Butte College Diversity and Inclusion committee works collaboratively with our diverse campus and local communities to establish a learning and working environment that is inclusive and equitable. We do this by honoring diverse identities and educating our community, identifying and responding to existing and emerging equity issues, and analyzing and recommending institutional change based on relevant research practices.
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 revised it's Mission this January 2018 and defined it's vision and Values. It also developed a 3 year strategic plan. Below are it's Vision and Values: Vision: In order to dismantle the historical structures of oppression, we promote social justice by inspiring an educated, aware, and accountable community allies. Values: • Difference • Equity • Allyship • Inclusion • Representation • Awareness
Diversity Days Keynote Speaker - Dr. David Hayes-Bautista - Student Equity Funding
Over 175 attendees were ble to benefit from Dr. Hayes-Bautista's keynote "La Nueva California: Latinos from
Pioneers to Post-Millennials".
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 1450 attendees. For the second time there was an Opening and Closing Sessions. Highlights included remarks by Dr. Samia Yaqub,and the A.S. President, Closing also featured the Diversity Award and Losang's Mandala.
Prior to the Week - three major events were hosted:
During the Week the following sessions were featured::
On-going Activities throughout the week:
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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 2017 Diversity Days the committee assisted in organizing 22 sessions. Facilitators included: students, professionals, community members, and national recognized experts. In addition, there were over 1450 in attendance during the Week's activities.
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Strategy 1 - Senior Level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position
The need for a senior-level Officer 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 the “now” student, whom our college President has described as racially diverse, sexually diverse, and gender non-conforming, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making and to be proactive in response to national, state, local, or college-level discourses, events, or policies related to diversity and equity. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the values 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. Ultimately, this position would be in charge of developing and implementing a strategic vision and plan for diversity and equity efforts across the whole institution.
More specifically, the Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would work with faculty, staff, and student leaders to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. As the Chancellor’s Office moves toward the consolidation of programs that support disproportionately impacted student groups, this 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 more collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, MESA, EOPS, VRC, Inspiring Scholars, Safe Place, Title IX, DSPS, HSI, GSET, EEO efforts, and perhaps Student Life. This senior-level 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%. At the recent Strategic Planning Retreat, the senior-level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was identified as the top priority for supporting student success and creating an inclusive campus environment. 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. 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. This position could provide leadership on all these issues.
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 $13,000. 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 17/18 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. 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.
Strategy 3 - Diversity Speakers Series
The Committee seeks to implement a Diversity Speakers Series which would expand it's current programming focused on Diversity Days to an additional four Speakers and/or Events during the academic year. The goal is to host two speakers and/or events each semester. The campus community will be invited to submit proposals for potential speakers and/or events and a subcommittee to the Diversity Committee would coordinate the selection process and assist in the implementation of the event.
For many years there has been a request that the Diversity Committee expand it focus beyond Diversity Days by highlighting important topics, speakers and events throughout the year. In the recent development, January 2018, of the DC's three year strategic plan, developing a Diversity Speakers Series was a top priority for the AY 18/19 academic year.
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 | ||
| Senior Level Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position | The need for a senior-level Officer 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 the “now” student, whom our college President has described as racially diverse, sexually diverse, and gender non-conforming, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making and to be proactive in response to national, state, local, or college-level discourses, events, or policies related to diversity and equity. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the values 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. Ultimately, this position would be in charge of developing and implementing a strategic vision and plan for diversity and equity efforts across the whole institution. More specifically, the Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would work with faculty, staff, and student leaders to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. As the Chancellor’s Office moves toward the consolidation of programs that support disproportionately impacted student groups, this 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 more collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, MESA, EOPS, VRC, Inspiring Scholars, Safe Place, Title IX, DSPS, HSI, GSET, EEO efforts, and perhaps Student Life. This senior-level position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues. The Student Equity Program could potentially fund a portion of this salary as long as other currently funded personnel are shifted to other sources of funding. However, this senior-level position should be district funded in order for the college to demonstrate its prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion not only as institutional values, but as intentional, strategic planning efforts. |
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| 2 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | 11_099_110_1_676000 | $0.00 | $25,000.00 | |
| 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 and event cost | In addition to the primary keynote speaker, costs associated with a second keynote and other invited speakers for the 17 additional sessions that take place during Diversity Days. |
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| 4 | Diversity Committee | Personnel | $0.00 | $8,000.00 | ||
| Diversity Speakers Series | The Committee seeks to implement a Diversity Speakers Series which would expand it's current programming focused on Diversity Days to an additional four Speakers and/or Events during the academic year. The goal is to host two speakers and/or events each semester. The campus community will be invited to submit proposals for potential speakers and/or events and a subcommittee to the Diversity Committee would coordinate the selection process and assist in the implementation of the event. |
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| 5 | 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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