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Labor Studies Professors Passion Comes from Arrest at Demonstration
*By Larry R. Hygh, Jr., Ed.D.
“The world needs people who are interested in creating social change…There is the opportunity through the circumstances in which we are living to develop that,” says Rene Castro, Assistant Professor in the Negotiation, Conflict Resolution at Peacebuilding (NCRP) program, and the Labor Studies Department at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). “There are many challenges ahead some that we are not even aware of as we speak. The key is to stay in the fight and last just one day longer than the opposition.”
He is not new to the California State University (CSU) system, or CSUDH. Castro began in 2005 at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) as the Senior Director of Academic Employee Relations before coming to CSUDH in 2013 as the Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs. He then moved over to become a Senior Director of Academic and Labor Relations for the CSU Office of the Chancellor, followed by a stint as the Vice Chancellor for Employee and Labor Relations.
Castro exercised his retreat rights and came back to CSUDH. He wanted to find a campus that could benefit from his labor experience. “I successfully found that at Long Beach and built that around administration at a CSU. The chancellor’s office was more of a corporate setting and not a place where I fit in”
He says he hopes to build NCRP student enrollment and leave a robust undergrad program finding ways to partner and bridge collective efforts with other departments.
His interest in labor relations came out of industrial relations school. “I became involved in supporting a canary strike in Watson, California outside of Santa Cruz.” Castro says he was arrested at one of the demonstrations. “What I learned was how the district attorney was aligned with the growers and the employers.” The charges he was arrested for were reduced and the judge tossed out the case. “This cemented my interest in labor relations.”
Early on in middle school Castro wrote an essay on Cesar Chavez. “He was a huge influence on me as a human being,” he says. He cites labor activist Gilbert “Gil” Cedillo who led Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 660 as a mentor.
Castro earned an Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSULB, a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), a Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz, and an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Marymount Palos Verdes College.
Castro also has a small consulting job on the side. “Primarily it’s union management and conflict resolution helping companies deal with grievance dispute,” he says. “It helps me to keep my feet in the water and keeps me grounded and aware of what’s going on.”
What’s the best part of being at CSUDH?
“The students. They are amazing people. They’ve got their shortcomings, but it’s what I like about it. They don’t take this opportunity for granted and they appreciate the work we do as faculty. We have great colleagues. It’s like a small city.”
What advice do you have for students?
“Don’t plan on shortcuts. Do the work. Find the opportunities, the mentors you will need to help guide you through the profession. Put in the time and effort. I credit my mentors with the success I had. Pay attention to what others are doing and saying and absorb as much as possible. Never check your integrity at the door.”
What do you like doing outside of being a professor/hobbies
He enjoys hiking and has a baby granddaughter. “I get to see her almost every day and take her on walks and to the park.”
*Hygh is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department teaching in the Advertising and Public Relations degree program. Prior to academia he spent 20 plus years as chief communications officer in The United Methodist Church. Visit him on the web at www.LarryHygh.com.