Western Oregon University is the state’s first four-year, public university to receive the Hispanic-serving institution status from the federal government, according to an announcement from the university Monday.
The government deems a university or community college a Hispanic-serving institution - or HSI - after at least a quarter of its full-time, undergraduate students identify as Hispanic for two consecutive school years. Western met that threshold this year.
This recognition comes after years of community and relationship building between Western and the Willamette Valley’s Latino populations.
“This designation not only reflects our commitment to supporting Latino students but also enhances our ability to provide resources and opportunities that will benefit all our students,” Western President Jesse Peters said in a statement. “We are committed to maintaining a diverse learning environment where all students feel a sense of belonging and to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community for all.”

Western Oregon University is the state’s first four-year, public university to receive the Hispanic-serving institution status from the federal government, according to an announcement from the university Monday.
Rob Manning / OPB
The designation could be a financial boon for the small, regional university based in Monmouth. HSIs are eligible to apply for hundreds of millions of federal funding that goes toward supporting Latino and low-income students.
The U.S. Department of Education began providing additional support to colleges and universities with large populations of students of color in the 1980s, with historically Black colleges and universities among the first institutions to receive such support. The Education Department began awarding grants to HSIs in the mid-90s.
But even though this practice of supporting minority-serving colleges and universities is decades old, these extra funding streams — which many institutions have come to rely on to balance their budgets — could be at risk under the Trump administration. The Education Department has threatened to strip federal funding away from schools that do not comply with recent executive orders that aim to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programming in higher education.
In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended a fellowship program for faculty at designated HSIs. The department later reopened fellowship applications after outcry from lawmakers and HSI advocates. Some higher education leaders worry the Trump administration may continue to try to defund grants specifically set aside for minority-serving institutions.
Western’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dominique Vargas, said even with these funding threats, the university would still find ways to support Latino students.
“Being a Hispanic-serving institution is so much more about who we are as a community than it is about funding opportunities,” Vargas said. “Whether funding is ever available for us or not, we will always work on better serving and supporting our students and meeting them where they are.”
Data on whether additional federal support of minority-serving institutions results in better student outcomes has so far been unclear and inconsistent. But a report from the American Council on Education and the Minority-Serving Institutions Data Project released in March showed that funded four-year HSIs awarded more bachelor’s degrees to Latino students than non-minority-serving institutions.
Western is Oregon’s first public university to reach HSI status, but it’s not the first higher education institution in the state to receive the designation. The university joins a short list of public and private schools already recognized in the state, including Blue Mountain, Chemeketa, Columbia Gorge and Tillamook community colleges, as well as Warner Pacific University and Mount Angel Seminary.
Portland State University is the next closest public university in Oregon to becoming a recognized HSI. In 2023, PSU became the state’s first public university to be designated as an Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander serving institution.