About the Council
Reports to: Executive Council, as advisory to the Cabinet and the Campus CEO
Purpose: The Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is a representative body of the college community charged with creating urgency and accountability for maintaining a campus environment where all are valued, respected, and included; and where our workforce reflects the composition of our student body and engages with them in culturally relevant ways.
The Council is a leadership group charged with reimagining the college as a change agent in our community by leading efforts to examine MxCC’s Strategic Plan, programs, policies, procedures, and campus culture through the lenses of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Council will help guide the college community through a process of education, understanding, and discovery; application of action items and best practices; and how DEI can become fully integrated in the daily work and life of MxCC.
Membership
Members Elected
Aquia Brown-Welch, Alumni Representative and Co-Chair
Juliann Holzer, Continuing Education Assistant
Dr. Nutan Mishra, Instructor of Sociology and Anthropology and Co-Chair
Christian Moore, Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice
Venishia Nakandala, Student Representative
Ijego Nwachuku, Professor of Early Childhood Education
Ingrid Orellana-Rivera, Director of Student Activities
James Quinlan, Professor of Chemistry
Donovan Reinwald, Librarian
Annie Scott, Director of Information Technology
Joy Thompson, Enrollment Services Assistant
Katherine Tocto Quituisaca, Student Representative
Ex-Officio Members
Donna Bontatibus, Interim Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs
Sara Hanson, Associate Dean of Student Affairs
Kimberly Hogan, Interim Chief Executive Officer
Hilary Phelps, Disability Services Coordinator
Subcommittees: The Council is empowered to create subcommittees of its own members. It may invite other members of the MxCC community to participate, provided the Council informs the Executive Council as a matter of courtesy and so that they may be recognized for their service.
Deliverables
Education, Understanding, and Discovery
- Develop an MxCC Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for campus ratification.
- Conduct a campus climate survey to establish baseline data and to indicate possible initiatives and action items.
- Engage the college community in professional development events designed to strengthen a culture of understanding regarding DEI. Consider organizing events by department, discipline, division, or all-college.
- Select a guest speaker for a mandatory all-college meeting/convocation (possible partnership with other colleges in the Capital-East Region).
- Consider ways for the college community to reflect on the MxCC Strategic Plan through a DEI lens.
Application of Action Items and Best Practices
- Explore best practices by collaborating as appropriate with the Center for Teaching, Center for Civic Engagement, Achieving the Dream Core Team, CSCU/CSCC DEI Councils, and other network resources.
- Transform New Student Orientation and consider the overall student experience through a DEI lens.
Integrate DEI in the daily work and life of MxCC
- Make recommendations to the Cabinet on possible policy changes and actions intended to improve the campus climate related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Establish annual goals/metrics
Definitions
DIVERSITY
Refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and world views that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, geographic region, and more.
EQUITY
The guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all students, faculty, and staff in every stage of their MxCC education and career development, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of marginalized groups.
INCLUSION
The act of creating environments in which any individual or group can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. An inclusive climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions so that all people can fully participate in the College’s opportunities.
Source: University of California-Berkeley Toolkit for Diversity Equity, and Inclusion © 2015, University of California Regents, https://diversity.berkeley.edu/about/strategic-plan
Joint statement of commitment to equity, diversity, and excellence in student success and leadership development (June 2020)
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) denounce all acts of racism, hate, violence, and injustice. We stand with the individuals who have been marginalized, oppressed, and murdered due to their ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, and sexual behavior. As associations that represent community colleges serving 42% of undergraduates in the United States, we place a premium on equal access to the American Dream for everyone. We condemn rhetoric and actions by individuals and groups that threaten individuals based upon the color of their skin, their ethnic backgrounds, or their identification as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. We stand in solidarity with organizations that seek to end systemic racism, and we strongly encourage our community colleges to place a critical lens on their policies and procedures to ensure that all students engage with higher education on an equal playing field. Further, we support our community college leaders becoming allies to organizations seeking to improve educational and workforce opportunities, as well as other public services to ensure a better America. (https://www.aacc.nche.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Joint_Statement_on_Diversity_June2020.pdf)
Achieving the Dream Equity Statement
Community colleges are an indispensable asset in our nation’s efforts to ensure and preserve access to higher education and success for all students, particularly students of color, low-income students, and other historically underrepresented student populations1. However, student access and success in higher education continue to be impacted by the effects of structural racism and systemic poverty. Achievement gaps among student groups reflect structural inequities that are often the result of historic and systemic social injustices. These inequities typically manifest themselves as the unintended or indirect consequences of unexamined institutional or social policies.
Achieving the Dream believes that access to a high-quality education in an inclusive environment is the right of all individuals and imperative for the continued advancement of a strong democracy and workforce. Achieving the Dream also believes higher education institutions have an obligation to work toward equity for their students. Equity is grounded in the principle of fairness. In higher education, equity refers to ensuring that each student receives what they need to be successful through the intentional design of the college experience.
Achieving the Dream expects colleges to dismantle the barriers facing underserved students. Colleges must routinely scrutinize structural barriers to equity and invest in equity-minded policies, practices, and behaviors that lead to success for all students.
The MxCC Strategic Plan 2017-2022
Potential Worksheet: How have our goals and strategies advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion, toward truly putting our students at the center of Middlesex Community College?
| STRATEGY | HOW HAVE WE ADVANCED THE GOALS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION? |
| Strategy 1-1: The academic curriculum of the college will be responsive to shifting workforce demands and student interest and incorporate innovative and emerging teaching methods and delivery modalities. | |
| Strategy 1-2: The support services and systems that underpin a student’s experience will be improved, through assessment, reflection, and increased training and communication. | |
| Strategy 1-3: Through college-wide initiatives and events, student clubs, and student leadership development, all members of the campus community will feel connected, enriched, and engaged. | |
| Strategy 2-1: The College will pursue relationships with key legislators, decision makers, collaborators, and other institutional funders to pursue and secure funding, contributing to our financial resiliency as an institution. | |
| Strategy 2-2: The College will cultivate and deepen its relationships with current and potential donors through an array of approaches. | |
| Strategy 2-3: The College will strengthen its marketing efforts and leverage a wide range of channels to share the story of the College and stories of student success. | |
| Strategy 2-4: The College will develop and promote programming to the broader community and strengthen linkages to the business community. | |
| Strategy 3-1: The College community will develop and implement campus-wide strategies to strengthen the connections across campus, communicate campus information, and improve workplace culture. | |
| Strategy 3-2: MxCC will continue to evolve its governance model by making adjustments to the model to improve functioning and when prepared, developing bylaws to formalize the model. | |
| Strategy 4-1: MxCC will continue to improve the campus facilities and spaces. | |
| Strategy 4-2: MxCC will leverage and invest in technology to enhance the classroom experience as well as continuously evolve campus-wide systems and processes. |
SELECTED RESOURCES
Articles
- Malcom-Piqueux, L. (2017). Taking equity-minded action to close equity gaps. Peer Review, 19(2). Note: This issue of the AAC&U’s publication is dedicated to the topic, Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence. The entire issue is worth a quick read.
- Willis, D.S. (2018, March 26). On the road to champion. Inside Higher Ed.
Bibliographies
- Anti-Racism Resources for White People (May 2020). Compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein.
- Antiracism Resources (n.d.)
Books
- Coates, T. (2015) Between the world and me. Spiegel & Grau.
- DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
- Kendi, I.X. (2016). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. Nation Books.
- Kendi, I.X. (2019). How to be an antiracist. One World.
- Trepagnier, B. (2010). Silent racism: How well-meaning White people perpetuate the racial divide. Paradigm.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Colleges and Universities
- Connecticut College (2018) – Equity & inclusion action plan 2018-2025.
- Quinnipiac University – Diversity & Inclusion
- University of California at Berkeley (2009) – Strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion: Pathway to excellence This site includes the strategic plan and numerous resources that model DEI planning processes including sample department-level plans.
- University of Hartford (n.d.). – In particular, scroll down to see UHart’s 12-Point Plan for Action.
Position Statements
- American Association of Community Colleges and Association of Community College Trustees (2020, June 12). Joint statement of commitment to equity, diversity, and excellence in student success and leadership development.
- Association of American Colleges & Universities (2018). A vision for equity.
