Thien-Huong Ninh Villarreal, a professor tricking the California education system by teaching 1100 students at 8 community colleges, earns $800,000 a year, almost double the pay of the statewide chancellor

A fresh investigation has revealed that professors are exploiting California's education system by teaching dozens of classes with pre-recorded online lectures, and earning big money in doing so. One such professor, Dr. Thien-Huong Ninh Villarreal, who teaches sociology, ethnic studies and business, has held two full-time and seven part-time jobs at numerous community colleges across the state, raking in nearly $800,000 in 2024 alone, according to an investigation conducted by the nonprofit news organization CalMatters. Villarreal is currently teaching 30 classes to as many as 1,100 students, CalMatters found.

Ninh Villarreal's many jobs

Villarreal has served as a tenured professor at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento since 2016. In 2023, she got another full-time job at Reedley College near Fresno city, but returned to part-time status less than a year later.


Villarreal got a job at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton in 2025. The same year, she was the inaugural tenure-track faculty in the ethnic studies department at West Valley College in Saratoga, CalMatters reported.

On the website of the San Joaquin Delta College, Villarreal is described as a Faculty Researcher/Associate Professor. Her academic division is mentioned as Social Science, Humanities, and Education. A profile for Villarreal is also given on the website of California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). She also teaches students at UC Berkeley, according to the CalMatters article.

On the website of the University of Southern California (USC), Villarreal is listed as a 2013 PhD graduate.

The $800,000 that Villarreal is minting is almost double the salary of the statewide community college chancellor, who oversees nearly 120 campuses across California, according to The New York Post.

Dozens of instructors tricking the system

The CalMatters investigation found that at least 70 California community college instructors are pocketing pay for gigs at five or more districts at the same time. Many of them taught more than 10 classes in a single semester.

Sarah Thompson, president of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, criticized the practice. "Obviously no one has enough time in a week to teach 30 classes and do a good job, so that’s very problematic," Thompson said, according to CalMatters.