Faculty of the Year Reception Honors Deidre Hughes and Five Finalists
Associated Students honored this year’s Faculty of the Year, Professor Deidre Hughes, and the 2022 finalists: Aline Gregorio, Bridget Salazmeda, Ronald Farol, Ryan Shiroma, and Tamara Trujillo with a reception on May 5.
Deidre Hughes has been a full-time Fullerton College instructor for 30 years. She coordinates the college’s mindfulness program and teaches for-credit, transfer-level mindfulness courses. She specializes in leading students, staff, teachers, and administrators to integrate mindfulness and self-compassion practices into their daily lives. She is a Trained Teacher for Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) as well as Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens and Young Adults (MSC-T). She is also a Trained Teacher of Project Wayfinder, a program launched at Stanford University’s d.school (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design), which guides participants through contemplative practices that foster a mindset founded upon belonging, meaning and purpose. Hughes holds certifications from the International Mindfulness Teachers Association and Mindful Schools.
Fullerton College students nominated Hughes for her leadership in advancing mindfulness, contemplative practices, and growth opportunities college-wide through her co-leadership of the Mindful Growth Initiative. She is credited for launching the first course in California community colleges that focuses exclusively on the practices of mindfulness and self-compassion. The course was launched at Fullerton College in 2020 and has since grown in number of sections offered each semester.
“Her classroom is not just a place of learning, but a catalyst for a collaborative environment paved with mutual respect, and a place of refuge, belonging, growth, exploration, healing, discovery, and community,” said one nomination.
Hughes’ teaching philosophy centers on creating a safe space for students through special instructional pedagogies, such as problem-posing education, community-based inquiry, and service-learning.
She has institutionalized her practices to foster change in the instructional and cultural landscape of Fullerton College.
The reception also honored 2020 and 2021 Faculty of the Year professors Amber Rose Gonzalez (2020) and Jodi Balma (2021) since the event was postponed both years.
