The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) is committed to including diverse faculty, perspectives, and experiences as reflected in its mission and vision statements. [1] The 2018-2023 Strategic Plan [2] included as one of its goals to “Engage and empower diverse groups of faculty at all levels of state and local leadership.” Listed under that goal was the following objective: “Increase the diversity of faculty representation on committees of the ASCCC, including the Executive Committee, and other system consultation bodies to better reflect the diversity of California.” The ASCCC Strategic Plan Directions 2023-2026, [3] adopted by the delegates to the 2023 Spring Plenary Session through Resolution 1.02 S23, continue to reflect the ASCCC’s commitment to empower faculty and uplift underrepresented voices.
As one component of reflecting on the goal of increasing diversity and empowering underrepresented voices, the ASCCC Executive Committee reviewed demographics of the faculty serving on the 2023-2024 ASCCC committees. As of September 15, 2023, 106 faculty were appointed to ASCCC committees out of 588 faculty that applied for statewide service. The following tables provide a snapshot of current committee composition with information comparing the applicant pool to the faculty appointed, expressed as percentages.
Table 1: Ethnicity
| Ethnicity |
Acknowledgments |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| African American/Black |
8 |
10 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
10 |
8 |
| Hispanic/Chicano |
17 |
17 |
| Multiracial |
5 |
11 |
| White/Caucasian |
51 |
43 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
9 |
11 |
Table 2: Gender Identity
| Gender Identity |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| Female/Feminine Presenting |
60 |
60 |
| Gender Fluid |
2 |
2 |
| Male/Masculine Presenting |
31 |
31 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
7 |
7 |
Table 3: Sexual Orientation
| Sexual Orientation |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| Bisexual |
5 |
5 |
| Gay |
4 |
7 |
| Heterosexual |
64 |
66 |
| Lesbian |
2 |
4 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
25 |
18 |
Table 4: Disabled
| Disabled |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| No |
89 |
86 |
| Yes |
6 |
9 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
5 |
5 |
Table 5: Veteran
| Veteran |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| No |
91 |
93 |
| Yes |
6 |
9 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
5 |
5 |
Table 6: Work Status
| Work Status |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
|---|
| Part-Time |
28 |
16 |
| Full-Time |
72 |
84 |
This snapshot of data suggests that the internal processes for selecting faculty to serve on committees is robust in that the appointed percentages are largely aligned with the applicant pool percentages. However, this conclusion may not be accurate in all cases. For example, the data in Table 6 on work status suggests that the ASCCC could expand its intentionality in selecting part-time faculty for committee service.
The data in these tables is only internal to the ASCCC. The following two tables are the equivalent to Tables 1 and 6 across the entire state for Fall 2022, the most current data available in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Data Mart, [4] and provide a comparison.
Table 7: Ethnicity Statewide (Fall 2022)
| Ethnicity |
Percent |
|---|
| African American/Black |
6 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
11 |
| Hispanic/Chicano |
18 |
| Multiracial |
2 |
| White/Caucasian |
54 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
9 |
Table 8: Work Status Statewide (Fall 2022)
| Work Status |
Percent |
|---|
| Part-Time |
67 |
| Full-Time |
33 |
Comparing the internal data to the statewide data provides another avenue for exploration and analysis. For example, in comparing the ratio of part-time and full-time faculty, the statewide and internal percentages are practically reversed, showing the underrepresentation of part-time faculty that applied for statewide service, with an even smaller fraction appointed to the current ASCCC committees. A growth opportunity clearly exists in recruiting more part-time faculty for statewide work.
This report is simply an initial presentation of ASCCC committee composition data. Although it is only one small component of a larger picture, the data presented in this article provides an opportunity for organizational self-reflection and continuous improvement.
Alternate Tables that Incorporate Statewide Data
Table 1: Ethnicity
| Ethnicity |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
Statewide (%) |
|---|
| African American/Black |
8 |
10 |
6 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander |
10 |
8 |
11 |
| Hispanic/Chicano |
17 |
17 |
18 |
| Multiracial |
5 |
11 |
2 |
| White/Caucasian |
51 |
43 |
54 |
| Other/Prefer Not to State |
9 |
11 |
9 |
Table 6: Work Status
| Work Status |
Applicant Pool (%) |
Appointed (%) |
Statewide (%) |
|---|
| Part-Time |
28 |
16 |
67 |
| Full-Time |
72 |
84 |
33 |
1. The ASCCC Mission and Vision Statements can be found on the ASCCC website.
2. The ASCCC Strategic Plan.
3. The ASCCC Strategic Plan Directions.
4. This information was queried on September 30, 2023 from Datamart.
