Dr. Keith Curry (Courtesy photo)

Compton College’s population of students, faculty and staff reflects the diversity of the residents that live within the Compton Community College District (CCCD) service area, which encompasses 12 cities including the communities of Compton, Lynwood, Paramount and Willowbrook, as well as portions of Athens, Bellflower, Carson, Downey, Dominguez, Lakewood, Long Beach, and South Gate.

While the current employees of the Compton Community College District closely mirror the same population, Compton College has an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan and is working with the University of Southern California Center for Urban Education to review our hiring process and procedures during the 2019-2020 year. In addition, the CCCD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of a Director of Diversity, Compliance and Title IX at its September 10, 2019 Board meeting. This is a new position and the first-ever in the history of Compton College.

As the president of Compton College, I would like to publicly provide information and official data regarding the gender and ethnicity of the District’s employees, students and the communities served by the Compton Community College District.

The following is an overview of the population (employees and students) at Compton College by gender:

• The majority of new hires this year have been female.
• In 2017-2018, 53 percent of the Compton College workforce was female. Fall 2017 marks the first decrease among female employees and the largest increase among male employees during a five-year period.
• Compton College has a proportionally larger female student population. In 2017-2018, 63 percent of the students were female, while 37 percent were male.
• The population in the service area of the Compton Community College District is 52 percent female and 47 percent male, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
• On average, the CCCD Board of Trustee Areas’ enrollment numbers are 65 percent female and 35 percent male.
• Statewide, the majority of California residents, 54 percent, are female versus 45 percent male.

Based on this data, the number of male new hires, 51 percent so far this year, is greater in comparison to Compton College student and District populations.

Concerning the ethnicity of the Compton Community College District and Compton College employees, the majority of new hires this year are African American.

• Nearly half of the District’s new employees, 21 of the 49, are African American; 19 are Latinx.
• The 2017-2018 Compton College student population was 25 percent African American, while the majority of students, 60 percent, were Latinx.
• The District’s service area population of an estimated 320,280 residents is also predominately Latinx; only 22 percent were recorded as African American according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
• The CCCD Board of Trustee Areas’ enrollment numbers are almost identical in ethnicity, with only 20 percent of the five areas’ enrolled students being African American, and the majority, more than 75 percent, being Latinx.
• Statewide demographics show 46 percent of California residents are Latinx, and only 6 percent are African American.

Compton College anticipates hiring additional faculty, classified employees, and administrators by the end of this year, which creates an opportunity to actively recruit and create a diverse faculty applicant pool for open positions. Employment opportunities are announced on the Compton Community College District’s Human Resources’ webpage: www.compton.edu/district/administration/human-resources. Compton College will host its second annual on-campus job fair sometime in spring 2020.

Faculty and staff diversity is a high priority for the Compton Community College District Board of Trustees who remains committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone in the campus community. This includes employees, who are vital to student learning and success at Compton College, where Every Student is a Success Story!

Dr. Keith Curry serves as the CEO of the Compton Community College District and president of Compton College.