HSI Pathways Fellows Will Matriculate into Graduate School for the Second Consecutive Year

New Brunswick, NJ (July 25, 2019) — The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) is proud to announce that 26 Fellows from the second cohort of our HSI Pathways to the Professoriate program will be matriculating into graduate programs in the fall!
 
Supported by a $5.1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the HSI Pathways to the Professoriate program aims to increase the diversity of faculty members in the humanities. The program is coordinated by CMSI in partnership with three Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) — Florida International University; The University of Texas at El Paso; and California State University, Northridge — and five majority research institutions (MRIs) — New York University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Pennsylvania; Northwestern University; and University of California, Davis. Each year, undergraduate students at our partner HSIs are selected to take part in an intensive summer research program, while also receiving mentoring, and support for applying to and enrolling in graduate school throughout the academic year.
 
“Each HSI Pathways Fellow has spent countless hours devoted to developing complex research projects, acquainting themselves with the breadth of current ideas in their discipline, and learning how to best navigate the academy,” said Paola “Lola” Esmieu, Director of Programs and Strategy at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions. “We are so proud to share that their preparation has resulted in 58 Ph.D. offer letters and 36 master’s offer letters, all with full funding.”
 
This year, HSI Pathways Fellows have secured admission and are matriculating into the following graduate programs:
 
From California State University, Northridge:

• Paolo Aiello, New York University, Ph.D. program, American Studies
• Sara Almalla, University of California, San Diego, Ph.D. program, Ethnic Studies
• Liam Espinoza-Zemlicka, University of California, Riverside, Ph.D. program, Anthropology
• Lyrianne Gonzalez, Cornell University, Ph.D. program, History
• Vanessa Lopez, The University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. program, English—Rhetoric and Writing
• Gema Ludisaca, University of California, Irvine, Ph.D. program, English
• Hannah Mangum, Northwestern University, Ph.D. program, Sociology
• Carla Martinez, University of California, Davis, Ph.D. program, Cultural Studies
• Kenia Rodriguez, University of Connecticut, Ph.D. program, English 

From Florida International University:

• Lynn Saniorah Edouard, Florida International University, M.A. program, English
• Ana Lydia Gómez Hernández, Northwestern University, Ph.D. program, Spanish and Portuguese
• David Ortiz, Florida International University, Ph.D. program, Geography/Global and Socio-Cultural Studies
• Johanna Piard, Florida International University, M.A. program, English
• Jose Ramirez, University of Southern California, M.A. program, Cinema and Media Studies
• Barbara Sanchez, University of Florida, Ph.D. program, Sociology

From The University of Texas, El Paso:

• Jessica Armendariz, The University of Texas at El Paso, M.A. program, English and American Literature
• Lidia Carillo, Mississippi State University, M.A. program, History
• Jasmin Flores, University of California, Riverside, Ph.D. program, English
• Luis Garcia, The University of Texas at El Paso, M.A. program, Literature
• Victor Hurtado, Boston University, Ph.D. program, History of Art and Architecture
• Priscilla Judson Wallace, University of Houston, Ph.D. program, History
• Gema Lopez, The University of Texas at El Paso, M.A. program, Communications
• Janette Rodriguez, The University of Texas at El Paso, M.A. program, Latin American/Border Studies
• Karina Salcido, The University of Texas at Austin, M.A. program, Art History
• Elizabeth Vigil, New Mexico State University, M.A. program, Educational Leadership
• Lauren Viramontes, University of California, Davis, Ph.D. program, Philosophy

Of note, there is a small number of HSI Pathways Fellows that did not apply to graduate school this year. Fellows that did not apply this year will be taking a gap year and will apply for Ph.D. programs next year.
 
“I have had the pleasure of working alongside each of the Fellows and have witnessed their progress over the year. We are beyond confident that these students will excel upon matriculating into graduate school and we are so happy to support them as they continue to embark on the path to the professoriate,” shared Andrew Martinez, a Ph.D. student in Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers CMSI Research Associate.
 
The program spans over five years and is in its fourth year. Throughout the five years, CMSI is concurrently conducting assessments to examine how selected students are navigating the HSI Pathways program and, once admitted, their graduate programs. CMSI aims to uncover the challenges and impetuses along the pathway to the Ph.D.
 
Founded in 1969, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the largest private funder of the humanities in higher education and the arts.
 
About the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. CMSI’s goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions is part of the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. For further information about CMSI, please visit http://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/.