History & Background
College of the Mainland started its diversity initiative over one decade ago in 1994. During 2004-2007, the College's vision encompassed the objective to become a valued and vital community partner striving to enrich our expanding community and prepare students to live and work in a diverse and global environment. College of the Mainland, a comprehensive community college, is an accessible, affordable learner-centered institution dedicated to student success serving the Mainland area of Galveston County and beyond.
In the fall of 1994, College of the Mainland adopted a Strategic Plan for 1995-1998 with eleven (11) goals, one of which was to increase the multicultural dialogue and sensitivity of faculty, staff and students. One year later, in the fall of 1995, the College submitted an Access & Equity 2000 Plan to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Division of Access & Equity. The 2000 Access & Equity plan was designed to address four major goals which targeted African American and Hispanic students, faculty and administrators:
- Goal #1 was to increase the undergraduate graduation rate of African American and Hispanic Students to at least reach parity, at a minimum, with the graduation rate of Anglo-Saxon Students.
- Goal #2 was to increase the number of African American and Hispanic graduate and professional school graduates to at least reach parity, at a minimum, with the number of Anglo-Saxon graduates. This goal was inapplicable to College of The Mainland and was therefore not addressed in the 2000 Access & Equity plan.
- Goal #3 was to continually increase the number and proportion of African American and Hispanic Faculty, Administrators and Professional Staff towards parity with their proportional representation in the population.
- Goal #4 was to increase the number of minorities and women on its Governing Board. The Access & Equity Committee devised an action plan to encourage minorities to seek political positions on governing boards by inviting them to board meetings.
To further demonstrate its commitment to diversity, the College developed an Access and Equity Committee consisting of four representatives from the various areas of the College. The members were involved in campus activities, including the areas of student outreach, recruitment and services, and employee/applicant issues and concerns. The members of this committee included:
- The Assistant to the President for Educational Opportunity and Multicultural Affairs
- The Human Resources Director
- The Director of Student Services
- The President of the Faculty Council
The committee was designed to work with various teams on campus to coordinate activities aimed towards diversity.
Later, in 2001, College of the Mainland approved the formation of the Multi-Cultural Team. The mission of the Multi-Cultural Team aims to foster the awareness and appreciation of diversity, multiculturalism, and global interdependence by sponsoring, supporting, and promoting educational and cultural events and activities on campus and in the communities of the college district. The Multi-Cultural Team believes in its vision that the awareness and appreciation of diversity, multiculturalism, and global interdependence are essential for quality education, progressive political change, and the development of a more inclusive and egalitarian society.
At its annual fall planning retreat, in 2002, the Board of Trustees identified goals to guide college planning and budgeting processes for 2003-2004. Included in those strategic goals, the Board sought to increase overall credit enrollment by 7% and overall minority enrollment to reflect Galveston County population, and increase the overall retention rate by 5%. At that time, in 2002, our statistical profile of the College's student demographics reflected:
| Students | District |
|---|---|
| 57.7% Caucasian | 60.4% Caucasian |
| 19.3% African-American | 18.6% African-American |
| 18.3% Hispanic | 18.6% Hispanic |
| 4.7% Other | 2.4% Other |
Source: College of the Mainland, 2002 Report to the Community
While the percentages above indicate that the College's student body and District demographics closely corresponded to one another, the percentages of minority faculty and administrative staff of the College did not; in 2001, only 17% of the full time faculty where ethnic minorities.
Therefore, in the fall of 2003, the Associate Vice President of Human Resources and the President of the College approved a personnel justification request to create a new position entitled Director of Diversity & Equity in Human Resources. The function of the new position was designed to direct, coordinate and evaluate recruitment programs for filling human resource vacancies and to support diversity initiatives at the College. In the spring of 2004, the Board of Trustees approved the search & selection committee's nomination and the position was filled in April of 2004.
The Director of Diversity & Equity in Human Resources was charged with the duty to develop, implement and monitor a diversity plan which provides for the employment of a diverse workforce - especially faculty and administrators. The Director was also charged with the duty to provide leadership and oversight of the College's recruitment and hiring process and administer recruitment programs for vacancies using equal employment opportunity and affirmative action guidelines. In addition, it was the duty of the Director of Diversity to provide leadership in developing, implementing, and evaluating programs essential to diversity efforts and provide general overall support to the Multi-Cultural Team.