By Julia Woock
Leading Southwestern College was the hardest job President Dr. Kindred Murillo said she ever had.
And, she added, the most fulfilling.
Murillo, 65, recently announced she would retire in June, ending a 25-year career in higher education and four-and-a-half years in Chula Vista. She became president in January 2017 replacing Melinda Nish, who was let go as racial tension flared on campus and the college was sanctioned by its accreditation body. Murillo is the first SC president in 40 years to retire of her own accord.
Governing Board President Nora Vargas praised Murillo’s contributions.
“She has done a fantastic job helping us transform the college,” Vargas said. “I am very grateful for her leadership and what she’s done for the campus community. We’ve addressed some really tough issues that I think she led with a lot of collaborative leadership. She is going to be missed.”
Vargas said Murillo’s commitment to transforming campus culture and working with the board to address institutional racism are among her greatest successes.
Former ASO President Christian Sanchez said he worked closely with Murillo last year.
“It was an insightful experience,” he said. “She has great leadership skills and I definitely learned a lot from her. She definitely was always willing to help, no matter the circumstance. I am forever grateful for her and all that she has done for us.”
Murillo became president during a period of racial tension at the college. African-American employees spoke out about what they described as systemic racism that caused Black professionals to be underrepresented. Some employees countered that Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans were actually treated worse and were less represented. She said she was happy with the current racial climate at the college, but insists work remains.
“This is the hardest job I’ve ever done,” she said. “I have had to do things that just kill me. Every time I have to do something employee related I spend hours and hours and hours (without) sleep. There was a lot of work that needed to be done when I got here. I walked into, I can’t even explain to you what kind of mess. We worked hard and it’s really fulfilling to see (results).”
Murillo said the next president must continue work on the college’s racial climate.
“When you see anti-Blackness you have to call it and that is not easy to do,” she said. “Most of us are not trained to do that. The next president needs to have the courage to continue the equity work and make sure every student and every (employee) feels they belong.”
When Murillo arrived at Southwestern College it had a 17 percent graduation rate, she said, which she found depressing. (SC defines a graduation as a student who transfers, earns an Associate’s degree or a certificate within eight years). The college now has at a 27 percent graduation rate, which she credits to improved equity.
Murillo said she is proud of increasing faculty and staff salaries because raises were overdue and keep the college competitive.
“I am very excited about our faculty,” she said. “You have some of the best faculty at Southwestern I have ever run across and, for the most part, they fight for you guys every day.”
SC has diversified faculty and staff over the last three years, Murillo said. Hiring philosophies were modified “to screen people in versus screening people out.” Implicit bias training has aided this effort.
“That’s a hard thing to do because faculty stay for 30 years, so when most of the faculty of this college were hired, Chula Vista was more white and less diverse,” she said. “(Today) our students are 68 percent Latino. We need more faculty that represent what our students look like.”
Vargas said she hopes Murillo’s successor continues to cultivate openness and transparency, where people feel they can speak up about issues and challenges.
“We are grateful for the work she has done,” said Vargas. “I appreciate that students were always the priority.”
