In February 2008, Southwestern University and NHI announced they would jointly be launching a partnership with the Center for Hispanic Studies on the campus of Southwestern University. The partnership's intent is to research and evaluate college-readiness programs for Hispanic youth. Specifically, the center's intent is to open doors to conducting much-needed research on the impact of community intervention strategies via leadership and education such as those offered by NHI. The partnership is expected to augment the capacity of NHI's ongoing research via its CRC.