With 23 years of previous experience at Chico State, plus the qualifications on her resume, it seems like a no-brainer that Gayle Hutchison was selected to return as president of Chico State.

“When I heard that the presidency was open, the first thought I had was that I met the qualifications to return, but more importantly, that I would love to return to Chico State,” Hutchison said. “And why? Because of the people here!”

By people, Hutchison is referring to the widely diverse and unique Chico community. The University brings in roughly 17,000 students from all different backgrounds for about 10 months of the year. Having an all-encompassing faculty and staff is essential to properly serving the community.

“I would say that I am so committed, deeply committed to the mission of this university.”

“I would say that I am so committed, deeply committed to the mission of this University,” Hutchison said. “So for us here at Chico State, building inclusive and diverse communities of excellence is really important to who we are and what we do.”

According to Hutchison, Chico State is doing great in regards to diversity, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. One of Hutchison’s goals is to expand the diversity of the faculty. Having an inclusive and diverse faculty and staff is undoubtedly an important part of preparing students for real-world situations.

According to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics, white candidates are generally favored for faculty positions compared to ethnic minorities. Hutchison mentioned that people tend to look at the faculty at Chico and say it’s not very diverse. One of the ways she plans to increase diversity among faculty and staff is to improve the recruitment process in order to have a broader selection of candidates.

“I think one of the challenges we have in the CSU system, and I also think one of the challenges we see in higher education nationwide, is having a more diverse faculty and staff,” Hutchison said.

Another goal of Hutchison’s is to revise the University strategic plan. A lot of universities have a university strategic plan and then a separate diversity action plan, she says. Hutchison and her colleagues always wondered why those two plans were separate—they believe it makes diversity look like an add-on, when it should be an essential part of the plan.

“Usually students have a good social network that they can tap into for financial support,” Fox said, highlighting the difference between traditional students’ resources as compared to foster care students’.

“We are going to work really hard to take what's important to us around diversity, and weave it into that plan in ways that are prominent,” Hutchison said. “Instead of having a University strategic plan and a diversity action plan, we will have a University strategic plan of which diversity will be a very prominent, clear priority.”

Hutchison believes that diversity is essential to achieving excellence. One thing students can do is to take advantage of the opportunities Chico has for students to break out of their shells and experience the unique diversity our community has. Hutchison mentioned it goes a long way toward building cultural competencies and also helps students understand the perspective of other students.

“The more diverse we are, I think we bring different perspectives in ways that help us look at challenges and problems and find creative solutions,” Hutchison said.

The outlook is good for Chico; there are plans in place that will continue to expand the inclusive environment at the University. Hutchison is enthusiastic to be back at Chico State and might just be the president to bring diversity into the limelight.

“For me, diversity is definitely essential to who I am as a person and certainly essential to the health of a university and certainly of any community,” Hutchison said.

Eirin Auld gazes at Big Chico Creek and laughs to herself, “Being a veteran makes life easy!”

Having served as a Marine for 30 years as both infantry and a scout sniper, she has been all around the world,including Beirut, Lebanon, where her barracks were bombed. Auld sees her time as a retired vet on campus as a bonus and uses that mentality to embrace individuals she encounters. She uses the metaphor of being a raindrop running down a window.

“Everything it has touched it has carried down with it and it has left bits of itself all the way down. Be the raindrop on the window, because your life gets fuller and so does everybody’s you touch,” she said.

Traveling for the Marines involved a lot of self reflection, especially as she began to openly identify as a trans female. After coming out, there were many obstacles she had to overcome but the journey led her to develop a strong sense of self.

"Barriers are continuing to be broken."

“I [do not] introduce myself as a trans female to anyone,” Auld said. “I’m more interested in coming to you as a human being and having that level of conversation with you.”

The sense of growth and camaraderie are not lost on Donna Smith, a veteran of the Air Force. However, the sense of family wasn’t always present for Smith. As a closeted—yet suspected—lesbian on Travis Air Force base near Fairfield, California, she faced discrimination from military authority and her peers.

“While in basic training I had to re-sign a waiver that states I had not participated in homosexual relations or sodomy,” Donna said with a sigh.

Fortunately, for the LGBTQ+ veteran community, forms like that no longer exist. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act,” which banned LGBTQ+ service members from serving openly, was repealed in September 2011.

Barriers are continuing to be broken: over this past summer US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced that transgender individuals will now be allowed to serve open in the US military and cannot be dishonorably discharged.

In the 1980s, though, when Smith was in the service, a lack of protections for LGBTQ+ identified individuals meant that there was a window for hazing. Her experience was classified as a military sexual trauma.

“It’s a wide window, from there being sexual innuendos to … they put stuff in my coffee,” Smith said.

Her perpetrators were met with consequences, though. Two of the men were stripped of rank and met with letters of reprimand, while the other had to serve time.

According to a 2010 report by The Williams Institute, openly serving LGBTQ+ members account for over 2 percent of the armed forces. Tony Shafer, an army infantry vet who identifies as gay, was all smiles on the corner of Main Street in Chico as he reflected on his years spent in the service.

“There were bullies back then, but I didn’t have to hang around them. I had my crew, my friends, some gay and some straight, and we made it work.”

Shafer was not out until later in his life and, at the time, had to slightly tailor who he told. In today’s world, though, he believes that waiting and hiding your identity is no longer an option.

“All the right things are happening [in today’s society],” he said. “Laws are changing, LGBTQ+ issues are being talked about in these debates … staying in the closet is not an option anymore.”

For individuals who may be hesitant about coming out, it is worth noting that there are resources available both nationally and locally. The Veterans Administration has become increasingly more inclusive in policy and practice over the years. In Chico, Stonewall Alliance Center, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Chico State, the Office of Veteran Affairs at Chico State, and the local VA office have all been working to better serve the LGBTQ+ veteran population.

It is easy to act like the world around us—to assimilate and hide who we are, whether that is a sexual identification or our quirky hobby. If we can learn anything from our veteran community at Chico State, it is that beauty and strength comes when we act as our individual selves and blend our own flavor into new groups of people we meet along the way.

In 2014 there were over 60,000 children in foster care in California—552 of whom lived in Butte County. Last year, 85 foster care alumni and homeless youth were able to attend Chico State with the help of PATH Scholars, which stands for Promoting Achievement Through Hope Scholars.

PATH Scholars is an on-campus organization that helps foster youth begin and navigate their college careers.

All of those items are currently in place at Chico State, and the campus continues to develop them.

PATH Scholars’ primary goal is to “increase access, retention, and graduation rates for foster care alumni and unaccompanied homeless youth,” according to program coordinator Marina Fox, who defined unaccompanied homeless youth as minors in homeless families that become independents around age 16.

“Closed mouths don’t get fed.”

Since 2013, the program has been maintained by the Walter S. Johnson Foundation Implementation Grant. The grant helps ensure that the services provide an easy transition to college for foster youth, as well as a successful experience while enrolled.

PATH’s services are broken into two main categories that derive from the main challenges foster youth may face: financial and emotional support.

PATH Scholars participants have access to personalized guidance through the financial aid process, an emergency critical needs fund, and referral to other campus housing and food resources.

The recent addition of an emergency critical needs fund can be used for anything from textbooks to rent.

“Usually students have a good social network that they can tap into for financial support,” Fox said, highlighting the difference between traditional students’ resources as compared to foster care students’.

There is an application process to receive the emergency funds and it is incredibly beneficial to PATH Scholars students to prevent any setbacks on their path to graduation.

Although the financial aspect may seem most significant and overwhelming, emotional support comes first for the organization.

PATH Scholars’ participant Alizzette Balle is one who has benefited from PATH’s services.

“I didn’t have a backbone, I didn’t have connections, I didn’t know anybody, I didn’t have any resources,” Balle said. “PATH Scholars has built those bridges for me.”

Fox described how the organization’s first two years were spent establishing a strong social network for the students.

“Each program at different universities has a goal to create and cultivate that sense of community, and that’s definitely something that’s happened here,” Fox said.

The group holds monthly events that help students gain a sense of family and a network of social support, something they may not have experienced before. Students can also receive mentoring through the program, as well as referrals to counseling or other support services that meet their needs.

“We’re now seeing that we built a strong foundation … but there also needs to be that academic focus,” Fox said in regard to how the program’s focus is developing.

Getting started early is critical for PATH Scholars students, as they begin with limited resources, have no time to waste, are receiving financial aid and sometimes need to accommodate a work schedule. Legislation is in place to allow these students priority registration, which is one of the many benefits of the program.

However, these resources are only available to those willing to enroll in PATH Scholars.

“The only way we know about them is if they self identify,” Fox said.

When applying to come to Chico State, there is a question regarding foster care. Fox explains that many students will choose to not check the box in an attempt to remove themselves from the system, while compromising having their needs go unmet and potentially struggling through college.

“This is a resource that foster students should not shy away from,” Balle said. “Closed mouths don’t get fed.”

Word-of-mouth is a very powerful tool for the organization and students who don’t initially identify. There can be some negative stigma associated with students in the program, which can make people feel a sense of blame.

Some students are surprised to hear that others are PATH Scholars and foster care alumni. These reactions reflect another stereotype of this population, however, the resources provided through this organization help make the transition into college life as seamless as possible.

In order to develop the organization further and maintain the greatly established social network it has, PATH Scholars has plans for a new space in Siskiyou Hall.

It will be a place for students to hang out and connect with one another in between classes, study, attend weekly meetings, and an overall place to take ownership of, Fox said.

With the organization’s strong foundation and plans for a new center, PATH Scholars hopes to continue supporting this unique population of students.

From the moment a job opportunity becomes available, it contains bias. Even the location where the job description is posted can be biased depending on who has access to it.

Chico State’s diversity goals work to combat this bias.

Specifically, the University has responded with a training called “Avoiding Bias in Hiring” which started in spring 2015. It is mandatory for faculty search committee chairs, but about 150 members of campus faculty and staff have participated.

“The goal of the training is to raise awareness about unconscious bias and allow people to see where bias can come into reviewing applications for jobs on campus, during interview processes, and also during reference checks,” said Michelle Morris, cofacilitator of the training.

There is another campus training called “Confronting Our Biases,” which Morris describes as a more general yet impactful approach to discovering the implicit biases we have.

The student population has recently grown in diversity, while Morris says the faculty is slower to catch up. As of October 2015, Chico State has become a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, with 30.1 percent of enrolled students identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

“We would love to have more faculty and staff mirror and reflect the increasing diversity of our student demographic,” Morris said.

"The good news is that although we all have implicit bias, we don't have to act on that,” Morris said. “You can be mindful that it exists and then we can act more in line with our values for creating inclusive spaces.”

To do this, faculty learn to recognize the implicit biases they have and how to maneuver around them throughout the entire hiring process to give a diverse applicant pool.

"The good news is that although we all have implicit bias, we don't have to act on that,” Morris said. “You can be mindful that it exists and then we can act more in line with our values for creating inclusive spaces.”

The training is not meant to eliminate biases but to recognize that we have them and be able to make conscious choices toward avoiding them. The training, which is held once or twice every semester, gathers faculty and staff in a presentation and group discussion about the topic.

Morris hopes that this training will help “people realize what unconscious bias is, that we’re all subject to it, how it might impact the hiring process and then strategies to mitigate these biases.” As Morris said in the October 2016 training, “we are all human and we have biases.”

Another important aspect of the training is to discover how workforce diversity can help contribute to the ultimate goal of student success.

“Raising awareness among faculty and staff about these issues benefits students both in and out of the classroom,” Morris said. “This training can help because it might shape how faculty and staff do things in the class,” reaching beyond the knowledge they acquired from the hiring training.

She describes something called the “cloning effect,” which is when hiring staff tend to hire those similar to themselves, hampering diversity and appearing less inclusive. Tactics as simple as covering an applicant’s name can help eliminate bias to names, as they can imply things such as gender or ethnicity.

If this training proves to be effective, students will have increased exposure to diverse classrooms and a wide variety of role models.

You walk into a coffee shop and order a cup of coffee and an egg sandwich. You take a bite of the sandwich and are pleased with the taste, so you look back at the bag it was in. Underneath the words “Mondos Coffeehouse” it reads “Mondos is a work-training program for individuals with developmental disabilities.” You think to yourself, ‘hey, that’s pretty cool,’ and continue eating your sandwich.

Magana took ownership of the establishment, formerly Café Mondo, toward the end of 2008 and had a unique business model in mind.

“Some thought it was a great idea and some thought I was crazy,” Magana said.

Mondos Coffeehouse began as a work-training program for individuals with developmental disabilities. Before starting his first business venture in Chico, he worked for Far Northern Regional Center (FNRC), which now contracts with Mondos Coffeehouse. FNRC is an organization that provides support for people with developmental disabilities living productive lives.

At FNRC, Magana experienced how hard it was to get his clients “real” jobs in the community. Most positions were competitive and were paid based on productivity at small manufacturing jobs. Although the circumstances were discouraging, Magana saw an opportunity.

“We designed our program to be one of the few places that pays minimum wage rates, where traditionally, these individuals were paid sub-minimum wage hourly rates,” Magana said, “Ultimately, the outcome is to give access to individuals with developmental disabilities that they wouldn’t normally have.”

“It’s not just training for the disabled, it’s training for everyone.”

He describes the uniqueness of his full-integration program.

“Some individuals who have been here for a long time haven’t noticed a difference, which is exactly what we’re looking for,” said Magana, referring to loyal customers of the establishment.

Magana’s primary mission is for customers to appreciate his employees’ value and contributions.

“It’s not just training for the disabled, it’s training for everyone,” he said.

He says that once you start talking about a cognitive disability, “typically you have a perception of what somebody with a cognitive disability can and cannot do—you have an expectation of them.”

Magana says that at Mondos, they always focus on what workers can do instead of what they cannot. Each associate has an established Individual Program Plan that acknowledges potential limitations but mainly focuses on their capabilities.

The IPPs provide a structure for individuals to start working, but they get the best experience from how Mondos functions—simply as a normal business. Magana describes how some of the most rewarding moments for his associates are when they receive their first paycheck—quantitative recognition of their contribution as “someone is paying you for this skill set.”

The idea of being a part of the community, something bigger than yourself, is huge for his staff. And, just like everyone else “you have the necessary evil of taxes,” Magana said, “Our clients participate in all aspects of the community, the good and bad.”

One associate describes the positive aspects of the program. “I love it, it’s a good place,” Abram House, associate at Mondos, said. “I like the owner and everyone’s nice to work with.”

Disability or not, Magana stresses that each individual is critical for his business, and he does his best to let them know that their contribution is valued and needed.

“It’s one of the few places where not only do we need you, it doesn’t function without you,” Magana said.

Ultimately, he wants to promote his business but not at the expense of his employees or anything that would detract from their experience. Regardless of his unique business model, Magana states that you can’t expect the business concept to bring in customers—you still need to have a good product, which means good coffee, good food and good service.

Magana wants the customers to have a great experience at his coffeehouse while appreciating and understanding the work-training program that keeps it alive.

Born and raised in San Francisco, University Police Chief John Feeney might just be the person to foster inclusion and diversity throughout the University Police Department (UPD).

Just over a year ago, Feeney took on the role as chief of UPD at Chico State. Previously, while working in San Francisco, he was able to transform the force options training unit into the most diverse training unit within the department, featuring multicultural and LGBTQ+ staff. In Chico, Feeney has faced some challenges expanding the department.

“It’s been a slow process in regards to the growth of the department,” Feeney said. “Soon after I began here, we lost an officer to another agency.”

A slow start is no deterrent for Feeney though; he has already hired two new officers and has openings for three more to join the force. One of Feeney's goals is to hire individuals that will more closely represent the students they serve. He made it clear that it is much more important than just checking a box for diversity. Feeney wants officers that are relatable, approachable, and socially adept in order to better serve the community.

“It’s really important that the law enforcement in the Chico community is prepared, open, and understanding of the differences of other people that are coming from very different locations,” Feeney said. “A goal of mine is to have our department be more reflective of the students we have attending our school.”

Feeney speaks of many goals, and he has plans to back them up. His main goal is to close the divide between students and police officers by generating more interaction between the two on campus.

One of the ways he is doing this is with Cookies with the Cops, where the entire UPD visits each residence hall to bring students cookies and engage in conversations at the start of each school year. Feeney wants the students to know that the UPD officers are people, just like themselves.

Another way Feeney plans to bridge the gap is by having more officers on foot throughout the core of campus. He recently mandated that at least one UPD officer be walking the core of campus during school hours.

“A goal of mine is to have our department be more reflective of the students we have attending our school.”

Feeney also patrols what he calls his outdoor office. Fully reachable by walkie-talkie and cell phone, Feeney loves to walk on campus getting to know the students. One on-foot officer is not enough though, Feeney plans to add a second one to walk the campus during popular school times.

“I want to utilize some of the salary savings to add a fourth officer, so we can have two on the core of campus,” Feeney said.

Another goal in the works includes the diversity training course that all police officers in Chico will be receiving. The director of diversity and inclusion, Tray Robinson, is working closely with UPD, Butte County Sheriff’s Office, and the Chico Police Department to create a training course on diversity and inclusion for all officers.

“It excites me that our local law enforcement agencies are supportive of diversity training for their staff,” Robinson said. “Such training will provide them with necessary resources and tools to better serve our diverse Chico community.”

Feeney wants students to voice their concerns and let UPD know what sort of relationship and services they want from the department. There are multiple ways for students to reach out and get connected with UPD; one way is to go to the Student Advisory Board meeting—which is designed to break down barriers by creating a dialogue between students and campus police officers.

There are also Community Night Out events that the UPD organizes on campus. The last one was October 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. and is based on the National Night Out, which is meant to build communities and partnerships to create a safe neighborhood. In addition to events, you can always approach an officer on campus with comments or concerns.

Diversity and inclusion has always been a goal for the UPD. With the experience and expertise Feeney brings to the table, it seems like that might be a reality quite soon.

The ethnic demographic makeup of California has drastically changed over the past 30 years. As the Latino population increases over the state, that same change is reflected across the Chico State campus. This increase culminated with the University’s recognition as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in fall 2014.

To reach this milestone the University first had to achieve Hispanic student enrollment of at least 25 percent, but Chico State did not stop upon receiving the title. Instead the campus was only beginning.

“We want to be more than a Hispanic-enrolling institution,” said Teresita Curiel, interim assistant director of HSI initiatives. “An HSI is a campus community that intentionally creates equity and advances the success of Latino and Hispanic students.”

A major way Curiel—along with faculty and staff—is ensuring this happens is through the HSI Faculty Learning Communities.

“We want to be more than a Hispanic-enrolling institution.”

The Faculty Learning Communities are a function of Faculty Affairs, a community ran by Zach Justus, the interim director of faculty development. These communities tackle different themes over the year and provide an opportunity for a small cohort to learn and collaborate.

“When we become aware of students with different needs or that the things that we were doing aren’t effective either because of a generational change or a demographic change or a background change, we have to figure out what to do next,” Justus said.

When the workshops first began in spring 2016, they were well received and interest grew exponentially. Faculty must apply to participate and the program received so many applications that a second Faculty Learning Community was added this fall and some members had to be turned away.

“There was lots of talk on our campus about the attainment of our status as an HSI, but not very many people know what that means,” Justus said. “The faculty community has lots of questions about that.”

These questions include: What does that mean for my classroom? Does it change what I’m supposed to do with my job? What does it mean in general?

All of these questions and more, are tackled in the Faculty Learning Communities along with a spectrum of topics relating to the changing student demographic. These conversations take place over the program that was expanded from last semester. Previously the HSI Faculty Learning Community lasted eight hours, but to allow for more time to cover the subjects, it has now increased to 10 over the course of the semester.

One faculty member who expressed interest was Tracy Butts, English department chair and professor. She applied and even though wasn’t chosen due to the high demand for limited spaces, she was able to bring a change to the department that captures the spirit of the program.

“I submitted an application because I was curious to learn how to support students,” she said. “Ways that we could be more mindful of how we can build a curriculum that could be more reflective of the changing demographic.”

The English department made two hires after searching for educators with experience in Chicanx and Latinx studies. As a result, the department was able to offer more sections of the writing intensive ENGL 364i course, “American Ethnic and Regional Literature in Focus.”

Butts stressed the changing student demographic made this change so important.

“It gives impetus to put things in place to make sure that students feel welcome and that they see themselves,” she said.

While she didn’t participate in the Faculty Learning Community, her points are very much reflected in the content. The Faculty Learning Communities break down into five modules, with each centered on a different aspect of what being an HSI means for faculty and students. The first module lays the basics and context, with the second module building off that knowledge and introducing student voices. Faculty and students create a dialogue with each other while students share what being at an HSI means to them.

According to Justus, one point of view students share is, “This is what it means to be in a classroom that’s inclusive and accepting versus a classroom that doesn’t seem to be mindful of who the student population is.” These perspectives allow faculty to get a sense of how they can begin to make changes to best reach more of the student population.

“As I understand, that was an incredibly powerful session last semester,” Justus said.

The remaining modules touch on culturally responsive teaching, workforce diversity and the different types of grants that are available once a school becomes an HSI.

“It’s not enough to say, ‘Hey, these are students here’ and give ourselves a pat on the back,” Justus said. “If we don’t care about [students] being successful . . . we should just quit coming to work.”

The need for these communities is simple. Demographics are changing across Chico State’s campus and essential work is being done to reflect them.