White Citrus employees maintain bulk of faculty despite overarching Hispanic student population

Two-thirds of Citrus College students are Hispanic, yet Hispanic faculty only make up one-third of faculty.

However, a survey conducted by Citrus found that students still consider the school to have an adequate amount of racial and ethnic diversity.

In the presentation of a race and ethnicity survey conducted by Citrus last spring, Tyesha Thomas, diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator, said students would like for faculty to look like them, specifically students of color.

“They want to see more of themselves in staff and in faculty,” Thomas said, “but if they cannot see themselves, then at the very least, they need faculty and staff who value their culture and value them right.”

In the survey, white students polled the highest of all groups at 43% who said they see instructors who look like them.

Asian and Black students polled the highest at 37% and 36% in answering the question of how important it is to have instructors who look like them.

Black and Asian students also scored the highest at 64% and 44%, respectively, regarding the importance of seeing staff who look like them.

Lan Hao, director of institutional research, planning and effectiveness, and Thomas presented the result of the survey to students on May 17 in Room 159 of the CI Building.

As of fall 2022, Citrus College serves about 10,000 students, with an employee count of 799.

In a race and ethnicity survey conducted by Citrus in the spring of 2022, 66% of the college’s student population is Latino/Hispanic, a stark difference from what it was 20 years ago, in which white students held the majority.

Starting in 2006, Citrus College has seen a steady decline in white student and African American student enrollment and an increase in Hispanic and Asian student enrollment.

In recent years, the call for representation has grown. Minorities are pushing for institutions to appoint people who look like them into visible spaces. A recent example is the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Joe Biden, fulfilling a promise to appoint the first black woman into office.

Recently, the school hired a diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator, Thomas. A Pride Center was also newly opened to cater to sexual minorities.

However, regarding race and ethnicity, a gap still exists regarding the Citrus College faculty population and how it reflects on the student population.

Of the 799 employees at Citrus, including administrators, classified employees and faculty:

• 42% are white 
• 32% are Hispanic
• 9% are Asian 
• 3%  are African American

Compare this to the student population, of which:

• 66% are Hispanic
• 15% are white
• 8% are Asian
• 3% are African American

The gap, however, becomes wider when only college faculty is considered:

• 28% Hispanic
• 48% white
• 14%  Asian
• 5% African American

The percentage breakdown shows that white and Asian faculty are overrepresented, African American faculty is on par with its student population, while Hispanic faculty are underrepresented.

The survey found that 93% of students don’t consider the race and ethnicity of instructors when deciding which course section to take at Citrus College.

Hao and Thomas shared that the college’s area of growth involves “improving the diversification of faculty and staff and creating a sense of cultural belonging.“

To achieve this, the college is progressing in implementing the University of Southern California Racial Equity in Faculty Hiring Institute’s five-week program. This program includes a weekly three-hour session focused on embedding racial equity in the faculty hiring process.

“I know we can’t expect something overnight because it takes time,” Thomas said, “ but it’s important for us to have that mindset. We need to know where we’re going.”

Hao said that years back, the college was not as diverse, so a lagging effect is expected.

Thomas said the reason why faculty demographics haven’t changed the way student demographics have changed is because most faculty are in a tenure process. 

This means that after being employed for at least four years, faculty members have their job for the rest of their lives.

“We have a lot of great people here, and it takes time for them to retire out before you can even start to see your new pool and really have a better assessment,” Thomas said. “And so that’s why we’re doing the USC Hiring Institute.”

Thomas said the school has 30 employees from different groups on campus that form its hiring committee. 

Thomas said the school is thinking of having a hiring committee that goes through diversity training every two years.

This article was updated on May 30 at 7:30 p.m. to rectify the data in the interactive graphics.