USC Racial Equity Alliance
For the 2020-21 academic year, Cañada College joined more than 60 other California community colleges in the California Community College Equity Leadership Alliance. Led by the USC Race and Equity Center, the Alliance unites community colleges across the state of California for high-quality professional learning experiences on an array of topics pertaining to racial equity. Administrators, faculty, and staff across member colleges access a digital repository of useful tools and resources, as well as engage with colleagues beyond their individual campuses through a dynamic virtual community of practice. Alliance member colleges also participate in a trio of campus climate surveys on a three-year rotational basis – the student survey in year one, the faculty survey in year two, and the staff survey in the third membership year.
This Alliance will use a three-pronged approach to help administrators and faculty leaders learn how to better address the concerns of students and employees of color, who have long cited the persistence of racist policies and attitudes within their institutions:
- Professional learning: Beginning in June 2020, the Center will annually host a dozen eConvenings, each on a particular aspect of racial equity. These high-quality professional learning experiences for high-level administrators and faculty leaders will be held virtually throughout the year, one per month. Each eConvening will explore strategies and practical approaches for equity issues.
- Virtual racial equity resource portal: The Center is developing an online repository of resources and tools for Alliance member colleges. Downloadable equity-related rubrics, readings, case studies, videos, slide decks, and conversation scripts will be included in the portal and accessible to all employees at member colleges.
- Campus climate surveys: Using the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates (NACCC) as a model, the students, faculty and staff of each member institution will be surveyed about their feelings of belonging and inclusion, encounters with racism on campus, the frequency and depth of cross-cultural interactions, appraisals of institutional commitment to diversity and inclusion, and other related topics.
Information regarding the Professional Learning Sessions can be found below. The President's Office (facilitated by Dean Engel) will be working with the Cañada Academic and Classified Senates to identify individuals to attend these sessions and to coordinate the sharing of their learning with the rest of campus. Information will be posted on this website with that information.
