by
Public Relations and Marketing | Published Oct 10, 2016
The College of Lake County has received the Charles Kennedy Equity Award from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) for its work advancing student success and diversity among students, faculty and staff. Dr. William M. Griffin, chair of the CLC Board of Trustees, accepted the award Oct. 7 at the 47th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in New Orleans. It is the college’s first ACCT national award.
“This prestigious award recognizes that success at the College of Lake County requires a range of approaches, everything from being inclusive in our hiring practices to infusing multicultural content in our curriculum,” Dr. Griffin said. “Diversity is an integral part of who we are. A diverse world is not just ‘out there’ awaiting our students; it is here at the college and an essential part of the CLC experience.”
CLC was eligible for this award after first being selected as the recipient of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) Equity and Diversity Award and then the Central Region for ACCT Equity Award. The college’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives were evaluated against four other regional winners.
Photo: Dr. William M. Griffin, chair of the College of Lake County Board of Trustees (center) accepts the Association of Community College Trustees’ Charles Kennedy Equity Award from J. Noah Brown, president and CEO of ACCT (left) and Roberto Zárate, chair of ACCT (right).
CLC President Jerry Weber said “This award is an acknowledgement of our work together to enhance diversity, inclusion and equity for women, persons of color, LGBTQ and underrepresented populations. We realize that we still have much more to do and that creating a welcoming and inclusive environment that respects diverse opinions is a continuous effort that advances CLC students, the college and our community. Yet this is a great recognition of how far we have come.”
CLC’s award application detailed its success promoting equity, diversity and student retention across campus through innovative programs such as: Coaching for Academic Success, Latina/o Student Retention Project, the SPLASH scholarship, student organizations such as Sister to Sister and Men of Vision, the TRiO Talent Search program, STEM for Girls events, grant-funded childcare access, One Million Degrees, the Diversity Commission’s special events and faculty training workshops, human resources employment and training promotions and engagement by Board of Trustees.
Dr. Elisabeth Martin, 2015-16 faculty co-chair of the Diversity Commission and instructor of biology, stated that “This award recognizes the actions CLC has taken to help make the college a more equitable learning and working environment. Although the Diversity Commission provides guidance, much of the work to achieve this goal is occurring through the collaboration of groups of colleagues on all three campuses. These collaborations will continue to guide our actions as we work toward providing the best learning environment for our students in this ever-changing world,” Martin said.
To learn more about CLC’s diversity programs, visit www.clcillinois.edu/diversity.