The number of Latinx full-time faculty is becoming more reflective of the majority Latinx student population at NOCCCD in the past five years, a study conducted by the NOCCCD shows.

Latinx new hires were shown to have increased by 2.8% from 2017 to 2022. Applicants with diverse backgrounds made up 43% of the applicant pool in 2021-2022, and 11.8% of them were Latinx. However, 37.5% of NOCCCD’s new hires were Latinx, the study shows.

The study focused on the trends in NOCCCD new hires and their backgrounds to determine diversity in their faculty populations.

From fall 2017 to fall 2021, the Latinx percentage within full-time faculty district-wide increased by 2.8%, an improvement from the 11.4% Hispanic faculty in 2006.

Despite improvement, Latinx students make up approximately 48.9% of the student population district-wide; only 28.8% of the full-time faculty is reflective of that, the Diversity Report shows.

Increase in faculty diversity hires impacts how students approach their education.

“It matters because students need to see themselves reflected in the faculty,” said M. Leonor Cadena, professor of anthropology at Fullerton College.

Cadena is the past Interim Director of Diversity and Compliance for NOCCCD and co-prepared the 2017-2022 Institutional Commitment to Diversity.

“I don’t think we should call it diversity when we’re just talking about race, ethnicity and gender,” said Cadena. The report focuses on race, ethnicity, and gender trends for new hires, applicants, and employed faculty.

Mary C. Murphy, professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, found that student retention was impacted by the culture of belonging that is fostered on campus.

This conclusion was drawn from a 2020 study she assisted with and was published in Science Advances. The study was done by assigning a reading-and-writing exercise to first-year college students through a required writing college course.

Fullerton College Communications Studies Professor Jeanette Rodriguez supports the need for providing students with a sense of belonging.

“I really try to think about cultivating a sense of community, like, giving the students a reason to stay,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez identifies as Latina, making her part of the Latinx population on the Fullerton College campus.

Rodriguez stated that her teaching is influenced by the demographic makeup of her students, with the intention of making her course more relatable, such as in her Intercultural Communications class where she modifies her assigned readings to be relevant to her student’s racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Cadena states that with the status of the economy, there may not be many full-time faculty openings in the future, meaning fewer hires. While the intention of mirroring campus diversity in faculty hiring is desirable, it is essential to prioritize hiring candidates who are best qualified for the job and who will do the work rather than hiring a candidate as a diversity hire.

NOCCCD has seen steady retention and hiring rates of full-time Latinx faculty, and the numbers may be slowly increasing, as the NOCCCD adult-serving population is predicted to increase to 53% in Latinx adults.

Rodriguez hopes not only for an increase in faculty of color at Fullerton College but also talks on the need for the development of faculty-to-faculty mentorship within the diverse hires. This would likely assist with an increased sense of security within POC faculty, which would hold a “transformative potential” for the student population.

“I often hear about their not-so-positive experiences, so I want to be the opposite side of that,” said Rodriguez.

Jason Kim contributed reporting to this article.