Los Medanos College is looking to hire 18 new full-time faculty members, making it the highest amount the college has ever hired at once.
The need to hire more faculty members came from the increasing demand for more programs and services on campus. LMC is able to hire more people because Californians have voted for it and the campus has received more funding from different grants to hire more.
“With each of these new hires, we are thoughtfully adding to a diverse cadre of employees who are committed to creating culturally responsive services and learning environments that drive equity in student achievement and actualize our District mission to transform the lives of our students,” said Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Helen Benjamin.

The largest hires will be counselors. Five full-time counselors will be hired to help a variety of students, which include counselors for the following programs: MESA and STEM, UMOJA program, EOPS and CALWORKS, and the Student Success Re-engagement Team. SSRT, a new program, will help students that are on academic probation or dismissal get back on track and connect them with resources to help them be more successful.
“There is an increased need for more full-time counselors. New state mandates require students to develop and maintain an educational plan as one example. This mandate creates a need for us to increase the number of counselors we have to provide this service,” said LMC Vice President Kevin Horan. “Two of the positions in counseling will be working specifically with students that are academically at risk [on academic probation]. We view this as a critical need that we have not yet adequately met.”
“Because the five positions are very focused on different student populations, I think it’s very good because the students will have a dedicated counselor to work closely with to help them achieve their goals,” said David Reyes, Transfer Academy Counselor.
Recruitment for the 18 positions will happen over a length of time.
“We are currently recruiting for two nursing and five counseling positions that we plan to fill by the end of the fall semester for a spring 2016 start. The remaining 11 faculty positions will be recruited during the spring semester for fall 2016 start,” said Horan.
Some of the other positions that will be filled are in the departments of appliance service technology, English, philosophy, Spanish, engineering and electrical and instrumentation technology.