The problem addressed in this study is the underrepresentation of professional staff in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at West Coast community colleges. Although DEI efforts have mainly focused on faculty, professional staff have been overlooked, potentially leading to decreased engagement and feelings of undervaluation. This…

The problem addressed in this study was that there was the likelihood of a mismatch between preprimary teachers' racial, ethnic, and cultural make-up and the children and families they educate and care for in the preprimary classroom from birth to 5 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine early childhood education (ECE)…

Even though the importance of technical and vocational education is acknowledged in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the university sector has dominated the discourse on the role of postsecondary educational institutions in sustainability. This comparative study widens the scope by highlighting…

This study examined the experiences of faculty of color in community colleges within the context of faculty diversification efforts. Community college students have become more racially and ethnically diverse, yet faculty remain overwhelmingly White. Ten faculty of color from diverse disciplinary fields were interviewed in this phenomenological…

This study focused on Hmong male participants from a California Community College. The Hmong males are from an indigenous ethnic group uprooted from their agrarian living as a hilltribe in Laos to different parts of the world because of a war that involved the United States government. White Supremacy and Whiteness are the leading cause to the…

This qualitative study explored the systemic barriers to hiring faculty of color in the community college. A phenomenological design was used to examine the community college full-time faculty search process from the perspective of 10 full-time faculty of color who actively participate in racial justice advocacy. The participants represented five…

The gaps in graduation and retention rates between ethnic and gender groups continue to be a foremost area of focus at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), The City University of New York (CUNY). Equity and inclusion is also a critical concern as it relates to faculty and staff. At BMCC, a college-wide initiative, Designing for Success,…

Racism exists within communities and within colleges. It is ever-present in the structures that professionals in the California Community Colleges system work within and that students of color must navigate. Striving to achieve equity is not enough and is not possible within the current community college system. Policies, processes, and other…

Guided by the theoretical frameworks of sense of belonging and spiritual activism, this study examines the experiences of first-generation Latina community college students who navigated the choice to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and their experiences as they prepared to transfer to a 4-year college from two…

Guided by the frameworks of college-conocimiento and the cooling out function, this study examined the college choice process of Latina/o/x students who attended an under-resourced urban high school. Data for this study consisted of interviews with ten institutional agents, two oral history interviews with 34 Latina/o/x students, and observation…

In early 2020, the world was thrown into chaos with no organization, country, or individual escaping the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just a year before in 2019, community colleges, universities and schools were thriving. 2020, however, was a year that none of us predicted, marked by the pandemic, as well as, other cataclysmic disrupters and…

For many years, higher education data collection and funding efforts have focused on student success metrics like enrollment, graduation, retention, and course completion rates. At the same time, higher education leaders have become increasingly aware--in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic--of the vast array of challenges that college students…

As student diversity in higher education continues to encompass myriad groups that include numerous intersecting combinations of backgrounds, higher education actors must be aware of the changing dynamics of the 21st century student. These changes include growing numbers of previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved students seeking higher…

Each year a distinguished scholar or prominent leader is selected to present the Tomás Rivera Lecture. Named in honor of the late Dr. Tomás Rivera, professor, scholar, poet and former president of the University of California, Riverside, in the tradition of the former Hispanic Caucus of the American Association for Higher Education, AAHHE is…

The 1947 President's Commission on Higher Education offers insight into higher education policy in the United States. This article reviews and assesses the adoption of its policy recommendations in two key areas: 1) improving college access and equity and 2) expanding the role of community colleges. (Contains 1 figure and 4 notes.)