Latine Faculty Spotlight: Spanish Professor Shares the Importance of Community
Cal State Long Beach is proud to have exceptional and passionate faculty across its eight colleges to enrich the student experience. Teaching and learning are at the center of who we are and all we do. We take pride in elevating the academic excellence of our faculty experts who play a fundamental role in student learning and success. In this faculty spotlight segment, we highlight the accomplishments of select Beach instructors and professors across campus.
In this piece, and in recognition of Latine Heritage Month, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight Dr. Alicia del Campo, Full Professor of Spanish and Co-Director of the Latin American Studies Program. A transformative leader at The Beach, Dr. del Campo wears many other hats including Director of Teatro al Sur and the Faculty Co-Chair of the Latinx Faculty and Staff Association (LFSA).
Meet Dr. del Campo
Dr. del Campo’s work and scholarship is rooted in her identity as a proud Chilena, with this thread running throughout her diverse body of work and areas of specialization. Her course catalog ranges from Latin American literature, culture, cinema, theater, gender, human rights, and memory. She authored the book Theatricalities of Memory: Rituals of Reconciliation in the Chile of Democratic Transition and co-authored Representations of Evil: perpetrators and political violence in Chile, as well as edited several others.
Dr. del Campo’s background in Spanish and theater merged in 2008 when she founded Teatro al Sur after realizing there was a gap in access to Spanish-language theater at CSULB and throughout Southern California. Teatro al Sur is a student theater collective dedicated to performing Spanish-language theater. Teatro has performed several plays, notably “Mujeres de Arena” in 2020 which posed a unique challenge as pandemic lockdowns forced everyone into isolation. Teatro decided to continue developing their production with the twist of the play being performed over Zoom. Alicia recounts how this was both challenging and exciting as each member of Teatro had to transform their living space into a stage. A beneficial side-effect of the production going virtual is that it further exemplified the mission of Teatro al Sur – to provide access to Spanish-language theater by expanding the audience on a global scale. Many family members of the thespians from across the world were able to take the opportunity to join the virtual audience.
Along with her work as a dedicated faculty member and director of Teatro al Sur, Dr. del Campo has been heavily involved in the Latinx Faculty and Staff Association (LFSA) for a number of years. This year will also be her first time serving as the newly elected Faculty Co-Chair for the group. She finds the work of LFSA to be deeply important in advocating for Latine faculty, staff, and students, and for building a stronger community for Latine individuals at The Beach. She shared how the recent CSULB Bienvenida event was a great example of this community building as it brought Latine students and their families together with Beach faculty, staff, and administrators to foster a sense of community and belonging.
When reflecting on her personal and professional connection to Latine Heritage Month and her commitment to the work of LFSA, Dr. del Campo shared how her early life in Chile became the foundation for all her work since. In 1973, the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende was overthrown in a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. A violent dictatorship ensued from 1973 to 1989, the effects of which are still felt today. This thrust many Chileans like Dr. del Campo into an activist role in an effort to maintain their home. This activist spirit remains with her and inspires much of her work and scholarship to date.
Her involvement in campus groups has helped Dr. del Campo connect across her community and continue to align her scholarship and service with her identity and personal mission to uplift others. In the past, Dr. del Campo shared how she has struggled with imposter syndrome and in feeling like she isn’t Latina enough – a sentiment that is shared by many in the Latine community. However, she has been strengthened by her amazing collaborators and in working alongside other Latine faculty and staff.
Dr. del Campo feels a strong sense of commitment to continue serving the Latine community for years to come. CSULB proudly recognizes her passion, academic expertise, and enthusiasm for cultivating spaces of belonging for Beach faculty, staff, and students.
