CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

CSUDH In The News

CBS: 40% of Black Women in California Are Teetering on Financial Brink

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Golden Gate Bridge in fog

Source: CBS

A new California Black Women’s Think Tank survey finds that two out of every five Black women in California are just a paycheck away from financial instability.

The survey of 1,258 Black women voters across the state found that 37 percent work two or more jobs – this includes 62 percent who do so because it is “essential” and they would “not be able to make ends meet” without the additional income.

The California Black Women’s Think Tank is a policy institute housed at the California State University at Dominguez Hills through a $5 million budget trailer bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022. The survey is part of an effort by the institute to improve structures that impact the lives of Black women and girls across the state.

In the Bay Area, 33 percent of working Black women work more than one job. Fifty-eight percent of those women say that it is essential that they hold more than one job, and they would not be able to make ends meet otherwise.

Across California, the survey reveals two in five Black women face challenges covering basic expenses. Dealing with inflation and the rising cost of living (80 percent), managing stress (66 percent), and finding financial resources (53 percent), were among the top concerns for Black women in California.

“The results are sobering and paint a picture of the pressures that threaten Black women’s stability and financial security,” said Kellie Todd Griffin, president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, at a news conference Tuesday. “This data is a call to action for meaningful change to policymakers, advocates, and community leaders to address these pressing issues and disparity gaps.”

Forty percent of respondents stated that racism and discrimination had limited their income and earning capacity, shedding light on the structural inequalities faced by Black women.

In the Bay Area, all respondents reported higher levels of homelessness, violence, and crime than what other Black women reported from other regions. Shakari Byerly, the managing partner of EVITARUS, a Los Angeles-based Black-owned public opinion research firm that designed, conducted, and analyzed the research, said racism and discrimination may be a reason.

“In traditionally African American or Black communities in the Bay Area, people have been more dispersed because of the lack of affordability,” Byerly said. “And that concern about racism and discrimination may be a function of that, especially when crime disproportionately impacts these urban areas.”

When asked about their top policy priorities for improving the lives of women and girls in California, Black women mentioned equal pay for equal work compared to men and women of other backgrounds (88%), the need for affordable housing (86 percent), doing more to protect Black women and girls from violence (85 percent), expanding access to quality, affordable health care (84 percent); fresh, healthy food (80 percent) and mental health services (80 percent).

Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, described the study as staggering.

“We need real data on experiences of Black women so that the legislator and anyone involved in advocacy positions can make meaningful policy that will drive the change we need to improve their lives,” Wilson said.

The poll on Black women voters is the first public project of the California Black Women’s Think Tank.

TIME: UPS Is Failing Part-Time Workers Like Me

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Stack of boxes on concrete

Source: TIME (authored by CSUDH alumnus Cesar Castro)

Like many working-class people of color living in Los Angeles County, I work to support myself and my family. This includes my four younger siblings and single mother.

I work hard at UPS part time and just completed my degree in labor studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. I’m a proud member of Teamsters Local 396, which represents transportation and sanitation workers in Southern California. As a shop steward, I apply my knowledge to help my co-workers at UPS advocate for themselves.

Every worker should be able to sit directly across from their employer to negotiate the working conditions they deserve. I’m honored to do that, serving on the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee as we bargain our new five-year union contract covering more than 340,000 workers at UPS. We have had enough and we are ready for the contract we deserve at UPS.

Unfortunately, when we got to the part of negotiations where we bargain over wages, we hit a big roadblock. UPS walked away from the table on July 5, refusing to give the Teamsters a last, best, and final offer. It was disheartening to hear that from the employer I work so hard for, an employer that made a record-setting $100 billion last year. Part-time employees work extremely hard to make this company its profits, and we deserve to share in that success.

As thousands of UPS Teamsters practice picketed, rallied, and mobilized across the country, UPS bowed to the pressure, and on July 19, reached out to the union to resume negotiations next week. UPS needs to deliver a fair contract with the wages we deserve.

As a part-time worker at the UPS Compton hub, I make $18.85 an hour. UPS advertises that their jobs pay an average of $95,000 a year, but that’s not what I’m making. My co-workers and I struggle to make ends meet on low wages, especially in a state like California, which has among the highest living costs in the U.S.

Inflation is rising, and necessities like rent and food are becoming increasingly difficult to afford. Housing is a major expense for individuals and families. According to a recent National Low Income Housing Coalition report, a worker must earn an hourly wage of $42.25 and work full-time to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Southern California. For cities like Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Diego, a single person must make more than $76,000 to “live comfortably,” according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator.

Income inequality in the United States has grown dramatically for decades. The wealthiest Americans are getting richer while the rest of us struggle to keep up. Prices for goods and services are increasing, but paychecks are not keeping pace. The result is a growing number of workers who are forced to choose between paying for rent or groceries, and that’s simply not acceptable.

This trend is reflected in the wages of part-time workers at UPS. UPS Teamsters are united around negotiating wages that respect the vital role we play in the company and the economy. The starting rate for a part-time UPS worker is $15.50 an hour. We do important work and are essential to the company’s success, but we are not paid accordingly. This is a multibillion-dollar corporation that can afford to do better by its workers.

Raising wages for part-time workers is the right thing to do. It’s also good for the economy. When workers have more money to spend, they put it back into their communities, supporting local businesses and creating jobs. This boosts economic growth and benefits everyone, continuing a cycle of shared progress.

UPS needs to raise wages, so this company’s workers can live with dignity and security. Part-timers at UPS, like myself, overwhelmingly want full-time jobs. We often have to wait years for that opportunity and, in the meantime, work for wages that cannot sustain an individual, let alone a family.

The best way for UPS to retain dependable workers is by paying us enough to live and creating opportunity. The system that currently exists at UPS means workers have to cobble together multiple jobs to make ends meet. This is not good for us, and it is not good for the company. It’s time for UPS to recognize the important role that part-time workers play in the company’s success and make some serious investments in our labor for the long-haul.

L.A. Sentinel: Black Educators React to SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action

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Portrait of President Parham

Source: L.A. Sentinel

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued three rulings last week that evoked dread and disappointment throughout the nation.

Over the course of two days, the court’s conservative majority decreed affirmative action in higher education unconstitutional, the Biden administration’s student loan relief program illegal, and a firm’s refusal to conduct business with same sex couples permissible.

Most observers agree that African Americans will be negatively impacted by all the rulings, especially the SCOTUS’ determination that institutions cannot implement race-conscious admissions policies to help build diversity on their campuses, even though the practice had been followed for more than 60 years.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many colleges developed affirmative action plans to address the fact that many predominantly White schools struggled to attract people from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Policies were also created to promote greater inclusion of women.

Since the late 1970s, the Supreme Court had three times upheld affirmative action in college admissions on grounds that institutions have a compelling interest to address past discrimination that shut nonwhite students out of higher learning. Justices had also agreed with arguments that more diverse student bodies promoted cross-racial understanding.

But, on June 29, the court’s six conservative justices concurred with the conservative plaintiff that the U.S. Constitution forbids the use of race in college admissions. However, L.A.-area college educators strongly criticized the ruling.

“As a university president committed to transforming lives that transform America, I am disgusted, but not surprised, by the Supreme Court’s decision. Affirmative action programs in universities and colleges have been the springboard that gave many students of color an opportunity to shine when their talents remained more latent than visible using traditional metrics,” said Dr. Thomas A. Parham, president of California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“Declaring such programs unconstitutional is not only devastating to institutions nationally; the callous decision rendered by six conservative justices gut-punched the hopes and dreams of current and future generations of students,” stressed the longtime college administrator, licensed psychologist, prolific author and video producer.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at California State University-Long Beach, also firmly rebuked the verdict, describing it as a “racist ruling” that reduces “rightful access and opportunities for Black and other students of color” to higher education and economic empowerment in life.

Outlining the implications of the ruling, he said, “This imposes on colleges and universities and medical and law schools a heightened responsibility to increase their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion with an added emphasis on justice for the students and their communities.

“This will include increased outreach and recruitment and expanded programs for retention, support and successful graduation. But it will also mean that students and our communities, in order to ensure its effective implementation, must hold these educational institutions accountable through righteous and relentless struggle,” insisted Karenga, who is also and author, activist and creator of the Kwanzaa holiday.

Despite the heavy lift that minorities face because of the court’s action, both educators offered advice and strategies to reduce the effect of the ruling on African Americans and students of color. In fact, Parham urged people to “move past this moment of emotional catharsis” and to remember that a “movement that is built on truth and righteousness” will defeat “any unjust law, policy, or practice.”

Urging the community to act, Parham declared, “Now is the time to stand-up, speak out, and advocate for authentic change to institutional access, employment opportunities, and an end to biased public policies and practices that keep Africans and other POC (people of color) from realizing the full measure of their promise and possibility.”

Karenga recommended that Blacks maintain tenacity in the campaign for equality, and “remember, this is not the end of our life or our struggle. Indeed, we have clearly weathered worst winters of White racism and supremacy.” Citing the community’s weapons, he noted, “Our adaptive vitality, resilience and resourcefulness are legendary and long lasting.”

The professor added, “This racist ruling is a reaffirmation of our ongoing need to expand our political education, mobilization, organization and confrontation at every level. Colleges and universities, law and medical schools, and corporations must be urged and compelled to continue and expand their equity, diversity and inclusion policies with added emphasis on justice.”

When it comes to intense oppression, Karenga concluded, “There is no reliable remedy except resistance; and no way forward except across the battlefield for a better world – a world of justly and equitably shared human good and the well-being of the world and all in it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

American Builders Quarterly: Yancey Modesto Builds for Students

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People walking past the Innovation and Instruction building on campus

Source: American Builders Quarterly

In the aftermath of the Watts Rebellion of 1965, and the nationwide racial reckoning that ensued, California Governor Pat Brown and other leaders recognized that a college location in the city of Carson would be an accessible option for minorities living nearby to pursue an education. That location would become home to California State University, Dominguez Hills, which has held true to that mission ever since, primarily serving underrepresented students seeking academic achievement and preparation for the workforce.

Today, leaders are looking to broaden the university’s impact on student experiences as it transitions from a commuter campus to a residential campus. As the associate vice president of facilities planning, design, and construction, Yancey Modesto is at the forefront of those efforts. Since stepping into the role in 2023, he has helped spearhead projects to upgrade old sites and build new ones for campus community members–all fueled by a need to serve university students.

“The diversity of this campus is remarkable compared to other campuses throughout the nation,” he says. “Being part of these developments and seeing how impactful we are to nearby communities is rewarding enough. But if you attend graduations, you see tons of families with first-generation graduates and that’s just another motivation to continue the work we’re doing.”

That work includes completing design plans for a new student Health and Wellness Recreation Center; renovating a science building for a new function; and an expansion of university utilities to support new infrastructure at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA).

His work at Cal State LA also includes beefing up the university’s student housing stock through a 1,500-bedroom facility as a supplement to 2 other housing projects completed in the past few years. Prior to these developments, the university hadn’t built a housing complex since the 1980s for the Olympics. Modesto is excited to see how these additions will address student needs.

Yancey Modesto’s Journey to the Top

  • 2001: Intern Architect at Ziegler Cooper Architects
  • 2002: Intern Architect at Gabriel Architects
  • 2005: Junior Project Manager at Lerner, Ladds, and Bartels
  • 2010: Designer/Researcher at Gauche Concepts and Visiting Critic for Architecture Design Studios at Rhode Island School of Design
  • 2011: Project Manager at LLB Architects
  • 2012: Campus Developer at the University South Carolina
  • 2018: University Planner at California State University, Office of the Chancellor
  • 2019: Director of Planning, Design & Construction at California State University, Los Angeles
  • 2023: Associate VP of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction at California State University, Dominguez Hills

“Our shift from being a commuter campus to a residential campus is bringing a lot of amenities and is changing the character and use of space not just during regular school hours, but after hours, because now we have a larger student population staying on campus. We’re investing in these things to support the students and to make sure it’s a full campus life experience for them.”

Before his role at Dominguez Hills, Modesto started his career with a decade of architecture and design experiences. While he enjoyed working on different building structures, he went on to give campus planning a shot in order to diversify his projects.

“On a campus, it’s like a small city you’re part of in the design and construction process. Being able to work on the variety of projects that comes with that is really amazing.”

Modesto took on his first campus planning job as a developer at the University of South Carolina before becoming a university planner at the California State University Chancellor’s office and a director of planning, design, and construction at Cal State LA.

From those experiences, he witnessed how strong collaboration made for better projects and better working relationships.

“You have to be able to listen and understand what the needs are,” he says. “You can’t establish a solution if you don’t know what the problem is. That’s why when you’re doing this kind of work, you need to hear concerns and capture your colleagues’ needs as it relates to the spaces they’re working in.”

Modesto’s advice for young people seeking success is that “there’s no replacement for hard work.”

“When I first immigrated to this country from the Philippines, I would walk every day to different jobs for several weeks, offering my résumé and looking for work,” he recalls. “I’ve came a long way from that, and it makes me proud. It just shows that if you’re patient in pursuing what you want to be and where you want to be, you’ll get there. Also, when an opportunity opens up, don’t be afraid to give it a try.”

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Workgroup Releases Recommendations for Black Student Equity

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Graduate in focus amidst crowd of other graduates at Commencement

Source: Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Since the 2015 launch of Graduation Initiative 2025, a state-backed project to improve graduation rates, the California State University system (CSU) has made significant progress, with students from all groups earning degrees at higher rates. But disparities persist. The graduation rate gap between Black and white students is 22.2 percentage points, .3 of a percent higher than it was fifteen years ago. Black student enrollment and persistence have declined in recent years as well.

Now, CSU, the nation’s largest university system, with 23 campuses and nearly 460,000 students, is making a push to close these gaps with a new report making comprehensive recommendations on how the CSU can best promote Black excellence.

The report is the product of a workgroup formed by CSU interim chancellor Dr. Jolene Koester after the system’s first Juneteenth symposium last year.

“It was an event that crystallized, for me, the CSU’s institutional, societal, and moral imperative to take meaningful action,” said Koester in a statement. “We need to create an entirely new and holistic approach for supporting Cal State’s Black community.”

The workgroup, made up of 16 administrators from across the CSU system, was led by Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president of Fresno State, and Dr. Thomas Parham, president of CSU Dominguez Hills. They conducted listening sessions and focus groups with more than 250 Black students, faculty, and staff. Parham said that the committee focused on making the most of its chance to affect change.

“We wanted to abandon the romantic illusion that Black equality really existed within the CSU,” he said. “We wanted to be bold, and we wanted to try to push the margins.”

The workgroup didn’t shy away from sweeping proposals.  One would require each of the schools in the CSU system to set recruitment goals for Black students based on their representation in local regions as well as to make plans for how to achieve them. Schools that hit their goals would receive increased funding and those that don’t, would lose dollars. Another recommendation was that each school develop retention and persistence strategies for Black students using a personalized student support model, along with enhanced advising. The workgroup also suggested that each campus have Black-designed and inspired campus spaces, culturally competent mental health professionals, and campus police who have a community approach.

“I don’t think there’s nearly enough energy devoted to institutions evaluating themselves on whether they are ready to receive Black students,” said Parham. “It’s an invitation to see whether or not they’re ready to create a wholesome environment for Black students around the country. If you provide that level of support, then I think it naturally attracts students.”

The committee also suggested changes to CSU systems, including the creation of a statewide central office for the advancement of Black excellence with the resources to give grants, a data infrastructure with disaggregated information, and policies to address unprofessional conduct such as microaggressions, micro-assaults, and micro-invalidations. The workgroup also recommended a comprehensive enrollment marketing campaign aimed at Black students. This suggestion was particularly necessary, according to Dr. Christopher Nellum, executive director of the western branch of The Education Trust, an educational equity nonprofit.

“There’s some trust lost in the CSU system by Black communities in California, as evidenced by dropping enrollment and increased enrollment at HBCUs,” he said. “I think that they have some work to do to reach Black communities so that they build trust again.”

Other ideas centered on teachers. Perhaps most significantly, the committee recommended an increase in the recruitment and support of Black faculty and staff.

“[Black] instructional staff need to be seen in the classroom because they are symbols of possibility,” said Parham.

The workgroup also included a mandatory development program to help professors focus on student potential rather than their initial circumstances and a mandate that new faculty have previous success in helping diverse students. The committee suggested that Black student success be incorporated into faculty and staff evaluations, and that each school conduct a cluster hire of scholars who study issues of concern to African Americans.

The report drew praise from higher ed equity experts.

“It is monumental,” said Dr. Shaun R. Harper, a professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and founding director of the USC Race and Equity Center, describing it as the best report of its type. “The recommendations are clear, they’re achievable, [and] they’re the right recommendations. It can become a blueprint for lots of other colleges and universities across the United States who are failing to effectively recruit, retain, affirm, and graduate Black students.”

Nellum said that the recommendations were particularly significant in the recent political context, in which DEI efforts have come under attack in several states. But he said that the report was missing one major aspect that he had hoped to see.

“There isn’t a lot of talk about financial resources for students,” he said. “So much of what we hear from Black students is that the financial pressures of attending college are real. In California, to step out of your door each morning, you have to have money.”

Although the report didn’t include details about student aid, the CSU is putting money behind the report’s recommendations: $10 million over three years, an amount that Nellum described as “great,” but not enough.

“I would like to see the state invest additional money specifically for this,” he said. “They deserve more; they need more. $10 million over 23 campuses is not going to go all that far.”

Parham said that he is hoping to attract philanthropic attention for additional funds. A more immediate next step will be getting the endorsement of the CSU trustees when they meet in July, which Parham believes will happen. Then, system-wide and individual campus implementation teams can be formed with the start of the new academic year in August, and change can begin.

There’s a lot of work to do, but Parham is optimistic.

“We ought to be the model of what Black excellence looks like for public universities,” he said. “It’s time for us to get serious.”