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Jackson Community College lauded for efforts toward equity

Jackson Community College recognizes that to meet the needs of the community and to offer the best possible educational opportunities to students, the College must be an open environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. The College's efforts were lauded recently as JCC's Board of Trustees received the Association of Community College Trustees' Equity Award.

The ACCT Equity Award recognizes community college boards that show leadership in setting policies and assuring results for the enhancement and expansion of opportunities for minorities and women in such areas as: enrollment, successful completion, participation in better-paying, higher-mobility college majors, campus environment, employment and promotion, involvement of college in minority community, representation of board of trustees, committee and advisory groups, and more. JCC was honored among all community colleges in the Central Region, one of five regions nationwide.

"I appreciate the efforts that the College's Board of Trustees has advanced, through its strategic plan, to make diversity an institutional priority," said Daniel J. Phelan, JCC president & chief executive officer. "I am very pleased that ACCT is recognizing their efforts."

Efforts to improve diversity are emphasized as a main point in JCC's strategic plan, and minority enrollment has increased in recent years, thanks to many efforts, from 6.59 percent of the total student population in 2001-02, to 7.55 percent in 2002-03, to 8.82 percent in 2003-04, and 8.3 percent in 2004-05. The College has numerous efforts in place to promote diversity, including:

• A dedicated Office of Multicultural Relations to serve the needs of diverse students. This office oversees organizations and offers individual support for minority, international and non-traditional students, and sponsors campus and community events to raise awareness and promote programming.
• JCC's College Incentive Program, which reaches sixth-grade students with identified needs and offers the promise of two years of free college tuition after their successful graduation from high school.
• Professional development days that examine issues of diversity and inclusion on the college campus. All college faculty, staff and administration participate in these workshops, presented in January on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday since 2003.
• The College has formed a Council of Inclusion and Diversity, which serves as an advisory, planning, and action committee on issues of diversity within the College community.