“We Need to Be Human”: Using Oral Histories of Latino/a Staff and Faculty to Examine Neoliberalism in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Latinos/as, including Latino/a staff and faculty in higher education. Latino/a staff and faculty occupy important roles at their respective institutions yet often are not recognized for their labor and equity contributions. This article draws from a national rapid-response COVID-19 oral history project titled Voces of a Pandemic to explore oral histories of nine Latino/a staff and faculty across diverse roles and institutional types. The author applies a social science approach to contextualize the interviewees’ experiences using a framework that employs a critique of neoliberalism to explore how the pandemic undermined the importance of their labor. The analysis suggests that a neoliberal higher education system deprioritizes equity and fails to value Latino/a labor contributions in spite of increased responsibilities and personal challenges. The findings highlight how a crisis in public health can perpetuate work-related inequities, devalue work, and undermine diversity and equity initiatives in higher education. The author urges university and department leaders to reevaluate institutional culture, workplace policies, and job promotion and tenure considerations to retain Latino/a staff and faculty.