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Building Anew: Anchoring Student Success in a Divided Landscape

From Designation to Design: Cultivating Leaders in Rural HSIs

Friday, January 23, 2026
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM East Coast USA Time
Location: Scarlet Oak - Mezzanine

    Primary Presenter(s)

  • Mary Ann Villarreal

    Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success
    American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

    • Co-Presenter(s)

  • MG

    Matt Gianneschi

    President
    Colorado Mountain College

  • CH

    Chato Hazelbaker

    President
    Pueblo Community College

  • Rosana Reyes

    President
    Lamar Community College

While the federal designation of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) may be disappearing, leaders at HSIs and eHSIs recognize the importance of renewing their commitment to students, their families, and their communities through demonstrated servingness and success. This imperative is pronounced at rural-serving institutions, where town-gown relationships run deep.

This session will highlight the need to develop leaders at rural-serving HSIs and the unique competencies leaders must possess, especially when many institutions require leaders to take on multiple roles or "wear many hats" while serving their students. This session will feature preliminary lessons learned from a new grant project with AAC&U's New Leadership Academy that focuses on understanding leaders and leadership development at rural-serving HSIs and eHSIs.