Latina College Presidents Face Challenges Far Beyond The Campus Grounds

Regis University, Denver, Colorado

By Jamal Watson, The EDU Ledger, Nov 10, 2025

Dr. Marielena DeSanctis is the Chancellor-Designate of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), making her the first Latina to lead a statewide public college system in Colorado. She previously served as President of the Community College of Denver.

Latina community college presidents are breaking barriers as institutional firsts, but their groundbreaking leadership comes with heightened scrutiny, pressure to assimilate, and constant challenges to their authority, according to a new report from the American Council on Education and TIAA Institute.

Women hold 43.6 percent of community college presidencies nationwide, but fewer than one in three women presidents are women of color, according to the American College President Study. Latinas remain significantly underrepresented despite rising to presidencies more quickly than other women leaders.

The report, “No Template When Being the First: Implications for Aspiring Latina Leaders,” draws on conversations with five Latina community college presidents who lead Hispanic-Serving Institutions. All were the first Latinas to hold their positions at institutions over 70 years old, where walls of presidential portraits serve as stark reminders of historically white, male leadership.

“I share a wall of presidents where I am the only person of color,” one president told researchers. “I think it communicates that a path is possible and a path is being created for others.”

Yet being the first carries significant burdens. More than half of Latina presidents surveyed in the 2023 American College President Study reported taking steps to address racial justice issues, but faced criticism or external inquiries about topics like critical race theory. Despite these challenges, 51.7 percent felt equipped to handle racial justice matters.

Salvador Aceves is poised to lead Regis University as the first Latino president and at a time when it was freshly christened as a Hispanic-serving institution. Courtesy of Regis University.
Male Hispanic college presidents also face challenges including navigating white -coded institutional practices, battling racial and gender biases in hiring and daily interactions, and dealing with societal stereotypes about Latino men.

The new report reveals that Latina leaders frequently encounter assumptions that undermine their authority. Several presidents described being mistaken for support staff rather than chief executives, with one recounting how a campus visitor “asked me if I was in the right place” before spending ten minutes addressing a white man he assumed was in charge.

Physical appearance also becomes a flashpoint. Latina presidents reported pressure to conform to traditional leadership standards, including recommendations to wear longer dresses, muted colors, and adopt more masculine presentations.

“I wear dresses. I wear high heels. I don’t want to be placed in a box just to make someone else feel comfortable about what a college president should look like,” one leader stated.

Armando Valdez resigned as president of CSU Pueblo one day shy of hitting a year on the job. The move follows an independent investigation that found he had violated university policy, according to a Colorado State University System news release. System officials did not indicate what policy Valdez allegedly violated, noting in the news release that Valdez disagreed with the findings but recognized he had lost “the confidence of the Board of Governors and CSU System leadership. As a result, to allow the university to move forward, he resigned his role.”

The report documents how equity initiatives led by Latina presidents face particular resistance. One president recounted being told during her first year that faculty thought she was “talking too much about equity.” During hiring processes, search committees refused to advance Latino candidates, assuming she would automatically select them based on shared ethnicity.

“I shut these committees down,” she said, “and I said, ‘If you can’t give me three candidates, then apparently we don’t have a good pool, so we need to go back out.'”

Board relations present another political minefield. Presidents described needing to “code-switch to the degree that [they] didn’t even know [they] had” and spending considerable energy “managing up, educating the board, so that they ultimately support the work I’m doing.”

Despite systemic obstacles, the presidents remain motivated by their impact on students and communities. Many cited their own experiences as first-generation, low-income students and daughters of immigrants as driving forces behind their commitment to equity.

“I’m not fulfilling a job title. I’m fulfilling a purpose,” one president said. “And as long as I know that, I can keep going.”

Their visibility matters profoundly. Students, staff, and aspiring leaders have told these presidents their presence inspires possibility.

“Students have come up to me and said, ‘I never thought I’d see a Latina president. Now I know I can do it too,'” one leader shared. “That’s why I do this work.”

The report calls on higher education institutions to move beyond performative diversity commitments and implement structural changes, including redefining leadership to value culturally grounded practices, training boards in equity leadership, creating robust mentorship networks, and protecting time for purpose-driven work.

“The question that remains is not whether Latina leaders are ready,” the authors conclude. “It is whether our institutions are prepared to receive, support, and grow with them.”

The report was authored by Drs. Cynthia Estrada and Eric R. Felix and employed pláticas, a Chicana feminist methodological approach emphasizing culture, vulnerability, and reciprocity in conversations. Participants’ identities remain confidential due to ongoing attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at state and federal levels.