AACC is requiring full-time faculty, staff and administrators to complete a new series of diversity training this school year.
Interim Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Kellie McCants-Price described the training, which began in the fall, as a “three-two-one plan.” The plan requires all full-time faculty to complete three diversity training seminars hosted by the college and two classes or training sessions of their choosing. Each faculty member also will create a project related to IDEAL— Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Leadership.
The college offers professional development classes, including Diversity 101; Understanding and Interrupting Unconscious Bias; and Fostering Inclusion, Sensitivity and Respect in the Workplace.
Interim Coordinator of Inclusive Excellence Forrest Caskey said the two elective courses “could be at the college or externally, like getting a certificate or attending an event or something where they’re learning something about DEI.”
The college also requires participation in a longer-term goal or project.
“We want everyone to … establish one goal that’s related to diversity, equity and inclusion that is in some way related to their role at the college,” McCants-Price said.
Caskey, an academic literacies professor and the adviser for the Genders and Sexualities Alliance, a student club, said although the college offered diversity training in the past, this is the first time it has been required for faculty.