As an institution that aims to create more access to higher education by removing barriers to entry, the California Community College (CCC) system supports what is often described as "nontraditional" students (i.e., first-generation and systems-impacted students), but also of most importance to this study, Students of Color (Knoell,…

Microaggressions have been studied in higher-education institutions, professional work environments, and ordinary life. However, most research studies on microaggressions in higher education focus on the experiences of college students at four-year institutions, exposing a gap in the literature on microaggressions in two-year community colleges.…

This counterstorytelling study involved examining how Practitioners of Color (POC) enact "carino" and embed restorative literacies or cultural and community practices in community college integrated reading and writing (IRW) classrooms to create a safe counterspace for Students of Color (SOC). The significance of this research is to…

The Oregon community college system employs a full-time faculty workforce that is overwhelmingly White. This study aimed to research why the representation of faculty of color in the state's community colleges remains low by conducting interviews with faculty of color about their experiences at these public 2-year institutions using…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore how men of color have experienced stereotype threat in their lives and used community cultural wealth to manage stereotype threat and achieve academic success while persisting at a large urban community college. Racial tensions have manifested through blatant acts of racism,…

Throughout history, people have united to demand change and accountability in the face of injustice. Although freedom of speech and assembly rights have been essential in uplifting and empowering marginalized communities throughout history, it is important to name the existence of speech that seeks to expand rights and speech which aims to…

This exploratory study sought to gain a better understanding of the nature and extent to which Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) faculty at community college institutions experience racial battle fatigue. This study examined the implications of racial battle fatigue on burnout and the retention of BIPOC faculty at community college…

The financial aid process extends beyond once a student submits the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. Scholars have found that the financial aid process can be cumbersome, especially for minoritized students. What is unclear in the literature are the additional hurdles students encounter to obtain financial aid. I…

Women faculty in higher education, and particularly BIPOC women faculty in community colleges, often bear the weight of emotional labor, or the expectation of managing both their feelings as well as their students' emotional needs. Because emotional labor goes unrecognized, this places a strain on faculty who balance teaching, research, and…

Research demonstrates that Women of Color faculty experience multiple systems of oppression in the academy. However, much of the literature surrounding the topic of Women of Color faculty is situated within university environments. A paucity of research sheds light on the experiences of Women of Color faculty within the community college setting.…

Two women scholars (Khmer and Black) explore how our subjectivities as researchers influence how we understand, give honor to, and (re)present our participants' experiences in ways that value their humanity. Through phenomenological methods and poetic transcription, we seek more nuanced, creative, and powerful ways of positioning participants'…

The category of "English as a Second Language" or "ESL" student is no longer a label of someone in the process of learning English. Rather, linguistic categorization is a complex social processes of ascribed identity formation that positions students as deficits and others, circumscribing them out of belonging to both academic…

Historically, science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) fields have been saturated with White males while persons excluded based on race or ethnicity (PEERs) are leaving STEM due to a lack of belonging and identity. The purpose of this quantitative multiple regression analysis was to identify whether a relationship exists between the use…

In this study, we interrogated the efforts adopted by community and technical colleges in a Midwestern state to address racial inequities since the onset of COVID-19. We analyzed such efforts reported in institutional newsletters and associated media through critical content analysis supported by text mining techniques. Our findings demonstrate a…

Purpose: This study addressed issues of chief diversity officers who often face diversity challenges when attracting, recruiting, and retaining, faculty of color in community colleges in California. Perceptions and meaning-making of chief diversity officers were explored as they encountered racism and shaped the discourse on race embedded in the…