LMU Becomes First Private Institution in California to Receive New Black-Serving Institution Designation

Loyola Marymount University (LMU) was officially designated as a Black-Serving Institution (BSI) at the end of 2025. This appointment recognizes LMU's commitment to supporting Black student success, retention, and belonging through specialized initiatives.

LMU is among the inaugural group of California institutions alongside 31 total campuses statewide. LMU holds the unique distinction of being the first private institution in the state to qualify for the designation.

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, statewide program chair, said during the announcement that the schools that earned the BSI, established under California Senate Bill 1348, in 2024 truly support students through partnership, accountability, and shared commitment to the success of Black students.

LMU's Black-Serving Institution designation reflects decades of sustained advocacy and institution-building by Black students, faculty, staff, and alumni ensuring the institution's responsiveness to issues of equity and belonging.

Since 1969, the Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) has partnered with Academic Affairs and campus leaders to provide individualized support, mentoring, and community programming that center Black student well-being and retention. The growth and evolution of OBSS over time signals LMU's ongoing responsibility to listen, respond, and strengthen the structures that support Black excellence and belonging. LMU currently has more than 15 on-campus Black student-run organizations, including an active and engaged Black Student Union.

"This designation reflects the care, advocacy, and community-building that Black students, staff, faculty, and alumni have long cultivated at LMU," said Kawanna Leggett, Ed.D., senior vice president for Student Affairs. "It also honors those whose leadership and commitment laid the foundation for this work. As a Black-Serving Institution, we are called to continue this legacy through sustained action and partnership, strengthening the structures, relationships, and resources that support Black students' wellbeing, leadership, and success, today and for generations to come."

Echoing those thoughts, Provost Kat Weaver acknowledged the community effort: "It is an incredible honor, and we accept it as a recognition of the many LMU students, staff, faculty, and alumni advocates and allies who have worked over the years to create an inclusive environment for our Black student community," she said.

There are also sustained and meaningful collaborations among the Department of African American Studies, the Black Faculty and Staff Association, and the African American Alumni Association that extend beyond programming into scholarship, mentorship, and curriculum development. Faculty leadership continues to shape critical inquiry, research, and teaching that center Black intellectual traditions and lived experiences across disciplines.

The Inclusive History and Images Project (IHIP) further strengthens this legacy by documenting overlooked stories and experiences across LMU's diverse communities, including Black students, alumni, faculty, and staff. An ongoing project that serves as a living archive through the William H. Hannon Library, IHIP preserves narratives that have historically gone unrecorded while expanding access for scholars and researchers. Its digital exhibits and student-driven research opportunities ensure that LMU's understanding of its past remains honest, inclusive, and continually evolving. University Chancellor Michael Engh, S.J. and Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts Bryant Keith Alexander serve as co-chairs of IHIP.

Professor Cheryl Grills, President's Professor and renowned scholar, community leader, and activist, in 1991 started LMU's now annual tradition of hosting Kente Graduation Ceremony, an annual rite of passage celebrating students of African descent's personal and academic achievements, marking their transition from college life to adulthood. For her work in building this LMU tradition and her expansive academic, community and political leadership, Grills was appointed as a President's Professor at LMU, the highest honor bestowed upon university faculty. During the event, students receive traditional Kente stoles, to symbolically honor their African heritage, and an African name and its meaning which is selected by LMU staff and faculty to honor their time here on campus and their aspirations into the future.

While the designation of a Black-Serving Institution affirms meaningful progress, it also underscores the ongoing responsibility to advance equity through a sustainable sense of welcome, measurable action, and sustained partnership with and for our diverse members of the LMU Black community.

"The designation of LMU as a Black Serving Institution provides an important recognition of the work of several generations of Black students, staff, and faculty that have worked in collaboration with campus leadership to create a place where Black students find a sense of belonging," said mathematics professor Robin Wilson, a leader of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. "It also challenges the institution to uphold this commitment and continue to support the resources needed for the Black student community to grow and thrive."

Chaya Crowder, associate professor of political science and international studies and a member of leadership in the Black Faculty and Staff Association underscores this call for continued and sustained institutional support of LMU's Black community through "academic resources for our students, as well as the hiring and retention of Black faculty and staff."

As a proud and progressive institution, LMU has received multiple designations recognizing its work in supporting diverse communities. The university was designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in 2024.

"Renewable every five years, the appellation holds us accountable to continued efforts to further the success of our Black students. In the months ahead, we will work with the campus community and colleagues to thoughtfully recognize and commemorate our BSI and AANAPISI designations," Provost Weaver said.

In addition to celebration, LMU is actively preparing for a year of reflecting on the decades of past and present endeavors along with the emotional and political labor that brought these designations to the institution. This will inform how the university will continue to move forward in its mission of centering equity, access, belonging, and justice for the generations to come.