José M. Aguilar-Hernández

José M. Aguilar-Hernández is professor and doctoral program co-director in the Educational Leadership Department at Cal Poly Pomona. He is a first-generation academic, whose trajectory in higher education began at Moorpark Community College. Aguilar-Hernández transferred to UCLA, where he earned a B.A. in History and Chicana/o Studies, M.A. in Latin American Studies, and Ph.D. in Education. Aguilar-Hernández’s research and teaching interests include higher education, student movements, and critical pedagogy. Using critical race theory in education & historical methods, his publications chart 1990s student of color activism in higher education in Southern California and engaging critical pedagogy in higher education. His publications appear in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Latino Studies Journal, Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, and in the First-Generation Faculty of Color: Reflections on Research, Teaching, and Service anthology published with Rutgers University Press. Aguilar- Hernández was awarded CPP College of Education and Integrative Studies’ Advisor of the Year in 2024 and 2017. He is faculty coordinator of the CPP/Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) Ethnic Studies Dual Enrollment Program that enrolls high school students in “Introduction to Ethnic Studies,” a course that grants students high school and college credit.