Joseph Morales

Dr. Joseph Morales (he/él) is Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at California State University, Chico.

An ethnic studies scholar practitioner, CDO Morales is committed to an enterprise-wide vision of institutional transformation. He is focused on advancing initiatives at the intersection of equity, diversity, inclusion, and free speech; and bridging the legacies of ethnic studies with Chico State’s aspiration to become a comprehensive Minority Serving Institution.

Born and raised in Santa Maria, CDO Morales is the grandson of Mexican migrants who traversed California and Arizona as farm laborers; and the son of working-class Mexican American parents who believed in the power of education to transform lives for the better.

CDO Morales joined Chico State in January 2023 after serving as a member of the leadership team in the Office of Inclusive Excellence at University of California, Irvine, where he was appointed a Chancellor’s ADVANCE Postdoctoral Fellow. He has also served as a founding faculty member of the California State University, Long Beach & Long Beach Unified School District Ethnic Studies Initiative.

CDO Morales began his educational path at Allan Hancock College, before transferring to University of California, Santa Barbara where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He earned a master’s degree from The University of Chicago; was an exchange scholar at Stanford and Harvard universities; and received a master’s and Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from University of California, Berkeley.