ rights, the message my parents took away from the United Farm Workers, and specifically from Cesar Chavez, was the power of education,” said Salcedo.
She is grateful that the university’s administration never faltered in supporting the development of the Latinx Success Center during a time when “it’s hard to speculate the future in higher education.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, an action that technically requires approval from Congress, and has issued letters threatening to revoke funding from universities that maintain DEI programs and policies.
Last month, UC President Michael Drake announced a hiring freeze systemwide as it prepares for possible budget cuts at both the state and federal levels. UC leaders also eliminated the long-time practice of requiring faculty job applicants to submit “diversity statements.”
While the future of higher education is unknown, Salcedo believes these student-centered and student-led spaces that address inequities are more important than ever. They can serve as a space to provide academic resources, emotional and mental health support, or simply have cultural comfort foods available.
“The directive, or the vision of the center, comes from our students,” she said. “Our job is to provide and to execute that vision for them through our work in the center.”