Mission-Based vs. Enrollment-Based Institutions: Segmented Governance at a Catholic Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)

Despite the increase in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the role of governing boards in advancing servingness is under-examined. Guided by two organizational frameworks that offer paradigmatic shifts for enrollment based institutions (Multidimensional Conceptual Framework for Understanding Servingness in HSIs) and governance (Equity X Governance), we explored how trustees at one Catholic HSI make sense of their HSI identity in relation to the fiduciary duty of obedience. Drawing from an 18-month research-based partnership that included multiple data sources, we used in-depth interviews to center the voices of six trustees. Findings illuminate a mission-segmented approach to governance exemplified by the trustees’ comfort in understanding their mission-based Catholic identity while evading the enrollment-based HSI identity. We argue that trustees must understand HSIs as unique and offer recommendations for research and practice, calling attention to the distinct role of boards in influencing servingness.