How Non-Tenure-Track Faculty and Staff in Computing Departments in Hispanic-Serving Institutions Empower Undergraduate Students

Heather Thiry; Sarah Hug; Anne-Marie Nunez

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Supporting Students and Faculty in Computing (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 7)
Tagged Divisions: Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/56708

Paper Authors

biography

Heather Thiry University of Colorado, Boulder

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Dr. Heather Thiry is a Senior Research Associate with Ethnography & Evaluation Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Thiry engages in educational research and program evaluation to better understand the computing and engineering pathways of undergraduate students from non-dominant backgrounds and how institutions can more effectively support their progress and success.

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Sarah Hug Colorado Evaluation and Research Consulting

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Dr. Sarah Hug is director of the Colorado Evaluation & Research Consulting. Dr. Hug earned her PhD in Educational Psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research and evaluation efforts focus on learning science, technology, engineering, an

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Anne-Marie Nunez

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Abstract

The purpose of this WIP paper is to explore how institutional agents, notably staff and non-tenure-track faculty, in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) can disrupt exclusionary and inequitable discourses and practices in computing and engineering educational environments, replacing them with those focused on inclusion, empowerment, and transformation. HSIs have a unique set of organizational strengths and challenges related to supporting underrepresented students in computing fields. Because of their diverse, intersectional student populations and focus on serving their local communities, HSIs are a critical site for reimagining and transforming access and participation in computing and engineering. This case study research explored five HSI computer science departments that have a long history of involvement in a national network dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and advancing Latina/o students in computing education and careers. Preliminary, thematic analysis of 80 interview transcripts with administrators, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, staff and advisors, and undergraduate students provided insight into how institutional agents confer social and navigational capital to minoritized students. In this exploratory work, we employ Stanton-Salazar’s concept of social capital (e.g., access to professional and community social networks, social resources and support) and Yosso’s concept of navigational capital (e.g., dispositional knowledge and capacity to navigate organizations as an individual with a marginalized social identity). To this end, staff and non-tenure-track faculty empowered minoritized undergraduate computing students by affirming their social and cultural identities, cultivating peer networks and faculty mentorship, developing their leadership capacities, and preparing them to successfully navigate and advocate in computing education and careers. Through these efforts, staff and non-tenure-track faculty developed institutional structures to cultivate student empowerment by serving as club advisors, mentors, providing professional development opportunities for students, and engaging in inclusive and innovative pedagogy. They also provided the informal, emotional labor of supporting students through challenges, bolstering their professional identities, and recognizing the complexity of students’ lived experiences. These institutional agents are in positions that traditionally hold lower status and power within academic departments (e.g., non-tenure track faculty and staff/advisors), yet they were crucial in transferring social and navigational capital to empower minoritized students. The organizational structures and inclusive cultures within the case study HSI computing departments empower those in traditionally marginalized roles, who are often women of color, to disrupt academic hierarchies and create new systems that elevate and center those who have been traditionally excluded within academic departments. We identify the cultural and organizational practices that make such disruption possible and hope to gain feedback from the EQUITY community regarding our efforts and next steps in praxis as we engage in collaboration and dialogue with institutional leaders, staff, faculty, instructors, and students to enact change in HSI computing departments.

Citation
Format

Thiry, H., & Hug, S., & Nunez, A. (2025, June), How Non-Tenure-Track Faculty and Staff in Computing Departments in Hispanic-Serving Institutions Empower Undergraduate Students Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56708

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The purpose of this WIP paper is to explore how institutional agents, notably staff and non-tenure-track faculty, in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) can disrupt exclusionary and inequitable discourses and practices in computing and engineering educational environments, replacing them with those focused on inclusion, empowerment, and transformation. HSIs have a unique set of organizational strengths and challenges related to supporting underrepresented students in computing fields. Because of their diverse, intersectional student populations and focus on serving their local communities, HSIs are a critical site for reimagining and transforming access and participation in computing and engineering. This case study research explored five HSI computer science departments that have a long history of involvement in a national network dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and advancing Latina/o students in computing education and careers. Preliminary, thematic analysis of 80 interview transcripts with administrators, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, staff and advisors, and undergraduate students provided insight into how institutional agents confer social and navigational capital to minoritized students. In this exploratory work, we employ Stanton-Salazar’s concept of social capital (e.g., access to professional and community social networks, social resources and support) and Yosso’s concept of navigational capital (e.g., dispositional knowledge and capacity to navigate organizations as an individual with a marginalized social identity). To this end, staff and non-tenure-track faculty empowered minoritized undergraduate computing students by affirming their social and cultural identities, cultivating peer networks and faculty mentorship, developing their leadership capacities, and preparing them to successfully navigate and advocate in computing education and careers.  Through these efforts, staff and non-tenure-track faculty developed institutional structures to cultivate student empowerment by serving as club advisors, mentors, providing professional development opportunities for students, and engaging in inclusive and innovative pedagogy. They also provided the informal, emotional labor of supporting students through challenges, bolstering their professional identities, and recognizing the complexity of students’ lived experiences. These institutional agents are in positions that traditionally hold lower status and power within academic departments (e.g., non-tenure track faculty and staff/advisors), yet they were crucial in transferring social and navigational capital to empower minoritized students. The organizational structures and inclusive cultures within the case study HSI computing departments empower those in traditionally marginalized roles, who are often women of color, to disrupt academic hierarchies and create new systems that elevate and center those who have been traditionally excluded within academic departments. We identify the cultural and organizational practices that make such disruption possible and hope to gain feedback from the EQUITY community regarding our efforts and next steps in praxis as we engage in collaboration and dialogue with institutional leaders, staff, faculty, instructors, and students to enact change in HSI computing departments. 
AU  - Heather Thiry
AU  - Sarah Hug
AU  - Anne-Marie Nunez
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - How Non-Tenure-Track Faculty and Staff in Computing Departments in Hispanic-Serving Institutions Empower Undergraduate Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/56708
ER  -