The only candidate named after a search for a new director of the Chicana/o Studies program at UNM said Tuesday that recent decisions regarding affirmative action and Hispanic population growth within the United States provide for unique opportunities for the program.
Dorothy Baca, associate professor and head of Design for Performance with the Theater and Dance Department, said that disparities within higher education are becoming less racially based and more economic; increasing opportunities for Hispanics in college.
"People are frightened at the thought of how many Chicanos will be in the U.S. within the next 25 years," she said. "College will no longer be for the elite."
Baca, who spoke to a small crowd in Ortega Hall about focusing on the future of Chicana/o Studies at UNM and the great opportunities that exist for the program, stressed that she is not a scholar and that she relies on her strong administrative skills.
She added that she hopes the right people can lead the program in the direction of prosperity.
"Higher education, especially at UNM, has to change its attitude about undergraduate education and the direction it should be headed," Baca said. "In order for us to make the necessary changes within the Chicana/o Studies program, we need to set realistic goals."
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Baca named the addition of a graduate program in Chicano Studies, increased recruitment and retention efforts, stronger advisement and mentoring programs and a possible name change of the program as examples of the goals she would like to set.
She said that after setting those goals the program should strive to accomplish them within two to three years.
"I don't have to be an expert to succeed in this position," said Baca. "I just have to know enough about the program and the direction it is headed to defend it."
Baca said that being an outsider to the academic world allows her to be an objective observer of the intricacies of mixing administrators and scholarly experts.
"It baffles me that scholars are brought in to do administrative work but know little of the intricacies of the position," Baca said. "It amuses me to see someone fluent in one field struggling with the other. I don't expect a goat to act like a sheep."
She said that she believes UNM has a great responsibility to the Chicano population of New Mexico and that it has failed in promoting itself to them and making them feel welcome. She added that she has relatives who refuse to send their children here for those reasons.
Baca, who has more than 25 years of experience in TV and film production, having worked in the costume design facet of movies such as "Batman and Robin" and "Wild, Wild West," along with television programs such as "Major Dad," said that she has learned the power of collaboration and that she believes successful networking is a key element to the Chicana/o Studies program's future.
Baca, a UNM alumna, received her master's degree in fine arts from the University of California at Los Angeles.
She teaches costume design, European costume history and ethnic costume history at UNM. With funding and support from the University, Baca is researching the costume history of New Mexico during the Spanish Colonial period.
"My experience in the film industry will carry over to my position here," Baca said. "I have to gain the loyalty of those who don't have the same power as me and protect them. In return I expect them to do the best work they can. My name is on it, so it is important to me."
