Despite the low number of Latino tenured professors, and the difficult career path for Latinos, some Latinos are evaluating the impact of increasing attacks and measures against the diversity initiatives.
Maria Chavez did not consider her Latino Politics course assignment controversial during the past semester. Chavez asked students to write a piece of op-ed about a problem facing the Latino Community. One extra copy was accidentally left at the end of class. The following day, Chavez discovered the extra copy of the assignment defaced by rants against “illegal aliens”, “Stop Teaching Victimization!” and the paper was not signed.
Chavez, professor at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, said that “these are the types of actions people are emboldened now to do.” “The racialization, and stigmatization of Latinos in the U.S. is often replicated in classrooms.”
Chavez belongs to a relatively small group in the world of academia of Latinos. Professors claim that achieving tenure in academia is a challenging and difficult process. They’re now also struggling with how to navigate increased politicization in education, as states such as Florida limit diversity initiatives, and place controls on educational courses and content, especially those that deal with race and ethnicity.
Chavez stated that “the direct attack on knowledge about people of colour is something which is very antidemocratic and is very personal harmful to students as a way in which it impacts who they are, both as academics and future academics.”
Chavez stated that “the political debates over critical racial theory and so-called wokeness are an attempt to silence the experiences of people of color,” Chavez. When academics of colour use theories to explain the experiences marginalized communities face, they are viewed as unreliable and that they shouldn’t even be taught.
Chavez said that she could not “in conscience” recommend to her Latino students a career as an academic in the social sciences. “You must always maintain a balance between your professional and personal identity.”
Chavez believes that teaching American politics and history is a dangerous time. “There’s a backlash against diversity and my students know it. There’s a backlash against anti-racist educational programs, which makes it difficult for everyone.”
While Latinos are a record number of students at four-year colleges, they remain underrepresented in the college faculty. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a record number Latinos attend four-year college — one in five college students. However, nearly three quarters of postsecondary professors were white by 2020.
Latinos make up only 6% faculty members in colleges and universities. Latinos are underrepresented among full-time faculty members, at only 4%.
In spite of these low numbers, conservatives and Republicans are increasingly criticizing university faculty in several states for “wokeness,” which is defined as being aware of racial injustice and social injustice. They also denounce Critical Race Theory, an analysis that examines the way racism is embedded within American institutions.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , a Republican who launched his campaign for president on Wednesday, recently signed legislation that limits teaching about structural racism and curtails diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Texas House passed recently a bill that would eliminate DEI offices and programs at state colleges.
Irma Montlongo, the director of Chicano Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso finds political interference in education to be “pretty sinister.”
Politicians are “concerned that we teach subjects that encourage ethnic groups to hate white communities”? Montelongo stated that this couldn’t have been further from the truth. “We teach students to love their community, to love themselves and to see themselves in history stories and literature. “We’re not instructing our students to hate anyone.”
Montelongo called attempts at curtailing ethnic studies a “total whitewashing” of American history.
Montelongo’s students become “enthralled” when she teaches Mexican American History. They have never had this type of exposure to knowledge. Her students start to make connections between their family stories and history. They become enthralled by the material and wonder why they weren’t taught before.
Montelongo and her colleagues will be closely monitoring the developments in Texas as GOP legislators seek to restructure certain aspects of public education.
She has yet to find any measures that could lead her to, for instance, change the course offerings she offers. She does not envision any radical restructuring of the tenure-system because it could “destroy’ universities as research intensive campuses.
Louis Mendoza, a professor at Arizona State University, said that despite the challenges, “being an agent of change in higher ed — is important to me.”
Lance Graham
The funnel should be larger
Some positions, such as full-time professorships, require a Ph.D. This can take up to 8 years. Others allow for a master’s, which is equivalent to 6 years. Many young Latinos from working-class backgrounds are under pressure to start working immediately because of the time commitment.
Louis Mendoza is a professor at Arizona State University of Latino Literary and Cultural Studies. He said that sometimes, family members may not understand the reason why you are pursuing a Ph.D. They tell you to be a teacher.
Mendoza explained that “it’s as if you’re setting yourself up for an enormous challenge, both with your community and the one you want to enter.”
Mendoza stated that Latino professors may face isolation if their subject is unfamiliar to the non-Latino faculty who are evaluating their work. “But I am committed to being a change agent in higher education, for myself and my peers.”
According to Patrick L. Valdez of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, this lack of Latinos in academics is a problem with pipelines. As we examine the statistics for educational attainment we see that the number of Latinos decreases the higher you go. The funnel needs to be larger.
Valdez is a visiting professor from the University of Kentucky. He believes that institutions need to do more to retain and recruit Latino academics. Colleges should ask about the composition of their search committee and whether they are searching for Latino Ph.D. applicants in places other than the traditional ones.
Valdez said that when colleges are “equity-minded”, they will have a better chance of attracting Latino faculty.
‘s 20 leading research universities made a commitment in June to that they would double the number Latino doctoral candidates at their schools by the year 2030. They also pledged to increase by 20% the number Latino professors.
Antonio Flores is the president and CEO of Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. He stressed the importance of promoting Latinos to the academic world in early years of school. He said that we need to provide more opportunities for Latinos to succeed, starting as early as in high school or community colleges, so they can consider a career in academia.
The pathways to boost the number of Latino professors have to begin in the early school years, says Antonio Flores of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
Courtesy Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Many Latinos may be the first members of their family who graduate from college, and they may not have friends and family to guide them in career choices.
According to research, even when Latinos achieve their academic goals, women and scholars of color often face concerns about their credentials. They are also often evaluated less favorably compared to white male professors.
Harvard University denied tenure to Lorgia Garcia-Pena in 2019. This caused national outrage. The school later released a report by a tenure committee which found that the system was “structurally solid.” By then, Garcia-Pena left Harvard to take a job at Tufts University.
In a book , Garcia-Pena described her experiences at Harvard. She said in an August interview with NBC News that the “more open conversations we have on what’s wrong with academia, then more people will be able to enter these career positions knowing what they can expect”.
“We are now part of the conversation”
Montelongo, UTEP professor, said that despite the steep path and increased measures to curtail areas of study and diversification initiatives she has never lost faith in her career.
She said, “Many students are from groups who have historically been left out of higher education. Now they are succeeding.” “They’re opening doors that were previously closed for their communities.” It’s hard to describe the pride that parents feel when their children graduate.
Montelongo said, “Our students want to learn not only Chicano Studies, but also history, creative writing, and engineering.” “Seeing them grow and develop, I know that we are shaping El Paso’s future and they will make the world a much better place than today.”
Chavez, a professor at Pacific Lutheran University in California, said that she is optimistic about the future of Latinos working in the academic world, despite the current educational and political climate. “Our numbers are small, but we’re at the table. My students have struggled to get into a university but they have made it. “We are now part of the discussion.”
