CIASU as the subject of study offers a site that is rich in context and content; this dissertation examines the ways in which a small group of minority students was able to create an ethnically defined cultural center in the Midwest where none had existed prior and does this by looking at the intersection of ethnic identity and student activism.

Using a student success conceptual framework, this case study examined the role of an ethnic cultural center in the experience of Latina/o students at a predominantly White institution located in the Midwest. The research site was the Latino Native American Cultural Center (LNACC) located at the University of Iowa.

This dissertation, “Viva La Raza”: Chicano Student Identity and Activism at Predominately White Midwestern Universities, 1970-1979, specifically focuses on Chicano student activism, their understanding of their Midwestern identity, and how they created spaces for themselves at four predominately white Midwestern universities—The University of Iowa (UI); the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UM); the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW); and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (U of I) between 1970 and 1979.

The term Latinx emerged recently as a gender-neutral label for Latino/a and Latin@. The purpose of this paper is to examine ways in which Latinx is used within the higher education context, and to provide an analysis of how the term can disrupt traditional notions of inclusivity and shape institutional understandings of intersectionality.

Latina/o College Student Leadership: Emerging Theory, Promising Practice examines Latina/o college student leadership and leadership development in higher education. This edited collection examines emerging frameworks, empirical research, leadership models, essays, and promising practices from the perspectives of scholars, educators, practitioners, and activists.

While increased scholarship has begun to explore the stories of Native American students in higher education, less research has explored Native American student college choice. In this qualitative, narrative study, the experiences of seven Native American students’ college choice at four-year institutions in North Carolina were explored.