Board of trustees member Consuelo Rey Castro shares her ideas with student Liliana Saaveda during a recent visit to the PCC campus.
Photo by Sheryl McQuilkin |
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Being a member of the collegeís board of trustees may have perks, but having an office is not one of them. Thatís what one of the newly elected board members discovered. There are no board of trusteesí offices at PCC, or anywhere. Consuelo Rey Castro, that new board member, is not overly concerned. She has been meeting students in halls and on campuses for over 22 years. Her office is everywhere.
The Courier recently interviewed her at the bohemian Equator coffeehouse in Old Pasadena.
Rey Castro, 55, is a political science professor and the chairperson of the social science department at East L.A. College. She has also served as a union chief negotiator for the Los Angeles Community College District. An advocate of civic responsibility, Rey Castro has participated in nearly twenty projects and boards during her career.
Many PCC students may remember Rey Castro as ìla comadreî, meaning the godmother or co-parent, on the ìSanchoî radio show. The music program aired on KPCC.
The ìSancho Showî, unlike contemporary radio shows, took the risk of handing over the microphone to unrehearsed, novice chicano students. Additionally, the show became popular for airing local talent, for playing old Latino classics and for sprinkling ëconsejosí or advice to local youth. Both ìSanchoî, the radio host, and ìLa Comadreî told students to ìstay in school and educate yourself.î
In Nov 2001, Rey Castro took education a step further. She ran against the incumbent, Luther Renfroe, for the collegeís board of trustees and won.
Rey Castro has plenty of new ideas for a board whose members have been around for quite some time. She would like to see PCC board meetings televised.
She is in favor of giving the PCC student trustee more latitude to make board motions and cast a symbolic vote. She wants to address employee morale. The faculty, without a contract for nearly two years, has organized campus demonstrations rarely seen at PCC. They were supported by employees and students. Rey Castro believes that such problems will not go away unless addressed.
ìWages for part time faculty at PCC are some of the lowest in California,î said Rey Castro. However, she feels that the board is not entirely responsible. Unions need to ensure that part timers are given an equal voice in contract negotiations. Rey Castro stated that other community colleges have had more success than PCC in the past by including all faculty under one umbrella, not as two separate tiers.
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ìMy commitment is to bridge the disconnect between the board, students, faculty and the community,î she said. Rey Castro spends four to six hours a week meeting students, faculty and the public on and off campus. She would like the trustees and PCC president to interact more with students.
According to Rey Castro, the trustees are dedicated and are listening. ìMany of the human relations issues are addressed at retreats or at off site planning sessions,î she said. Board agendas, she noted, focus more on the financial and the business aspects of running PCC.
A resident of Pasadena for 12 years, Rey Castro represents northwest Pasadena (Area 3) which has the largest concentration of ëat riskí students. According to Rey Castro, ìOnly 35 percent of our PCC students live in the Pasadena service area. The percentage of African American students in Pasadena who attend PCC has dropped.î To counter this, Rey Castro said that PCC needs to recruit local students. She also believes the future of PCC is tied to reducing the high school drop out rate in the area.
Rey Castroís definition of ìstudentî also includes older adults, single parents and others. She wants to encourage working adults to attend PCC. She foresees them getting their AA degrees, transferring to four-year colleges and reinventing themselves. Rey Castro believes that PCC can also train students to make a good living in vocational trades.
Rey Castro, a native of Santa Barbara, grew up near her uncleís ranch along with her parents and three siblings. She attended Santa Barbara City College and graduated from Loyola University with a BA in Political Science and a Masterís degree in Public Administration.
She has three children and is married to Daniel Castro, ìSanchoî, the President of Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
Rey Castro, an avid gardener and owner of turtles, cats and parrots, is willing to put some of her personal pursuits on hold. ìUltimately,î she said, ìwe are not what we say, but what we do.î Students and the public are invited to meet her at her office, furniture not included.
Contact Consuelo Rey Castro via email at consueloRC@aol.com. |
