On the 50th Year of Philippine Studies at City College of San Francisco: Is There Reason to Celebrate?
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The Philippine Studies Department contingent of City College of San Francisco at the 2017 Pistahan Parade (Photo courtesy of Prof. Michael Gonzalez)
Though the COVID-19 pandemic shapes the time and manner in which this notable anniversary will one day be celebrated (hopefully), it cannot delay the recognition of the worthy faculty, students, and administrators who, from its beginning to the present, have built and sustained the only Philippine Studies Department in California.
While there are many distinguished Philippine Studies programs in institutions of higher education, the CCSF Philippine Studies Department continues to be the only one in California and, according to its website, “the oldest of its kind in the world.” So, what is the distinction between a Department and a Program in the community college system?
Unlike a Program, a Department has academic autonomy. A Department can determine what courses it offers, and when they’re going to be offered. It also has the ability to develop Filipino focused courses as in the case of CCSF. A Department oversees budget line and finances and hires its own faculty whereas a Program is contained within a Department. For example, City College of San Francisco has Filipino Language Program and TULAY, the Filipino American Student Success Program, which supports students in their academic goals and endeavors. The CCSF Philippine Studies Department is also distinct in that it can offer a degree.
The first Philippine Studies program was developed in the 1950s in Chicago, within an Anthropology department. There are now several minors offered in these programs, but not a specific degree: University of San Francisco Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program; College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York (through Department of Modern Languages and Literature); University of Hawaii at Manoa Center for Philippine Studies; University of Los Angeles (through the Asian American Studies Program) to name a few.
Fortifying Sustainability and Legacy
Department Chair since 2016, Dr. Lily Ann Villaraza, is the only tenured full-time professor in Philippine Studies in the U.S. It is very unique in that she holds position not in history, not within another department, but in Philippine Studies.
Dr. Lily Ann Villaraza (Photo courtesy of Dr. Lily Ann Villaraza)
“I was told that I would not be able to find a job doing what I do. And that crushed me when I was in graduate school. But my response was, ‘well, what do you mean’?” She chalked up her “obstinacy” to being Filipino and just wanting to come home, and really saying, “This is important and I’m not going to compromise this.” Coming to CCSF was really a dream and she feels blessed to be able to advocate for the department. She started as adjunct faculty at CCSF in 2014. Currently, she typically teaches four to five classes remotely, plus being chair. She would prefer F2F but understanding the last year, she also sees the value of online instruction and where that can actually take the department.
Says, Villaraza, “My job, as I see it, is that I am hopefully prepping more to go into this same kind of work, in some way, shape or form.” A number of students who have taken Philippine Studies courses are now professors. They’re counselors, educators, social workers.
Villaraza encourages former students who have gone on to become professors themselves to think about ways they can partner, as colleagues. “As an academic unit, one of the most important things that I feel is my responsibility to ensure that there’s someone coming after me and is willing to do this work.” She supports others to take the position and grow the department even further.
Part of her hope is to create legacy, “the sustainability of the thing that will allow us to leave legacies,” she adds. “Being part of Philippine Studies is not just an academic endeavor. Being part of Philippine Studies is a commitment to the community, being engaged in some way, shape, or form. “
As the 50th anniversary approaches, here are some of the most recent notable achievements during her administration:
In early February, 2021, Villaraza submitted Certificate of Achievement and Associates of Arts Degree in Philippine Studies to the Curriculum Committee for approval. Filipinos are the largest group in the Pacific Islander population in the California Community College System. “In terms of learning communities and retention programs there is Bayan at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA, TULAY here at CCSF, and Kababayan at Skyline College in San Bruno, California. Because of COVID, we’ve been having these conversations about how we can support each other and how can we help other institutions who have visible Filipino populations develop retention centers or programs that will support our students? We’re the largest, but we’re not that visible because we’re so dispersed. So reflective of who we are—an archipelago!”
Another notable achievement is the submission of a new course, Global Filipinx Sexualities, which was actually developed by a former student as a master’s project. The hope is to offer it by Spring, 2022. Furthermore, all of the Filipino language courses which were formerly under World Languages and Cultures have been moved to Philippine Studies.
The most notable, for Villaraza, was the institution of a Filipino Graduation. They are going on to their fourth year.
As to celebration of the 50th, because of COVID, planning one has been very difficult. Villaraza has been organizing students to plan events, but in addition to physical constraints, planning is a mental and emotional strain as well. Nevertheless, one of her students is organizing the oral history project, gathering the narratives of people who have been part of the Department over the years, students and faculty alike. In case COVID prolongs the return to face-to-face gatherings, they ask themselves, “What can programming look like in 50 + 1?” She really hopes that they won’t have to consider a “50 + 2” celebration.
Early Foundations
It must be acknowledged that from the late 1980s to early 2000s, there were a number of Filipino administrators at City College of San Francisco, such as, Vice Chancellor Juanita Pascual who had also been in charge of Finance and Administration; Rodel Rodis, who served several terms on the Board of Trustees and was very influential in the political sphere; and, Dr. Mira Sinco, who was Dean of Student Services. With these highly-placed administrators from the Filipino American community, the rest of the college was more conscious of the need to address the needs of CCSF’s Fil-Am students. Programs, financing, and support that were asked for came somewhat easier as well.
Dr. Leo Paz, Department Chair from 1995-2013, witnessed the largest faculty growth ever; across Philippine Studies and related disciplines--Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Studies, Asian American Studies, and World Languages--a total of 8-12 faculty members. In those days, student enrollment tripled and often sections were filled with 30-50 students. “Furthermore, the students had role models to emulate and even go to for support and assistance,” emphasizes Paz.
During Paz’ tenure, many notable student leaders emerged. For example:
Juslyn Manalo, currently serving her second term as Mayor of Daly City, California, was one of the founders of the PEACE (Pilipinos for Education, Culture, and Empowerment.)
Richard (Ric) Cantora was Program Coordinator for a student-operated peer mentoring program designed to increase outreach, retention, and student success. In 2001 he was Council President and served on the CCSF Board of Trustees as Student Trustee. In addition, he was the office manager from 2011-2014 for TULAY, another student success program within the Philippine Studies Department, which continues to thrive today.
Maybelle Manio (with the Mindoro Foundation) is President of the Board of the Jefferson Elementary School District. As a PHST student, she was among the volunteers and interns of the Virlanie Foundation.
Faculty served as advisors and mentors to two student organizations UPASA (United Pilipino American Student Association) and PEACE (Pilipinos for Education, Culture, and Empowerment) both of which thrived in service simultaneously.
The PHST Department also connected regularly with Kulintang Arts (now known as Kularts) and its founder, Alleluia Panis, by sponsoring many of their visiting groups and artists from the Philippines. CCSF held performances on the campus and hosted visiting scholar lectures for the entire student body.
Paz’s deep commitment and attention to strong community engagement significantly contributed to the department’s visibility and growth. In his first years he expanded outreach not only in San Francisco, but also San Mateo, the East Bay, and Contra Costa County.
Between 1995-2015, 35 teachers and students were funded through Fulbright scholarships in Advanced Filipino Abroad programs for eight-week summer intensive programs in the Philippines. Some of these include: Helen Serafino-Agar (an SFUSD teacher at Longfellow Elementary School), Eunice Naval, Charity Ramilo (at Bessie Carmichael/FEC), Jennifer Co, Linda de Paz, Lina Villanueva, Christina Naval, and Allyson Remigio (an executive at Optum Pharmaceuticals)
In 2008, Philippine Studies Faculty, Araceli N. Resus, and Dr. Penelope V. Flores co-authored the book, The Philippine Jeepney: A Filipino Family Metaphor, which was used as a textbook for a course on the Filipino family.
The Philippine Jeepney: A Filipino Family Metaphor
The Philippine Studies Department also partnered with San Francisco State University’s PEP (Pin@y Educational Partnerships) headed by Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and at least ten CCSF students who worked as Teaching Assistants particularly in concurrent enrollment classes with Balboa High School, Philip & Sala Burton High School, and Archbishop Riordan High School students.
Prominent among these assistants was Dr. Maharaj (Raj) Desai, who is currently a professor in Philippine Studies.
50th Revolution
CCSF’s faculty union, AFT 2121, reported at the end of February 2021 that “the board packet clarified the District’s intent to issue a devastating 160 pink slips to full-time faculty, taking for granted an untold number of part-time faculty layoffs.
How will the budget cuts in March affect CCSF’s Philippine Studies Department when the entire campus is experiencing cutbacks?
Philippine Studies is the smallest department on the campus. In spite of this fact, it has grown the course offerings by 300 percent in the last year partly by transferring courses which used to be offered in other departments over to PHST. For example, the Filipino language courses will be offered beginning in the summer. Thus, where Filipino language used to have three classes, they will now have ten. This does not mean that the sections will be able to be offered all at once, however. They first need to see an enrollment increase in their classes.
Says Villaraza, “Even after fifty years, we still struggle to be recognized as a respected academic space. It is not just for the specific community, it’s not just about heritage or identity development. We (higher education as a whole) are at a crossroads at understanding the importance of ethnic studies. Philippine Studies is both an area studies and an ethnic studies department because we cannot divide our specific history of being a product of the ethnic studies strike at San Francisco State. In addition, we cannot deny that we come from a legacy of Philippine Studies that has been very colonial, where the Philippines is an object of study. What we’re doing as a department is shifting that. We are examining the diasporic existence.”
What she wants to share most about the 50th anniversary is that “we need people to be hungry and we need people to seek out and not just assume that we’re always going to be there. Seek them out, enroll, and complete courses. And have those conversations- beyond identity development and heritage- why is Philippine Studies essential?
The thriving days of the first three decades of the creation Philippine Studies is not the scenario at this period in history. It required and, more than ever, continues to require a committed diligence--by many and all kinds of people in the community-- not just educators. As one who has been an educator in higher education for over 30 years, I know this fact remains constant. All the more reason to stand, strive, and fight for equitable and fair share.
For Registration and Admissions information: https://www.ccsf.edu/admissions-recordsregistration
Author’s note: Thank you to Dr. Leo Paz and Dr. Lily Ann Villaraza, past and present department chairpersons, for providing historical sources of information for this piece, and special acknowledgment to faculty member, Dr. Michael Gonzalez, who illuminated the importance of highlighting the significance of the 50th Anniversary of Philippine Studies at City College of San Francisco.
Lisa Suguitan-Melnick
Lisa Suguitan Melnick is an educator currently going on COVID-19 sheltering- in- place in a Zoom room as with every other teacher on earth. In like manner, she serves on the Board of Directors of Philippine American Artists and Writers, Inc. (PAWA, Inc.) She gets in her 10,000 steps a day running to two or three stores just to procure an onion, some eggs, and a $16.00 pack of single-ply TP. Sometimes she writes.
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