Welcome to the Fall Semester!

Greetings Ethnic Studies students, campus and community members!

My name is Amber Rose González and I'm the incoming chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Fullerton College. I want to introduce myself by sharing one of my favorite quotes about education: 

“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility.
In that field of possibility, we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress.
This is education as the practice of freedom.”

––bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 1994

As a womxn of color and a first-generation college student, I experienced the ethnic studies classroom as this place of possibility described by bell hooks. It was a place to recover the stories that had been hidden or misrepresented in my K-12 public education. It was a place to dig deep, to be introspective and critical, a place to explore and cultivate my belief system and my ethical commitments, and it provided me something I had not experienced before: the capacity to imagine a society different––better than the one I had inherited. It allowed me to bring my whole self into the classroom––my intellectual self, my emotional, spiritual, and cultural self. For the first time in my life, I saw myself reflected on the pages of an academic text. Ethnic studies was special in that way. So special in fact, that I applied to graduate school motivated by a deep desire to continue learning. I did not want the feelings of belonging, of validation, of love, to end. I had so much making up to do. This type of education was indeed the practice of freedom and as an educator and professor of ethnic studies, my primary goal is to cultivate spaces of hope and possibility for my students. 

My classroom is a place where we examine concepts like belonging, citizenship, freedom, and justice. We don’t just theorize about race, racism, gender, sexism, homophobia, nativism, and other intersecting identities and relationships of power. We discuss how these are felt and lived by students, their families, and their ancestors. We deconstruct the meanings of these concepts and examine how they manifest in our bodies and in society, but we also envision what we want in their place. We think deeply about what it means to create social change. I want my students to know that the academy can be a place where they are supported, where they can cultivate their gifts, and that hierarchies don’t have to be perpetuated, even in an institution that is built on unequal power relations.

I do not take my chosen life path lightly. Ethnic studies provides me a space to heal, to learn and grow, and to refine my beliefs and my social commitments by teaching about past and contemporary movements for justice and by making meaningful connections with my students. After taking my class, I want my students to walk away empowered and empathetic and brave so that they too will know education as the practice of freedom.

A little more about me...

• I'm a transfer student!––an alumni of Mt. San Antonio College to be exact.
• I earned my BA at California Polytechnic University, Pomona in Gender, Ethnicity and Multicultural Studies (GEMS).
• I earned an MA and PhD in Chicana/Chicano Studies with an emphasis in Feminist Studies from UC Santa Barbara.
• I'm the advisor of the newly formed Social Justice Coalition at Fullerton College (@fc_social_justice_coalition) a student organization that aims to foster a social justice-oriented campus culture. Contact them here: fullcollsjc@gmail.com
• I'm a board member and herstorian of Mujeres de Maíz, a womxn of color artist-activist collective based in Los Angeles.
• Most of my students (and my Dad) call me Dr. G. 
• I love to travel, cook, and kayak at the beach. 
• Email: AGonzalez@fullcoll.edu Voicemail: 714-992-7504

By Dr. Jorge Gamboa, Social Science Division Dean, Fullerton College

Throughout his career as an educator, Professor Padilla has touched thousands of lives across the district and is one of Fullerton College’s most beloved and well-known professors. Professor Padilla was born in Fullerton. In fact, his grandparents, father and his siblings lived in a house that used to be where the Fullerton College Library currently sits. The Padillas are considered pioneers of Fullerton. Professor Padilla arrived at Fullerton College in 1969 to teach American History as an adjunct professor. He is an intellectual and emotional product of the 1960’s Civil Rights, Chicano, and Anti-Vietnam war movements, which manicured him for to be educator he is today. Professor Padilla graduated from Anaheim High School and attended Fullerton College from the fall of 62’ to spring of 64.’ He earned his bachelor’s from California State University, Fullerton and a master’s degree from UCLA. To this day, he credits Fullerton College professors for preparing him for the rigor of Cal State Fullerton and UCLA. He became a full-time Ethnic Studies professor at FC in 1972 and considers Fullerton College his home. FC faculty who wear jeans today may want to thank Jerry for that. He was the first professor to wear Levis in 1969! Throughout our campus and community, everyone knows Professor Padilla. He has been actively involved in community events such as the Placentia Tamale Festival and other cultural events throughout North Orange County and Santa Ana. 

Professor Padilla’s many accolades and achievements include being selected as Best Community College Teacher of the Year in 2012 by OC Weekly and he was most recently awarded the prestigious 2018 North Star Award for his exceptional work at the college. Jerry was honored by The National Hispanic Endowment Fund in 1998 as the Hispanic Community College Teacher of the Year. He has been completely immersed and a prime mover at Fullerton College for more than 46 years. 

Professor Padilla gives all praise to his Creator who has blessed him with a career of educating students. Likewise, he says that he has equally been blessed by the thousands of students who have nurtured him. In retirement, he will transition into elementary education as a Volunteer Instructional Aid and Teacher’s Resource. Jerry will continue as Santa Claus and he looks forward to enjoying retirement alongside his wife, children, and grandchildren. 

He leaves us with one simple message: Whatever you do in life, do it with PASSION and treat what you do as a career rather than a job. Oh!…and attend ALL FC athletics games! 

Congratulations Professor Padilla! 

The events listed below are organized by the Ethnic Studies Department and will take place on campus during the fall semester. Faculty, we invite you to offer these events to your students for extra credit. They provide great hands-on cultural and educational learning experiences! 
Details to follow in the coming weeks.