Serving from the Borderlands: UTEP Faculty Redefine the Meaning of Impact

Nationally, most HSIs are measured by enrollment. At UTEP, servingness is measured by transformation. Faculty see the border not as a boundary but as a framework for belonging. “We didn’t cross the border; the border crossed us. That’s the pulse of the University,” explained a participant in a study by Christina Convertino, Ph.D., Isaac Frausto Hernandez, Ph.D., and Jesus Cisneros, Ph.D., from the College of Education, and Lucia Durá, Ph.D., from the College of Liberal Arts. Their research, published in the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, identifies three dimensions that define the fronterizx HSI experience: borderland community, borderland languaging, and borderland consciousness. These themes reveal a distinct institutional model where geography and identity shape academic practice. Faculty do not treat culture and language as variables to accommodate but as resources to elevate. Their work affirms that education on the border is most potent when it mirrors the lives, languages, and aspirations of those it serves.

In a companion study, Compromiso, Pertenencia, and Empoderamiento (Cisneros et al., 2024), faculty interviews illuminated how teaching and mentoring at UTEP translate into empowerment. “Serving our community was not just words. It’s part of our DNA,” reflected Dr. Carmen Rios, Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences. Her statement captures what the researchers describe as compromiso, a deep sense of responsibility that links professional purpose to the well-being of the border region. That commitment extends across disciplines. Dr. Esthela Torres, Associate Professor of Social Work, described the border as “a metaphor of coming together between countries, city lines, and cultures.” Her courses prepare students to practice within this complexity, treating cross-border mobility and bilingualism as professional competencies rather than challenges.

In engineering, faculty members such as Dr. Edwin Ramirez mentor first-generation students through applied research that addresses local infrastructure and water sustainability challenges. For him, servingness is not charity but capacity building, equipping students to engineer solutions that serve both sides of the border. In the College of Education, Dr. Isaac Frausto Hernandez and Dr. Jesus Cisneros integrate bilingual pedagogy and cultural validation into their teacher preparation programs. Their research demonstrates that translanguaging, the fluid use of English and Spanish in instruction, enhances both comprehension and confidence among Latinx students. This practice, called borderland languaging, positions language itself as a bridge to learning and leadership.

Faculty also describe pertenencia, a deep sense of belonging, as central to student success. “Our students make me feel like I’m in the right place,” said Dr. Lauren Chavez, Associate Professor of Chemistry, who mentors undergraduate researchers from the border region. Her lab culture reflects the relational nature of UTEP’s service mission, built on mutual trust and representation. Similarly, Dr. Marie Johnson, Associate Professor of Political Science, noted that visibility matters. “Students feel they belong because they see themselves in the faculty.” For many, this representation transforms the classroom into a site of validation, proof that identity and excellence can coexist.

Beyond teaching, faculty enact empoderamiento by connecting scholarship to social change. In the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Lucia Durá leads community-based research that applies participatory storytelling to address health and education disparities. Her work embodies what the researchers describe as empowerment agency, the ability to align knowledge creation with community needs. This ethic is shared across campus. In the School of Nursing, bilingual simulation training prepares nurses for cross-border patient care. In the Department of Computer Science, culturally responsive mentoring expands access to computing. In every case, faculty are designing systems that reflect the complexity of the region they serve.

Together, these faculty demonstrate that impact at a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution is not an abstraction measured by rankings or revenue. It is realized when education mirrors community, when research restores agency, and when service becomes a practice of shared empowerment. As Convertino and her colleagues conclude, the border is not peripheral. It is the paradigm. It compels higher education to think differently about place, language, and belonging. At UTEP, faculty are answering that call by turning the borderlands into a model for transformation, a place where serving means expanding possibilities and where impact begins with inclusion.

Written by David A. Hernández, Director of Research Development, Research & Innovation.

Point of contact: Jesus Cisneros, Ph.D., Professor, Chair Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, College of Education, University of Texas at El Paso, jcisneros7@utep.edu

References
Cisneros, J., Durá, L., Convertino, C., & Frausto Hernandez, I. (2024). Compromiso, Pertenencia, and Empoderamiento: How Faculty at a Fronterizx HSI Perceive and Enact Servingness to Become Empowerment Agents for Latinx Student Success. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 24(1), 40–61. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15381927241263301

Convertino, C., Frausto Hernandez, I., Cisneros, J., & Durá, L. (2025). Contextualizing the HSI: Place-based Indicators of Servingness at a Fronterizx Hispanic-Serving Institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/15381927251347962