Chabot College has never had a full-time faculty member housed in and solely
dedicated to the maintenance and development of Ethnic Studies. With no
consistent advocate in division meetings, on college committees, in hallway
conversations the program has languished and withered.
This state is not due to a lack of student interest. Each semester an Ethnic Studies
course has been offered at the college, it has been fully or over –enrolled. From
Spring 2013 to Spring 2015, Ethnic Studies 1 was enrolled at an average rate of 103
percent, with a WSCH/FTEF productivity ratio of 681.00.
According to the most recent (preliminary Fall 2015) data, Chabot’s student
population is 83% students of color. 100% of our students (through their
complicated identities, their interaction with institutions on and off this campus
experience and live race.
These internal (college) numbers are important. Well-established learning
communities on this campus (Daraja, Puente and CIN) all support the revitalization
and growth of Ethnic Studies. This program and its curriculum offer the potential to
address three of Chabot’s college-wide learning goals (Global and Cultural
Involvement, Civic Responsibility and Critical Thinking). It also could serve to
reduce the bottleneck that currently exists in the completion of the American
Cultures requirement.
Equally important, however, is the College’s commitment to the study and teaching
of an important and profoundly relevant body of knowledge. In her 2011 National
Education Association research review, “The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic
Studies” Christine Sleeter, writes “(a) large body of research in higher education that
examines the impact of various diversity experiences, particularly course-taking and
interracial interaction, reports quite consistently that such courses have a positive
impact on outcomes including “commitment to promoting racial understanding,
perspective taking, agreement that diversity and democracy can be congenial,
involvement in political affairs and community service during college as well as
commitment to civic affairs after college.” These are student-learning outcomes the
college should support.
Beyond this college there is widespread support for Ethnics Studies. In the 2015
Prioritization Statement of High School demand distributed to the college, Hayward,
San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley Unified listed Chicano/Latino Studies
and African American Studies as top areas of student interest and demand. Oakland
Unified has recently instituted a requirement that all its high schools teach Ethnic
Studies. This new policy also encourages elementary and middle schools to
incorporate an ethnic studies curriculum.
Other Bay Area community colleges offer Ethnic Studies course at a significantly
higher rate than Chabot. Berkeley City College (a smaller and whiter college than
Chabot) is offering more sections of Ethnic Studies classes this semester (Fall 2015)
alone (7) than the total number Chabot has offered since the Fall 2012 semester (6).
I offer additional comparative data in the request form you all should have.
At the state level, there will likely not be a better moment for a hire in Ethnic
Studies. That faculty member will benefit by the newly finalized Social Justice
Transfer Model Curriculum. This “area of emphasis” (AOE) was specifically
designed to prepare students for transfer into a variety of CSU majors, including
Ethnic Studies, Chicano/Chicana Studies, African American Studies, Asian American
Studies, Native American Studies, Social Justice Studies, Gender and Sexuality
Studies, Modern Jewish Studies, Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding,
and many others. In addition, current state Equity funding offer financial resources
to support this faculty member in such areas as curriculum development, program
expansion, and coordination with existing learning communities.
The curriculum (the body of knowledge) is important. The demand (both present
and future) is there. State support (both in terms of a transfer infrastructure and
financial) is now established. The college should not wait. The time is now for this
faculty hire.