Just don't step out of line or make "rude comments,” though, or you could end up like Adriana Nieto.
She'd been the head of the Chicano Studies program since 2019 and an MSU professor for nearly two decades, but that didn't stop her from getting booted from her post as department chair last week after she allegedly complained to student employees and administration "about how it's unfair that HR gets to work from home" as she advocated for a tuition discount for her son, who is an MSU student.
Nieto's "rude comments" were documented in a written complaint about the November 8 incident, which says that she allegedly told student employees at the front desk of the Jordan Student Success Building that "no one works [in Human Resources] or knows what they're doing," while also "hitting the desk."
A student and a fellow faculty member both tell Westword that Dr. Nieto was at the JSSB trying to make sure she got a tuition discount for her son. Micah Ramirez, a 2023 MSU graduate who considers Nieto a “mentor,” recalls how the former department head was “feeling frustrated" that day.
“Dr. Nieto has been such an advocate for navigating all these systems at MSU," Ramirez says. "It’s so difficult to get what we need — not just financial aid, but human resources. Also, she was acting in capacity as a mother for her son, and I’ve seen people get much more frustrated at front desk staff.”
Yunjin La-mei Woo, an assistant professor of studio arts, agrees that “Dr. Adriana Nieto was primarily acting as a parent advocating her son's access to higher education on November 8, not as chair of her department.
“The content and tone of her complaints were well justified given the context of her son’s tuition benefits being denied without proper assistance and timely notifications,” Woo tells Westword. “If Dr. Nieto is demoted because of this, it sends an alarming message to all faculty and staff at MSU Denver whose children attend the university that they cannot properly advocate for their children's educational rights.”
But the incident was the final straw for John Masserini, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, which runs the Department of Chicano Studies. He notified Nieto that she would be removed from her post as the department's chair in a memo sent on December 5.
"It goes without saying that this behavior is inappropriate for anyone working at MSU Denver, much less an academic leader and department chair," Masserini wrote to Nieto. "I simply cannot have members of CLAS leadership behaving in such a manner as you displayed on November 8. Due to this, I am removing you as chair."
Nieto could not be reached for comment.
Nieto could not be reached for comment.
Ramirez says she was “absolutely shocked” and “appalled’ by the dean’s decision to demote Nieto. The situation “seemed pretty tame," she adds. She believes the response was "racially aimed" and "sexist," and points to language the dean used in his memo to Nieto to make her case.
"They describe her as disruptive and aggressive, terms that have been historically used against women of color," Ramirez says. "It feels disingenuous to say this about professionalism. She was there advocating for her son and for herself."
Woo believes the school is afraid of aggression by "female people of color," she tells Westword.
"When we speak up, we are often depicted as aggressive and disruptive, instead of our opinions being heard and upheld," Woo says. "Dr. Nieto is known and respected for her fierce advocacy for her students, department and larger Hispanic community of Denver and beyond."
Luke Lopez, an MSU student in Chicano Studies who's involved in leading a call to action to reinstate Nieto, also believes Masserini's language reveals a racist motive.
"There is a lot of language surrounding Dr. Nieto's tone and frustration," he says. "The fact that Masserini accepted this characterization of events uncritically and did not attempt to discuss this issue with Dr. Nieto shows a clear lack of awareness of the racially coded language."
MSU is one of four Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Colorado, which means that more than 25 percent of its student body identifies as Hispanic. In fact, with more than 5,800 Hispanic students enrolled, MSU has the largest Hispanic student body among Colorado colleges and the highest concentration of Hispanic students, with about a third of its students identifying as Hispanic.
Adriana Nieto was the chair of the Department of Chicano Studies at Metropolitan State University for four years before she was removed because of a fiery incident in November.
Bennito L. Kelty
Pointing to the HSI designation, Woo calls Nieto's demotion "especially troubling because our university's mission as an HSI is to broaden the education access to the Hispanic community."
“If they really want to be a Hispanic-serving institution — that actually serves Hispanics — they really need to genuinely come to the table,” Ramirez adds. “This is indicative of a much bigger systemic problem at MSU, where the voices of the people of color, especially women of color, have not been taken seriously.”
Lopez goes further and says that he and other Latino students "are constantly being paraded about like decorative beasts, meant to validate MSU's status as a Hispanic Serving Institution." The HSI designation, he adds, covers up that "the Chicana/o/e Studies Department is experiencing a sort of academic apartheid."
According to the dean, "Chairs may be replaced when administrative tasks and operational goals are not met," adding, "We will begin the search process for a new chair whose expertise will elevate the programming and operational excellence of the Chicana/o studies program."
Nieto has been with MSU for more than fifteen years, and Masserini has been at his post since July 2021. MSU has had a Chicano Studies program since 1972, when the school was founded, in the midst of the Chicano movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.
Maria Mora, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs at MSU, said in a December 14 statement to the Chicano Studies department that her office "will immediately begin a review of the policies and processes related to the appointments of all department chairs, including the removal of Chicana/o Studies Department Chair Dr. Adriana Nieto."
The statement adds that "Dr. Nieto is a highly valued and respected faculty member, advocate and scholar of Chicana/o studies."
In his memo to Nieto, Masserini noted that she had a rough performance review in July and that he "took the time to outline areas that need improvement, identifying your tendency to emphasize the negative viewpoint in most conversations.
"This often leads to comments and tone that are disruptive, unprofessional and counterproductive to solution-finding and a growth mindset," Masserini wrote. "The incident in question on November 8 demonstrates a lack of reflection and behavior modification on your part."
Moving forward, MSU will require Nieto to teach more classes as she returns to a full-time professor role, according to Masserini's memo. She also loses a salary benefit that she would have earned if she'd served as chair long enough.
According to his memo, Masserini was particularly bothered by Nieto telling student employees that "if she was going to pay to send her son to school, it wouldn't be to MSU," referring to the tuition discount she has for her son. When Masserini talked to her later that day in the lobby of the JSSB building, he wrote that Nieto again said, "If I could pay full tuition, do you think I would send my kid here?" She allegedly asked it "within earshot of our students," Masserini said, adding, "This was the second time you said this in front of students this day."
Students have started a web page to encourage people to write to Masserini and Mora in support of Nieto. At a student government meeting on December 8, students and faculty supported the idea of a student-led task force reviewing the incident and making recommendations; Lopez is currently serving on that task force.
In his memo, Masserini said he hoped that "honest and deep self-reflection" would give Nieto "a chance to re-engage in new and productive ways.""I am truly sorry it has come to this," he concluded.
