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What Is Minority Serving Institutions?

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“Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are an understudied institutional type. The dearth of data has not only resulted in general misunderstandings about them, but also means that there are many rich veins of research waiting to be explored” (Commodore, Abiola, Ramos, & Gasman, 2015, p. 2). The “misunderstanding” that often surrounds MSIs extends to both women’s colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the students who choose to attend them. These institutions must balance their unique histories and specific missions, while simultaneously adapting to an ever-changing social landscape. While women’s colleges must fight the traditional ideas of what a woman is and is not, HBCUs must address systems of …show more content…

While this bill undoubtedly aligned with the mission and purpose of women’s colleges, there remains an unbalanced amount of representation of women in STEM programs and careers. “Globally, women remain particularly behind in participation at elite institutions and in traditional ‘male’ fields of study including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM” (Renn, 2014, p. 3). While the very existence of women’s colleges asserts their right to belong within realms of higher education, the work towards equity and inclusion must take place in all facets of life. “Even where women outnumber men in undergraduate enrollments and enjoy full access to higher education, women’s institutions act symbolically to remind society that in many other domains of public and private life, gender equality remains elusive” (Renn, 2014, p. 125).
Together women’s colleges and HBCUs have helped increase the access that individuals with minoritized backgrounds have to higher education. Since the establishment of the first HBCU in 1837, these institutions have maintained a long tradition of welcoming students who society systematically excluded from formal education (Gasman & Hilton, 2012). “During the time of slavery, it was a statutory crime in every state in the South but Tennessee to teach a Black person to read

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