Texas A&M University- Kingsville was listed among 25 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) that are potential exemplars, or models, of effective practices for increasing the number of Latina and Latino bachelor’s degree holders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics—known by the acronym STEM.

The listing was in a recent report from the University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education titled, “Benchmarking the Success of Latina and Latino Students in STEM to Achieve National Graduation Goals.”

The Center for Urban Education analyzed federal postsecondary education data from 2005-2006 to find four-year HSI colleges and universities that are producing more than their expected share of Latino STEM baccalaureates. The study then focused on six states with large Latino populations—Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, New York and Texas.

At the end of this analysis, 25 institutions were selected as exemplars. Texas A&MKingsville was listed among other schools such as Florida International University, New Mexico State University and College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York.

The report found, among these 25 institutions, Latino students are represented nearly proportionally in STEM majors and among STEM graduates. Where Latinos are underrepresented in STEM at these institutions, the gap does not typically exceed five percentage points. The report recommended, in part, that colleges and universities looking to strengthen their Latino bachelor’s degree holder numbers in STEM would benefit by examining the methods of A&MKingsville and the other exemplar institutions.

“It means a lot for Texas A&M-Kingsville to be featured in a respected report like this one,” said university president Dr. Steven Tallant.

“We have faculty in the STEM fields that put in countless hours developing effective, real-world lessons for their students. Those lessons happen in the classroom, in research labs and in the field. That dedication carries over to the students, and the results can be seen in the strong number of STEM students that are graduating, reflected in the report.”

The USC Center for Urban Education report can be found online at http://cue. usc.edu/news/NSF-Report. pdf.