Photo by Malu de Wit on Unsplash
Mott Community College (MCC) has been accepted into the inaugural class of the Achieving the Dream (ADT) and University of Southern California (USC) Race and Equity Center’s Racial Equity Leadership Academy (RELA).
MCC is one of ten colleges chosen to participate, based on its commitment to advancing racial equity efforts and a campus-wide racial equity change effort to develop a new vision for the college’s racial equity work.
“One of our top priorities at Mott Community College is to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas and at all levels of the institution,” said MCC President, Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea.
“Being included as an inaugural member of the Racial Equity Leadership Academy is an opportunity for the college to access national resources to support our efforts,” Walker-Griffea added.
The RELA will equip college leaders with the tools they need to scrutinize and dismantle structures and policies that serve as barriers for racial minority students.
Teams of five individuals from ten colleges in the ATD Network will be selected to participate in the Achieving the Dream and USC Race and Equity Center Racial Equity Leadership Academy. The Kresge Foundation is providing support for eight content modules to be developed and delivered by ATD and USC Race and Equity Center staff and coaches. Academy content will be based on Achieving the Dream’s Institutional Capacity Framework and tailored to community colleges working to overcome equity-focused challenges.
Each participating institution team will be comprised of the president or chancellor, an influential faculty member, a cabinet-level student affairs officer/diversity officer and a cabinet-level academic leader (e.g. provost, vice provost).
By the end of the Academy, college teams will have identified a racial equity change effort, participated in coaching engagements, developed a new vision for their campus’ racial equity work and launched the rollout of their racial equity change effort with a comprehensive, prioritized action plan. The overall expected outcomes are an increase in student persistence and completion through an intentional design to eliminate structural barriers to equity.
“We are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for our student population, who represent a vast cross-section of cultures and backgrounds,” said Walker-Griffea. “We are eager to work with ATD, the USC Race and Equity Center, and our peers at RELA as we continually expand on efforts to serve as the community college leader in diversity, equity and inclusion.”
MCC has already begun to work toward becoming the community college leader in diversity, equity and inclusion, as stated in the college’s current Strategic Plan, adopted by its Board of Trustees in 2018. For details about the MCC Priorities related to diversity, equity and inclusion, click here: https://www.mcc.edu/policies/diversity-statement.shtml.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Priority at MCC has inspired and guided the following work since its adoption by the Board of Trustees:
Assessment and inventory of College policies, procedures and processes with a DEI lens culminating in a report and recommendations for possible next steps.
Establishment of the MCC Council, a 40-member body with subgroups focused on assessing and advocating for DEI around the five essential pillars of the MCC Strategic Plan (Student Success; Employee Success; Teaching & Learning; Workforce & Economic Development; and College and Community Sustainability); the subgroups of the MCC Council have all established measurable goals, including conducting “DEI audits” of college activities within their respective focus areas.
A Presidential Listening Tour featuring dialogues between MCC’s President and diverse constituencies around the college, including men and women at MCC, LGBTQ employees and others.
An ongoing focus on recognizing, promoting and offering programming around events such as Pride Month, Women’s History Month, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Ramadan, and presentations by Fulbright Scholars from other countries.
“Telling Our Stories,” a series of monthly employee vignettes and conversations taking place to improve college relations from transactional to caring.
Incorporation of panel discussions featuring diverse groups of students into monthly dinners with the MCC Board of Trustees.
About Achieving the Dream: Conceived as an initiative in 2004 by Lumina Foundation and seven founding partner organizations, Achieving the Dream now leads the most comprehensive non-governmental reform movement for student success in higher education history. Together with its Network of over 277 institutions of higher education, 75 coaches and advisors, and numerous investors and partners working throughout 44 states and the District of Columbia, the organizations helps more than four million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams.
Mott Community College is committed to excellence in education and offering services that cultivate student success and improve the overall quality of life in a multicultural community. With almost 100 academic and occupational degree programs, Mott help students prepare to achieve more in an ever-changing economy. Through university transfer agreements, high-demand associate’s degree programs and one-year certification programs, Mott students are able to prepare to get more out of life.
