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President's Advisory Committee on Equity and Inclusion

decorative image - equity and inclusion poster display

The President’s Advisory Committee on Equity and Inclusion (PACEI) was established in November 2017 to help create an inclusive, civil, and respectful community that achieves equity for all Montgomery College students, employees, and business partners. The committee, which meets monthly, consists of a diverse, multi-generational, and multicultural group of faculty, staff, and administrators who represent all facets of the college community. PACEI members have participated in a variety of trainings on topics such as Speak Up, Speak Out, Unconscious Bias, Racial Equity, Critical Race Theory - Reframing the Narrative, Intersectionality, Cultural Communications, and Interrupting Micro-Aggressions.

Leadership

Executive Lead and Convener: Kimberly Jones, Interim Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer
PACEI Chair (Fy23-25): Dr. Nancy Newton, Manager, Grants and Sponsored Programs 
OIRE liaison: Dr. Bo Chan, Senior Research Analyst
Executive Associate: Maria Cevallos Rodriguez

FY 2023-2025 Theme: FACE IT. There is no equity and inclusion without U & I. EMBRACE IT.

PACEI 2020 operates through six sub-committees tied to OEI’s six goals outlined in the Equity and Inclusion Roadmap for Student Success and Addendum 1. See the 2021Annual Report (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader - Link opens in new window) . The six goals are:

Subcommittees

Student Equity

Goal One: Improve persistence, retention, and completion/graduation/transfer of all students, particularly African-American male and Latinx students.

Student success is at the heart of our mission. MC’s data indicates that black males graduate at the lowest rate: the 2014 and 2015 Integrated Post-Secondary Data System (IPEDS) student cohorts at Montgomery College reflected 8.1% and 8.4% graduation rates, respectively, and for Latinx students 16.4% and 17.4%, respectively, versus 23% and 22% graduation rates for the College overall. For the fall 2018 cohort, more than half (53.4%) of the 352 American-born Black males had a grade point average of less than 2.0; almost a quarter of the group had a grade point average of 0.0; for Latinx, it was 40.4% of the 1,189 students with a grade point average of less than 2.0: 16.4% of the group had a grade point average of 0.0. The IPEDS cohort is the number of first-time, full-time, degree seeking students. According to the Student Success Score Card for fall 2014 by the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, overall the Black student population, 490 students, graduated at 14.9%, and 513 Latinx students graduated at 18.1%. MC’s goal is to achieve seamless access, completion, and transfer for all students by removing systemic barriers and integrating classroom experiences and holistic support systems that are key to student success.

SVP Liaisons:

Dr. Zenobia Garrison (SA)

Andrea Foster (until new AA liaison is appointed)

Chair:

Dr. David Bergtold

Members:

Dr. Eric Benjamin

Levena De La Rosa

Dr. Lucinda Grinnell (on sabbatical in spring 2024)

Javon Inman 

Dr. Stacey Peterson**

Carl S. Pavetto**

Dr. William Dunn**

Dr. Alla Webb**

** - New Members for FY2024

College Workforce

Goal Two: Improve employee recruitment, hiring, on- boarding, development, and training procedures and practices to attract and retain a diverse workforce that includes leaders, managers, faculty, and staff reflective of the diversity of the College's students.

Cultivating a culture of equity and inclusion, continuous learning, civility, and mutual respect is key to institutional success. MC’s goal is to create opportunities for all employees to grow professionally and to retain the intellectual capital necessary to achieve our commitment to student success.

SVP Liaisons:

Terrence Evelyn  (AFS)

Sophia Mason ** (AFS)

Chair:
Karen Penn de Martinez (on sabbatical until Jan 24)

Members:

Dr. Shayla Atkins 

Carla Ammerman**

Angelo Akyeampong**

Jennifer Baugh**

Dr. Patience Mbulu**

Dr. Nicole Gibbs Thomas**

Dr. Hoa Nguyen**

Chantelle McKoy**

** - New Members for FY2024

College Culture

Goal Three: Foster college culture of equity, inclusion, civility, accessibility, kindness, trust, and respect for human dignity through targeted programs, activities, and educational opportunities

Building a positive, welcoming, and compassionate culture helps improve morale, increases productivity, creates a sense of belonging, and facilitates success for all. MC’s goal is to create an environment free of bullying, retaliation, and negative biases that impede student success, overall morale, productivity, and community building.

SVP Liaison:
La Verne Gordon (ACE)

Co-Chairs: 

Kristen Roe 

Members:

Rowena D’Souza * 

Heather Hughes

Karla Nabors * 

Shalawn Childs**

Jamila Aswad**

A. Chevelle Glymph**

Ana Matta**

* - Disability Inclusion Ad-Hoc Committee member

** - New Members for FY2024

Multicultural Teaching/Learning Experiences

Goal Four: Integrate relevant and equitable multicultural teaching practices that infuse international/multicultural awareness into the educational experience, classrooms, and curriculum.

Faculty interactions with students are crucial to student success. MC’s goal is to expand successful, culturally relevant teaching pedagogies to provide students with the strongest foundation of knowledge and global awareness. The purpose of this goal is to keep students engaged and prepare them for completion, transfer, and careers.

SVP Liaisons:

Stacey Gustavson (SA)

Andrea Foster (AA)

Co-Chairs:
Dr. Bo Chan
Dr. Akhter (Shoaib) Chowdhury
Richard Forrest

Members:

Folashade Akinrimisi

Dr. Sylvea Hollis 

Jarvis Slacks

Cassandra Carter**

Wyckham Avery**

Nelson Bennett, IV**

Demetra Crawford**

** - New Members for FY2024

Community-wide Opportunities

Goal Five: Support diversity and inclusion in our staff, students, community, and business populations. Provide increased opportunities for the College's communities to foster equity and economic empowerment.

Education and market-relevant skills are key to individual and county economic success. MC’s goal is to mobilize local and regional partnerships that effectively respond to labor market needs and to expand economic opportunity for our students and to all county residents.

Building and sustaining academic, industry, and broad-based community partnerships are key to advancing educational opportunities for chronically underserved and under-engaged populations. MC’s goal is to deepen connections with the broader diverse communities through organized, strategic, and culturally responsive efforts.

SVP Liaison:
Yanira Rodriguez David – SVP Liaison ** (ACE)

Chair:
Tilandra Rhyne

Members:

Shakenna Adams-Gormley

Lisa Burl

Enas Elhanafi 

Patrick Johnson

Melanie Kandel

Josephine Trawick** 

Scott Youngblood**

Staffan Sandberg**

Dr. Nwamaka Oparaoji**

** - New Members for FY2024

Antiracism Strategy 

Goal Six: Promote social justice, radical inclusion, and racial equity within the College and the broader community and continue the Board’s focus on the journey to being an antiracist institution.

Montgomery College will:
  • Ensure stakeholders have the resources and educational opportunities to execute, uphold and measure the implementation of antiracist objectives.
  • Be accountable for hiring and retention of diverse candidates and employees' equitable treatment.
  • Be instrumental in the academic enhancement and excellence for Black males and Latinx students.
  • Ensure policies/procedures and opportunities reflect an antiracist approach and perspective.

Co-Chairs:

Dr. Zenobia Garrison
Dr. Katya Salmi

Members:

Antonio Montano

George Rice III 

Melissa Pace 

Eniola Olowofoyeku

Dr. Michelle Harrell**

All SVP Liaisons

** - New Members for FY2024

Earlier Work

The groundwork for PACEI was laid by hard working people with clear goals and recommendations. Learn more about our committees and their work from 2017-2019. PACEI members served on one of the following eight (8) sub-committees: Student Experience and Campus Culture; Business Practices and Procurement; Faculty, Teaching and Curriculum; Human Resources/Recruiting, Hiring, Retention, Succession Planning; Nationwide Peer Institution Best Practices/Assessment and Evaluation/Resources; Reports and Communication; Training, Dialogue, Events, Celebrations; and Workforce Development and Community Engagement.

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