Since the founding of our institution almost 75 year ago, Pacific Oaks has demonstrated a continued commitment to social justice and diversity.
This is reflected through our diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff—people with a wide range of experiences and perspectives. It is proven through our continued commitment to integrating anti-bias curriculum into our culturally-centered academic programs and our involvement with social justice movements both locally and nationally.
“As an immigrant from Thailand, I know just how important it is to be a part of a diverse, inclusive community that is accepting of the unique perspectives we develop based on our life experience. As Pacific Oaks’ president, I am proud to serve this community and continue advancing our core values of respect, diversity, social justice, and inclusion.”
Pacific Oaks College President Jack Paduntin
PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE
- Known for our progressive approach to education, we were tasked with pioneering one of the nation’s first Head Start training programs by the U.S. government. The goal was to combat poverty by making early childhood education more accessible to children from low-income families and disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Former President Pat Breen, moved by the Time’s Up organization’s commendable actions in addressing systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace, wrote a letter pledging the support of Pacific Oaksto their cause.
- Our newly formed Center for Community & Social Impact works alongside communities to identify and dismantle social injustices and inequities by empowering people to facilitate impactful and sustainable change.
- We celebrate local leaders making a difference, as well as recognize those striving to create a more diverse, equal, and inclusive world during our annual Social Justice Night Awards.
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
- We are recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. In Fall 2020, 55.7 percent of Pacific Oaks College students identified as Latinx.
- Our Marriage & Family Therapy program offers specializations in African American Family Studies and Latinx Family Studies, preparing students to positively impact often underrepresented communities.
- As a Yellow Ribbon Program participating school, we help support veterans working to further their education and careers.
- Current and prospective students can speak to faculty or staff in more than a dozen languages if they feel more comfortable not having a discussion in English.
| Armenian | Japanese | Mandarin | Thai |
| Farsi | Korean | Spanish | Turkish |
| Italian | Laotian | Tagalog |
- Our faculty and staff is just as multicultural as our students, and brings that diversity into our work in admissions, human resources, advancement, and academics.
Student Statistics for Fall 2020 (reported)
| Latinx: 55.7% | Black: 11.7% | Two or more: 2.6% |
| Asian: 4.5% | White: 19.2% |