The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) held its first-ever virtual Winter Equity Institute on February 18-19, 2021, with over 300 staff from 26 institutions in attendance!
The theme of the Winter Equity Institute was Building Bridges Across Student Services to Foster Social Belonging and the event was designed for staff and practitioners from student affairs, student development, and holistic support services personnel.
The first day of the Institute focused on building holistic supports for students with an equity lens. Highlights included a keynote address titled, “Racial Equity in our Colleges and Universities: An Imperative Call to Action” led by Dr. Frank Harris, III, Professor of postsecondary education and Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) at San Diego State University.
Other Day 1 highlights included a “Prioritizing Holistic Care in Student Services” panel led by ILEA practitioners Tania Boisson from Oakton Community College, Jacquelyn Werner & Eric Crabtree-Nelson from Harold Washington College, and Dr. Aurélio Valente from National Louis University as well as a session titled, “Strategies for Culturally Responsive Mental Health Support for Diverse Students” led by Dr. Sofia Pertuz, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer from the JED Foundation. Dr. Harris closed out the first day the Institute with the workshop, “Beyond the Plan: How to Ensure Your Equity Efforts Achieve Their Desired Results.”
Highlights of the second day of the Institute focused on building supports for practitioners and professionals of color and featured a “Student Teach-In” session led by members of PCC’s Student Advisory Council, Ahmed Elfaki from Kishwaukee College, Lauren Hassen from Moraine Valley Community College, Daliyah Sanders from Harper College, Marketta Sims from City Colleges of Chicago: Kennedy-King, and Marnee Ostoa from City Colleges of Chicago: Harold Washington. The session featured recorded remarks from Gaylen Rivers from Northern Illinois University and Karen Suarez from Oakton Community College.
Other Day 2 highlights included the opening session “The Art of Retaining Women of Color Professionals“ led by higher education professionals and founding members of Career Killing Moves, Dr. Paige Gardner, Dr. Kristina Garcia, and Dr. Pearl Ratunil. This was followed by the “Widening the Leadership Pipeline for Professionals of Color” panel led by Dr. Edward F. Martinez from Suffolk County Community College – Ammerman Campus, Jamar Orr from Roosevelt University, and Marisol Velazquez from Morton College. Dr. Kyle Westbrook, PCC’s Executive Director wrapped up the 2021 ILEA Winter Equity Institute with a reflection of the event.
Institute by the Numbers:
- Total Number of Attendees: 308
- Highest Session Attendance
- Welcome & Keynote (240 attendees)
- Strategies for Mental Health (150 attendees)
- Art of Retaining Women of Color (142 attendees)
- Highest Overall Participation (2-yr): College of Lake County
- Highest Overall Participation (4-yr): Northeastern Illinois University
- Top WHOVA Engagers: Scott Friedman (Moraine Valley Community College), Daiana Quiroga-Nevares (Morton College), and Betsi Burns (Loyola University)
- Institute Evaluation, Quality of the Institute:
- 94% of respondents rated the quality of the overall Winter Equity Institute as either excellent or very good
- Of all the Institute sessions, the opening keynote and the Art of Retaining Women of Color Professionals were ranked highest in terms of usefulness to participants’ equity work.
- 100% of survey respondents acknowledged that the Institute was helpful in moving forward their understanding of how to achieve equity in student outcomes at their campus.
- Top comments:
“Great topics! Thank you for the student panel. I hope to see them included in future programming.”
“The presenters were awesome with real stories that relate to the students and families we serve.”
“I loved the enthusiasm, sincerity, and dedication of the presenters!”
Please contact PCC’s Equity Program Managers at info@partnershipfcc.org if you have any questions or if you need additional information about the sessions from the 2021 ILEA Winter Equity Institute. Access to the session recordings are available to ILEA members only, which can be access in the WHOVA App or the link provided in the ILEA Newsletter.