Dr. Mike Muñoz has worked all across higher education. In addition to being the current executive dean of counseling and student equity at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, California, he teaches part-time at the University of Southern California. For Muñoz, his work for community colleges is personal.
“I’m willing to put in the extra hours because I know what our students’ stories are, and I see myself in there,” says Muñoz. “This is where my heart is.”
He entered community college as a single father and as a first-generation college student. His academic trajectory was launched soon after.
“I met a counselor who changed my life and illuminated a pathway forward out of a pretty dark place,” he recalls. “I look at where I am right now, and education is a great equalizer.”
Muñoz eventually transferred to the University of California, Irvine, in 2002. From there, he moved on to California State University, Long Beach, where he completed a master’s degree. He then became a member of the first cohort in the university’s doctoral program in education. Muñoz graduated with an Ed.D. in 2010.
He began working at Rio Hondo in 2008, while completing his doctorate. Muñoz currently oversees the Counseling Center, the Transfer Center and the First Year Success Center. Conversations about his work always seem to come back to his equity-centered approach.
“Equity is not about who we serve, it’s about how we serve them. We’re using data to do that,” Muñoz says.
