Dr. Cruz after more than a year at the Milwaukee Area Technical College decided to eliminate the Multicultural Affairs Office and replaced it with the Office of Community Impact to serve nearly 63% of students of color, which 23% of student enrollment at the technical college are Hispanics.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
September 23, 2025
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Tuesday's Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) Board of Trustees meeting open public comments session, Becky Quesada, a former MATC student and retired Student Services employee at MATC during the hearing told the Board and Dr. Cruz that she was a product of the Multicultural Affairs Office, this department has been in effect in this institution for over 45 years, and I'm really appalled that it wasn't given the respect that it has brought and done for the many 1st generation of students, which this department services. She also pointed her finger at Dr. Cruz while saying, Dr. Cruz you mentioned in one of your social media posts, that you are the 1st generation Latino President at MATC, shame on you in closing that department (Multicultural Affairs Office) and shame on the Board, if it doesn't use or exercise it's power to override that for the many thousands of students that have gone through that department and succeeded in education. ( MATC Board meeting, first 19 minutes are for public comments at link: https://www.youtube.com/live/_1JJkcL-zoA )
During his Investiture Ceremony on Friday at MATC, Dr. Cruz said that he was a 1st generation Latino graduate in his family. Quesada in response on Tuesday, told him "shame on you," for being a 1st generation Latino graduate to become the 11th President of MATC, and to be the Latino who decided to eliminate the Multicultural Affairs Office, including the diverse student services that helped her graduate from MATC when she was a student.
Dr. Cruz allegedly initiated internal policy to eliminate any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs for Black, Asian, Latino and Native-Americans students at all technical college campuses.
Under Dr. Cruz leadership, more than 700 part-time faculty and employees unknowingly experienced a cut of salaries totalling more than $622K in 2025 leading to what some critics are calling a major wage theft by the leadership (administration) of the Human Resources Office, which the MATC Board of Trustees have yet to hold the Human Resources administration accountable for cutting the wages of part-time employees without the approval of the Board. The MATC Local AFT 212 Union has initiated a under payment (wage theft) complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Also, four Student Services Specialists from the Multicultural Affairs Office were terminated last Thursday without any recourse to transfer to other available positions at MATC. They were offered Confidential Separation Agreement and Waiver agreements with up to three months worth of salary by MATC, but the four terminated employees opted out and refused to sign the agreement. (See attached 9-page Confidential Agreement)
In a letter to the Board of Trustees, Jon Shelton, President of the AFT-Wisconsin wrote, I write today, in my capacity as the President of the American Federation of Teachers- Wisconsin and on behalf of our members and allies across the state, to express my deep concern about your decision to eliminate the Office of Multicultural Services and to eliminate student service specialists who are members of our union...Further, eliminating the positions of our members without due process and essentially replacing them with new hires is an affront to the principle that when a worker commits to an excellent institution of higher education like MATC, they should only be fired with cause or let go under exigent circumstances. This moment qualifies as neither of those scenarios.
Carlos Aranda, Counselor at MATC wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees as well saying, I come before you today because the decisions being made at this institution are inflicting irreparable harm—not only on the staff who have lost their livelihoods, but also on the students and communities who once trusted MATC to be a beacon of diversity, equity, and opportunity.
This college is one of the most diverse institutions in the state, serving the most diverse student population. Yet under current leadership, programs and positions designed to serve those very communities are being dismantled. By removing multicultural staff—individuals who for years stood as tireless advocates for equity and inclusion—this administration has weakened our services and silenced the very voices that held MATC accountable to its mission.
The damage is not theoretical. Those who remain now live under fear: fear that raising concerns will cost them their jobs. Where once advocates stood boldly for students of color, immigrant families, and underrepresented groups, there is now a hush. Retaliation has become a weapon; intimidation has replaced collaboration. Let us be absolutely clear: diversity is not wrong. Equity is not wrong. Inclusion is not wrong. But surrendering to fear and allowing these values to be erased would be profoundly wrong.
No matter how hard some may try to erase these voices, we will continue to stand strong. Those who have dedicated their lives to equity and inclusion deserve more than symbolic recognition on a website. They deserve real, intentional support through dedicated departments and resources. Oversight by this Board is not optional—it is your responsibility to ensure that this institution's reputation is upheld with integrity.
Yet the record shows otherwise. There is clear evidence of intimidation, retaliation, and a disregard for the very populations MATC is meant to serve. The recent firings were not only harmful but botched—leaving dedicated employees without recourse, their reputations damaged, and their students abandoned. These individuals cannot simply be forgotten, nor should their contributions be treated as expendable.
For that reason, I am requesting that those who advised the president to eliminate these four employees of color be held accountable and terminated from their positions, including the current manager and the Vice President of Community Engagement. To move forward, MATC must demonstrate that retaliation and discriminatory practices will not be tolerated.
We must remember those who were dismissed. We must fight for them. And we must demand accountability so that their legacy of service to students and communities can continue.
If we do not, the cost will extend far beyond those silenced today. It will fall upon our students, our communities, and the very future of MATC itself.
In a previous email dated September 16, 2025, Erica L. Case, MATC District Board Chairperson wrote to Aranda, "Dear Mr. Aranda, I acknowledge receipt of your email(s) below and previously sent and thank you for your concern. I assure you that the Board takes personnel matters and other complaints seriously.
However, as you have been previously informed by prior Board Chair(s), it is not appropriate for advocacy concerning personnel matters to be directed to the Board.
The MATC District Board is a policy board, not a management Board. Its role, generally, is to set policy and assess the administration's implementation of those policies. The Board does not dictate outcomes of personnel matters (including complaints and investigations) made by the Administration, as you request.
The College has policies, processes, and procedures governing how complaints will be investigated and resolved to ensure that all such disputes are fairly and fully analyzed in accord with legal requirements. The Board does serve an institutional role as the final appellate authority for certain decisions made by the administration and contested by affected employees. To ensure the integrity and objectivity of that appellate process, it is inappropriate for the Board to receive direct communications and demands regarding complaints that are in the investigative process or have not reached the Board with a fully-developed record because prior steps in the process have not yet been started, much less, completed.
Thank you for your continued support for the mission of MATC, wrote Chairperson Case.
The MATC District Board has a history of not taking any action to resolve any pending matters or complaints brought to them during monthly meetings by students, faculty, employees and community members regarding the MATC administration ongoing harassment, retaliation, retribution, hostile work environment and not promoting part-time faculty to full-time.
Also, the MATC Board of Trustees have failed to resolve the hiring of a non-bilingual instructor to teach an advertised bilingual economic class, which the instructor had no credible credentials to teach the course.
In addition, Dr. Cruz has been recognized by other entities in Milwaukee as an influential Latino in Milwaukee, but in more than a year at MATC, Cruz has yet to prove himself at MATC that he can actually resolve the ongoing internal hostile work environment and the continued practices by his administration to harass, retaliate and etc. against faculty and employees that have come out, complained and exposed their practices to the inept Board of Trustees.
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