Community College Instructors Earning Over $400,000 via Multi-Campus Employment
Analysis reveals 72 instructors holding positions across five or more California campuses simultaneously.
1Systemic Payroll Oversight
California community college districts operate as independently governed entities, meaning no centralized system tracks total instructor course loads. This administrative fragmentation allows educators to hold positions at five or more campuses simultaneously. CalMatters identified 72 such instructors in 2024, highlighting a significant lack of oversight regarding total faculty employment and compensation.
2High-Earning Faculty Findings
Among the 72 identified instructors, ten earned over $343,000 in 2024, exceeding the median salary of a community college president. The highest earner, Thien-Huong Ninh Villarreal, received over $793,000 while listed as the instructor for at least 69 course sections across 11 different college districts and university campuses during the year.
3Data Collection Methodology
The analysis utilized 2024 employee compensation data provided by Transparent California, a nonpartisan think tank. Researchers normalized job titles and names to group payroll records. They employed a computer algorithm to cluster similar names, followed by manual verification using faculty directories, LinkedIn profiles, and official hiring documents to confirm individual identities.
4Validation and Limitations
Researchers excluded 61 clusters involving common surnames like Garcia, Nguyen, and Smith to maintain accuracy, as these could not be validated within the project timeframe. Consequently, this analysis is not a comprehensive census of all multi-campus instructors. The study focused strictly on those identified at five or more distinct institutions.
5Verification Through Course Schedules
To confirm teaching locations, the team primarily used Fall 2026 class schedules as a proxy for 2024 activity, as many colleges do not maintain public archives of past schedules. While this method helped corroborate employment, it acknowledges that teaching assignments fluctuate between academic terms and that 2024 payroll might reflect prior work.
6Challenges in Identity Tracking
Instructors often used different name variations across various districts, complicating the payroll matching process. For instance, the top earner utilized five distinct name variations across her 11 employment locations. This inconsistency suggests that the actual number of instructors working across multiple districts may be higher than the 72 individuals identified.
7Institutional Response and Privacy
CalMatters contacted all identified instructors to request comments regarding their multi-campus employment. Most professors did not respond to these inquiries. Several individuals requested that their data remain unpublished, citing concerns that public disclosure of their high earnings and extensive course loads might negatively impact their future employment prospects within the system.
8Broader Economic Implications
The findings underscore a unique labor market dynamic within California higher education, where independent district hiring practices create opportunities for extreme income accumulation. With a median pay of $191,000 for these multi-campus instructors, the data raises questions about resource allocation, instructor burnout, and the necessity for integrated payroll tracking across state systems.