The CSP will soon know whether its request for departmentalization will be granted during the campus-wide faculty senate vote Jan. 27.
CSP Director Irene Vasquez said that the creation of such a department will provide a structure and level of authority that the program currently lacks.
As a program, the CSP can never have a full-time faculty dedicated to its proliferation, thus limiting the possibilities for curriculum, research and student success, she said.
A bachelor’s degree in Chicano Studies offers a variety of careers; however the main philosophy is to inculcate a communal work ethic for when the students will work within their own diverse communities, Vasquez said.
“For the CSP, Chicanismo means that people understand who they are, where they come from, and that they are invested in developing their communities,” she said.
Gregory Heileman, associate provost of academic affairs, said that in recent years there has been a push to integrate ethnic diversity into the undergraduate core curriculum.
“To become national leaders, there is a critical need to understand how to better support, serve and prepare the emerging American majority,” Heileman said.
Of the students admitted to UNM in 2013, 51 percent are of Hispanic background, which made Hispanics the majority at UNM for the first time, he said.
“The building of a comprehensive (Chicano Studies) department will allow the program to attract high caliber national-level scholars in the field, leading to additional external funding opportunities and better academic programs for our students,” Heileman said.
Cheyenne Trujillo, president of the Chicana and Chicano Studies Student Organization said the organization works towards ethnic integration and supporting the departmentalization of the CSP at UNM.
“Our main goal is to create awareness and raise funds for the CSP while bridging the gap between all ethnic groups,” Trujillo said.
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The CCSSO plans to provide a wide array of workshops for the CSP in the spring semester that will touch many themes such as Chicano studies, queer studies, food sovereignty and civil rights, she said.
“This would bring a lot more people to us who would then understand what Chicano Studies is all about. We try to reach out as far as we can so students can connect in any way,” Trujillo said.
Mateo Rocha is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
