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The second Faculty Pub Night of the 2023-24 season features Cynthia Alcantar, associate professor and director of the Higher Education Administration program in the School of Education. She will discuss her recent article, "Civic Engagement of Latinx Students: The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Serving the Public Good."

About Faculty Pub Night

Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the public are all invited to the 2023-24 series of Faculty Pub Night at the William H. Hannon Library. Eight LMU professors are selected annually to discuss their latest publication or project in a comfortable setting and format that welcomes diverse perspectives for an inclusive conversation aimed to educate the entire community. All Faculty Pub Nights are free and open to the public.

About the Author's Work

In her 2022 article titled “Civic Engagement of Latinx Students: The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Serving the Public Good,” Alcantar explores the importance of higher education institutions in fostering civic engagement among Latinx students. The article highlights the challenges Latinx students face in engaging in civic activities, such as the lack of information and resources from institutions and the impact of these challenges on their communities. Alcantar also discusses the role of higher education institutions in promoting civic engagement through culturally responsive curricular and co-curricular practices, such as service-learning and community-based research. The article emphasizes the need for higher education institutions to create a supportive, inclusive, and empowering environment for Latinx students to engage in civic activities and contribute to the public good. Overall, Alcantar’s article provides valuable insights into the importance of civic engagement among Latinx students and the role of higher education institutions in promoting the civic development of racial/ethnic minoritized students.

This article draws from Alcantar’s extensive research that examines issues of access, equity, and social justice for racial/ethnic minoritized students in higher education institutions and how higher education institutions can better serve racial/ethnic minoritized students. Her current Spencer Foundation-funded research project explores the role of minority-serving institutions in promoting the civic development of racial/ethnic minoritized students.

About the Author

Cynthia Maribel Alcantar is an associate professor and director of the Masters in Higher Education Administration in the School of Education at LMU. Her research focuses on the social structures that impact the social mobility and integration of racial/ethnic minoritized and immigrant populations in the United States. Particularly, the influence of schools (i.e., public K-20 schools, community colleges, and minority serving institutions) on the educational pathways and civic participation of racial/ethnic minoritized and immigrant students. She received her bachelors from the University of California, Riverside, masters from Claremont Graduate University, and a Ph.D. in social science and comparative education from the University of California, Los Angeles. Alcantar’s research is strongly informed by her professional and personal experiences. Alcantar is a proud first-generation college student and daughter of Mexican immigrants who grew up in the Inland Empire. She also has extensive experience working with underserved students in K-12 and higher education settings, including the Upward Bound program at Norco Community College, the McNair Scholars Program at Claremont Graduate University, track coach at Norte Vista High School, and an English and math instructor at John Adams Elementary School in Riverside, CA.

Additional Links

• LMU Faculty webpage
• Google Scholar page
• LinkedIn

About the William H. Hannon Library

The William H. Hannon Library fosters excellence in academic achievement through an array of distinctive services that enable learners to feed their curiosity, experience new worlds, develop their ideas, inform their decision-making, and inspire others. More information can be found at http://library.lmu.edu

For more information about this event, contact the Outreach and Engagement team at the William H. Hannon library via email at library.outreach@lmu.edu or call 310-338-5234.