Kristine Jan C. Espinoza

In a moment when coalition building is critical, may the release of this brief on dual- and multi-designated HSIs underline how our fates are intertwined.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) represent about 1 in 5 colleges and universities in the U.S. And did you know: 1 in 5 of those HSIs are “dual-designated” w/ another classification?

Read Dra. Stephanie Aguilar-Smith (UGA) and my recently released brief: www.acenet.edu/Documents/In...

It’s public 📰

We were selected for the Association for Institutional Research 2025 Charles F. Elton Best Paper Award

…and it absolutely doesn’t escape me how in this moment, this recognition affirms the role/continued importance of critical data collection and analyses 📊

lnkd.in/gt8-7-w5

As Dra. Garcia aptly summarized: Let's do this messy work together. Take a listen, and let us know what you think 🌻

This episode builds on important episodes ft. Dr. Mike Hoa Nguyen (Season 4, Episode 5) and Dras. Stacey Speller, Natalie Muñoz, Dwuana Bradley, and Gina Tillis (Season 5, Episode 2).

It’s out 🎙️“Solidarity Across Multiple MSI Designations"

Even though we recorded this in Feb, this reminder of solidarity, esp. in these times, remains: We need to resist and rise together now... and it all needs to be rooted in relationship.

Spotify:
lnkd.in/gZyu45t7

YouTube:
lnkd.in/gdzmaHfA

what’s your istorya (story)

greeting the start of the spring conference season with the green power suit 💅🏼

Surveillance is *not* safety!

Education Department Staff Struggle After Mass Layoffs The Trump administration said its sweeping cuts would eliminate bloat at the department. Staff say the “chaotic” process has stalled essential functions and left remaining employees with unmanageable workloads.

A week after cutting half its staff, the Education Department reversed course and asked dozens of laid off workers to come back.

It's one of many details staff shared with me about a "chaotic" process they say has paralyzed what's left of the department.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Hossam Shabat’s Last Article Filed hours before his killing in an Israeli airstrike, journalist Hossam Shabat describes the resumption of Israel's scorched earth campaign in his hometown of Beit Hanoun.

Hours before he was killed by Israel, Hossam Shabat filed his last report for @dropsitenews.com, “Report from the Frontline of Israel’s War of Annihilation.”

We are publishing Hossam’s story along with a deeply moving tribute to Hossam by Sharif Abdel Kouddous:

www.dropsitenews.com/p/hossam-sha...

‘I Want to Stand Up for Higher Ed’: Protesters Rally Against Education Dept. Cuts As demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C., researchers met across town to discuss the toll that drastic reductions at the agency would have on their work.

Education researchers seriously doubt that the Education Department will be able to maintain the federal data sets after half the agency’s staff was fired. chroni.cl/4bTbeQk

‘I Want to Stand Up for Higher Ed’: Protesters Rally Against Education Dept. Cuts As demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C., researchers met across town to discuss the toll that drastic reductions at the agency would have on their work.

"[Baker] began her [chair comments] by acknowledging that the US 'no longer has an effective federal apparatus for education policy' and discussed how a diminished department will affect the policy implications outlined in the papers presented at her session."

www.chronicle.com/article/i-wa...

Screenshot of abstract that reads: Racial equity in education is often framed around “closing the achievement gap,” but many scholars argue this frame perpetuates deficit mindsets. The “opportunity gap” (OG) frame has been offered as an alternative to focus attention on structural injustices. In a preregistered survey experiment, I estimate the effects of framing racial equity in education around “achievement gaps” (AGs) versus OGs. I find U.S. adult respondents on MTurk gave higher priority to “closing the racial opportunity gap” versus “closing the racial achievement gap” (effect size = 0.11 SD). When randomly assigned to read an OG frame before being asked to explain the Black/White “achievement gap,” respondents were less likely to endorse cultural or individual-level explanations compared with respondents only shown AG statistics (effect size = –0.10 SD). I find no evidence the OG frame affected respondents’ racial stereotypes or policy preferences.

When people ask me why the framing of ed policy issues matters, I often share work like this from Quinn (Experimental Effects of “Opportunity Gap” and “Achievement Gap” Frames in Sociology of Education)

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The Role of Education in Taming Authoritarian Attitudes - CEW Georgetown Postsecondary education can play a critical role in protecting democratic republics against the threat of authoritarianism.

With the continuing attacks on education & attempts to dismantle universities, I’m reminded of a 2020 Georgetown Center on Education & the Workforce report that highlights the importance of higher education for combatting authoritarian views. Education is powerful. cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/...

a woman in a pink jacket is saying " i 'm just here to listen " Alt: a Black woman in a pink jacket is saying " i 'm just here to listen "

I'm downloading data from Office of Civil Rights, after a meeting on how to support disabled students if Dept of Ed is eliminated, trying to figure out which grants support incarcerated youth & supporting students on campus who are afraid. tell me again how government shutdown is scary for dems

@jasoncottrell.bsky.social I am so sorry. Please know, you had a wide impact. Thank you for even helping my little ol’ Ph.D. student self in understanding MSI eligibility. That made such a difference.

All that to say: You matter. The work you were part of mattered.

Education Department to reduce staff by half Ahead of the announcement, the department told staff that DC offices would be closed on Wednesday and reopen Thursday for “security reasons.”

I sat in a meeting last week where someone had the absolute gall to tell others to comply and keep their head down so they can make it to the other side. The other side of what?!

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

You messed with Peggy Carr. Bold move. Now you’ve got the entire education research community coming for you.

Courts rule on Trump administration initiatives including DOGE, DEI The latest news on President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the new Congress.

Breaking story early this evening, NCES Commissioner Dr. Peggy Carr was placed on administrative leave, as a further blow to this statistical agency's capacity to collect, analyze, and report on high quality education data with objectivity and integrity. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The indiscriminate slashing by DOGE is wasteful and damaging to our efforts to improve education. We spend way less than we should on education research in this country--a minuscule amount that is truly a rounding error in the federal budget, let alone as a fraction of total education spending.

while we don't know where Minority-Serving Institutions yet stand, I remain steadfast

thank you @saraweissman.bsky.social for covering --- and helping the SHEEO white paper (and the MSI Data Project dataset) live on!

sheeo.org/wp-content/u...

An arsonist burns down my house. I say to my wife, "Honey, you have to understand this not a tragedy. This is not a catastrophe. This is an opportunity for you to finally get those modern appliances you've been wanting."

So-called “institutional neutrality” was pushed by folks in coalition with the ghouls currently gutting science and higher ed. Their goal was always for universities to neutrally (and silently) watch as they were systematically dismantled by people who hate verifiable knowledge.

came across good data news in this blue sky— new projects around improving the collection and reporting of sexual orientation and gender identity affirming data got funded 📊

congratulations Dr. @kamdenstrunk.bsky.social 🎉

we are about to literally step back in time decades

ditto to what Dr. @taylorodle.bsky.social said

😵‍💫

Dr. @oiyanpoon.bsky.social posing: is a top tier university just a wealthy university?

And crediting @akilbello.bsky.social about highly rejective institutions, what these institutions actually are!

whew 🔥

Dr. Charles H. F. Davis III lifting up Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley and reminding us of the relationship between study and struggle, and that authentic engagement requires intellectual labor 📚

@oiyanpoon.bsky.social
@wcbyrdphd.bsky.social
@rosiejp.bsky.social