The Diversity Committee works to promote and foster a diverse, inclusive, and safe community. This is an all-inclusive committee involving the campus as well as surrounding community participants.
The Diversity Committee works to promote an inclusive community that embraces all aspects of diversity among administrators, students, faculty, and staff. In order to raise awareness toward this goal, the committee: A. Organizes events and participates in campus events B. Provides events, workshops and trainings on campus C. Funds faculty, staff, and students to diversity workshops off campus D. Makes recommendations to faculty, staff, and administration on diversity-related topics E. Represents the college in Outreach activities with the community by facilitating diversity workshops The committee is currently in the process of revising it's Mission Statement and developing a three to five year strategic plan. As in previous years, greater emphasis is being placed on College-wide diversity initiatives that stress diversity data collection and monitoring, recruitment practices that enhance diversity.
Diversity Days Keynote Speaker - Jeffery Duncan-Andrade: Student Equity Funds
Over 175 attendees were able to benefit from Dr. Duncan-Andrades keynote "Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete.
Diversity Days Sessions
Diversity Days consisted of over 19 sessions on the main campus and the Chico Center over a four-day period. The theme "I Am One More Voice" was a unifying factor in all the sessions. There were over 1600 attendees. For the first time there was an Opening and Closing Sessions. Highlights included remarks by Dr. Samia Yaqub, Lucky Preston, and the A.S. President, Zachary Alconero.
Other sessions themes were as follows:
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The Diversity Committee organizes activities and events with emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in order to create a safe and collaborative environment that contributes to the well being and the success of students. During the Spring 2016 Diversity Days the committee assisted in organizing 19 sessions. Facilitators included: students, professionals, community members, and national recognized experts. In addition, there were over 1600 in attendance during the Week's activities.
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Strategy 1 - Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position
The need for a VP-level Executive Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College’s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
In order to meet the needs of our current and future students, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the value of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. The VP pf Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would be indispensable as they works with faculty, staff, and student leaders to educate campus constituents about diversity issues and to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. Additionally, this VP position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, Student Life, HSI, EEO, Study Abroad, International Program, and GEO among others. This VP position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues.
While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. Studies show that when minority students are taught by a minority instructor, they are less likely to drop a class and are more likely to 1) pass with a B or better, 2) take courses in the same subject, 3) choose a major, 4) persist, and 5) earn a degree (Fairlie, 2014). In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Strategy 2 - Supporting Diversity Days and Related Events: Speakers, Workshops, Trainings, and Initiatives on Campus
The Diversity Committee requests support to enhance and increase its current activities on campus. We request additional funding for keynote speakers, secondary speaker honoraria, travel costs and other costs associated with Diversity Days and related events.
Butte College’s Strategic Initiative 6 - Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness – emphasizes community “by actively promoting an environment that celebrates the uniqueness of each individual. The campus climate is characterized by diversity, understanding, mutual respect, and inclusiveness.” The Diversity Committee supports four vital aspects of this initiative: 1) Educating the campus and community that diversity is shaped and informed by many characteristics including but not limited to ability, age, culture, education, ethnicity, gender identity, language, religious beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status; 2) Assisting in Hiring and retaining a diverse workforce; 3) Creating and sustaining programs, projects, and events that promote a greater understanding of diversity; 4) Developing annual reports that describe the results of diversity efforts and ensuring campus discussion of college progress.
The Diversity Committee is intimately involved in all aspects of this strategic initiative including, including EEO planning and implementation, outreach to minority populations, and providing the members of the campus community exposure to a myriad of diversity related issues via activities during Diversity Days and throughout the year.
Here, we request additional funding to support our current activities. Our present budget is $10,000. With this budget we typically have one or two keynote speakers, several events throughout the year as well as costs associated with t-shirts, travel, honoraria, meals, etc. And while this year AY 16/17 the Committee was successful in receiving additional funding, this funding is not guaranteed in the future.
It is very difficult to get a quality speaker with our current funding. Many speaker fees are in the thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. These fees are also rapidly increasing – for example, Last years, Diversity Days Keynote speaker, Jeffery Duncan-Andrade's fee was $9500 but we were able to negotiate it down to $7000, this may not always be possible. If we are to continue our activities on campus, it is imperative that we increase funding.
One of the most effective ways to effect change is to send college employees to diversity training workshops and conferences or to organize such workshops at Butte. However the budget we currently have does not allow us to do this or many of the other activities the Committee needs to be effective.
A Committee meeting room
Student Equity Funds
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | $0.00 | $180,808.00 | ||
| Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position | The need for a VP-level Executive Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College’s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future. In order to meet the needs of our current and future students, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the value of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. The VP pf Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would be indispensable as they works with faculty, staff, and student leaders to educate campus constituents about diversity issues and to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. Additionally, this VP position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, Student Life, HSI, EEO, Study Abroad, International Program, and GEO among others. This VP position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues. While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. Studies show that when minority students are taught by a minority instructor, they are less likely to drop a class and are more likely to 1) pass with a B or better, 2) take courses in the same subject, 3) choose a major, 4) persist, and 5) earn a degree (Fairlie, 2014). In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. |
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| 2 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | 11_099_110_1_676000 | $0.00 | $20,000.00 | |
| Keynote Speaker Fees for Diversity Days | Bringing in high-quality speakers - a key aspect of Diversity Days - is very expensive. Limiting ourselves to local or very inexpensive speakers, prevents us from exposing our students to exciting and inspiring speakers. |
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| 3 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | 11_099_110_1_676000 | $0.00 | $22,000.00 | |
| Diversity Days Other Speakers & Events | In addition to the primary keynote speaker, costs associated with a second keynote and other invited speakers. |
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| 4 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | 11_099_110_1_676000 | $0.00 | $12,000.00 | |
| Diversity Workshops & Training | In the past we have regularly sent faculty and students to diversity training workshops and found it to be a very productive activity and a good use of funds. However, with the budget cuts, we have not been able to do this for a couple of years. Having this funding would also allow us to participate in the annual Diversity Conference: Strategies for Change organized by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges Education Institute (FACCC EI). |
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| 5 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | 11_099_110_1_676000 | $0.00 | $3,000.00 | |
| Individual Activities & Events | Supports year-round (non-Diversity Days) activities and events. |
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