The Hispanic Research Center (HRC) was established by the Arizona Board of Regents on March 1, 1985. The HRC conducts both artistic activities and interdisciplinary basic and applied research on a wide range of topics related to U.S. Hispanic populations, particularly Mexican Americans. The HRC is evaluated by standards established by the Office of Vice President for Research. These standards include:

• The unit has an interdisciplinary thrust and successfully promotes cooperation among faculty and graduate students from different academic units.
  
  
• The unit is able to attract outside funds to support its activities or has strong support from outside the University.
  
  
• The unit is advancing knowledge of performing a valuable service in a manner that would be unlikely to occur at ASU if the unit did not exist.
  

In 1989, the HRC implemented the Community Documentation Program (CDP) in order to link the knowledge-generating capacity of the university with social issues, problems, and opportunities facing the Hispanic/Chicano community, through community-based organizations.

Effective July 1, 1997, the CDP was renamed, expanded, and reorganized as the Community Art and Research Outreach (CARO). The form for requesting support was modified. Evaluation, artistic activities, joint grant proposal writing, and other non-research activities were given new prominence in the guidelines and forms, better reflecting what has been the actual past practice of this program.

The scope of CARO's mission is nationwide although its primary focus is the State of Arizona and the Southwest region generally.

CARO's numerous roles include the following:

• Creating and developing new knowledge with practical application in the community
  
  
• Assisting in the economic, cultural, and educational development of Hispanic communities
  
  
• Fostering the application of advanced technologies in support of Hispanic communities
  
  
• Assisting in the creation, dissemination, and appreciation of Hispanic art
  
  
• Providing seed funds to organizations and individuals so that they may successfully obtain the necessary resources to complete ambitious projects carried out by community-based organizations in partnership with the university.