Correction: The first version of this article misnamed The Faculty Association of California Community Colleges.
The Faculty Association of California Community Colleges has awarded Long Beach City College’s Kirsten Moreno Faculty of the Year Award for 2020.
Moreno is an English professor at LBCC and Vice President of the Long Beach City College Faculty Association for 2019.
The nineteen year veteran of LBCC was nominated by fellow colleagues and selected from a large pool of full-time faculty members in California.
Moreno is a former LBCC student, a graduate from Bellflower High School and California State University, Long Beach alumna who completed a master’s degree in English.
She talked about her passion for LBCC and her longtime dream of becoming a teacher.
“[I am] deeply passionate about LBCC… It was always my first choice to teach for my future career and I want to continue to work with students and find ways to support what faculty does in their labs, classrooms, and offices,” Moreno said.
Those who have worked closely alongside Moreno and have been influenced by her leadership fully support her recognition by the FACCC.
Assistant professor of English, Beryln Cobian spoke of Moreno’s work ethic and her gratitude for her role on campus.
“As our V.P., Kirsten has worked hard fighting for campus safety, equity, and other important issues. I feel so grateful that she stepped up to that role for the benefit of all of us,” Cobian said.
Alisson Murray, a colleague of Moreno’s since 2001 talked about her initial reaction when Moreno was nominated for the award.
“When I saw the nomination in my inbox, I immediately thought of Kirsten. She is the manifestation of integrity and is someone who does so much without ever asking anything in return,” Murray said.
According to Murray, the lead negotiator of LBCC’s full-time contracted staff fought to retain benefits, urged staff raises, created a closer relationship between faculty and administration and made faculty safety on campus a known concern by initiating the Faculty Safety Committee.
“She brought police into meetings, the culture is changing because of her… We talk to administration and now they listen,” Murray said.
In addition to starting the Safety Committee on campus for teachers, Moreno is also a professor who teaches online and classroom English courses.
“Online enrollment has been going up at the college recently… It deserves more attention and we have a responsibility to provide the best education whether it’s face-to-face or online,” Moreno said.
Moreno is currently taking a year’s sabbatical leave and is working on a project to create equity for online courses, that includes culturally responsive teaching and learning theory.
Moreno talked about her feelings about being nominated for the Faculty of the Year Award.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be awarded. I’m deeply appreciative, working with so many dedicated colleagues and across faculty,” Moreno said.
She hopes students will continue the Viking Promise and take advantage of all the resources LBCC has to offer and will return to LBCC in fall semester of 2020.
Moreno will continue to work diligently for her fellow teachers and students, as she believes that the shared environment affects every party.
“Faculty working conditions are our students learning conditions.”