Professor Nancy Pérez to leave Cal Poly Humboldt to teach at Northridge

A once undeclared undergraduate student, Professor Nancy Pérez, found comfort in ethnic studies courses, especially being a Chicana woman. Ethnic studies actively addressed topics related to her personal experiences and sense of identity. 

“When I declared ethnic studies, chicano studies, and Central American studies as my pathway, I realized how much of an impact my professors had on me,” Pérez said. “They really modeled for me the possibilities and potential that could come with an education in a field like that. That’s what inspired me to go into teaching, because I want to do that type of work that really had an impact on me and I want to be that mentor, that role model, that teacher for other students.”

Pérez first began teaching at Cal Poly Humboldt back in the fall of 2018, in the Department of Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies (CRGS). Originally from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, her educational background includes a B.A. and M.A. in Chicana/o studies earned at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and a Ph.D. in justice studies from Arizona State University. 

Having earned tenure and a promotion to associate professor in the spring of 2024, a recent statement from the CRGS department announced Pérez’s decision to accept a new position in the Department of Central American and Transborder Studies at CSUN. 

“For me, it represented a full circle moment,” Pérez said. “That’s where I started my education as a college student, and then I had an opportunity to return to a department that was instrumental in my learning process as a student and also as a lecturer. And now as a professor, I’d be able to return to a lot of that, contribute in new ways and to work with the same community that supported me.”

In her time working at Cal Poly Humboldt, Pérez made valuable connections with students, faculty and community members. When she first came to Humboldt, she was offered to take over the production course for Courageous Cuentos, a student-run, bilingual publication that centers around the voices and experiences of students of color. 

“For me, the stories of the students in the volume was basically like a roadmap for me of how I could see myself at Humboldt, because my first semester was tough. Leaving home and coming to a rural community was really difficult,” Pérez said. “When I read the stories, I knew that if the students were feeling similar, yes they were going through it and you know making meaningful experiences out of it, I knew I could do the same thing.”

In her efforts to counter these systemic barriers, in 2020 Pérez helped develop the Creando Raíces student Place Based Learning Community into being ethnic studies focused. 

She believed that in order for the university to be successful in retaining students of color, it was necessary to have a program within their first academic year that allows them to connect with a curriculum that speaks to who they are, as well as validating their lived experiences as a form of knowledge. This program was intentionally designed to also simultaneously fulfill the necessary steps to meet their golden four GE requirements.

Around the same time, there was an ongoing movement to push for the implementation of the bill AB-1460 which requires all CSU enrolled students to take an ethnic studies course in order to graduate. Pérez served as a co-chair for an ethnic studies council alongside Professor Cutcha Risling-Baldy, who at the time worked as the chair of the Native American Studies department. Their combined efforts were critical in educating the university of what ethnic studies truly encompasses as well as expanding the curriculum once the law went into effect.

Pérez explains that for her, teaching in a classroom setting is an exciting opportunity because for a lot of her students it is their first time learning about social movements and racial justice. A reciprocal learning process takes place in her engagement with students while being able to have these important conversations.

Despite there being a common assumption that all professors are extroverted and super talkative, Pérez shares that in reality she is actually a very shy person. She describes herself as being able to read the room, being observant and thoughtful. Throughout the years, she has learned to embrace her personality and identify it as a strength, realizing that there are simply different forms of expressing oneself. 

Although not knowing if there will be a new hire to fill her position, Pérez shared her hopes that the university will hire someone full time tenure track and follow through on the demands to expand the faculty of the ethnic studies departments.

Marisol Ruiz, a professor in the School of Education at CPH has worked closely alongside Pérez since her arrival. Together, they have collaborated in their goal to foster connections with members of the Latine community in Humboldt County.

“It’s been excellent working with her, we are in sync when it comes to our efforts for solidarity. Working together to support and uplift students and also in documenting the history of Latinos in Courageous Cuentos,” Ruiz said. 

Audriana “Audri” Peñaloza, a graduate student in the English department, was first introduced to Pérez when she took her Courageous Cuentos production course. She is now working as the project director for the Courageous Cuentos Retrospective Gallery which will be on display in the spring of 2025.

“We miss her. We all miss her,” Peñaloza said. “Especially those who worked closely with her, and even probably just students who took one class with her. Her leaving the institution was definitely a huge loss to Cal Poly Humboldt.”

Leaving behind a legacy of compassion and community building, Pérez shares to her students, “Don’t be afraid to be yourself, to dream, to imagine, to create. Institutions will never give you what you need; you must create that for yourself alongside your peers, community, and families. Your education is ongoing. No one can take it away, and that’s empowering.”