WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE WINS DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL AWARENESS AWARD FROM ASSOCIATION OF COMMUN

Westchester Community College has received the 2009 Northeast Regional Equity Award from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The college was recognized for its role in promoting diversity and cultural awareness.

The ACCT Regional Equity Award is given to an ACCT member’s governing board and chief executive officer for demonstrating leadership in setting policies and assuring results for the enhancement and expansion of opportunities for minorities and women in areas such as enrollment, completion, participation in higher mobility college majors, campus environment, employment, promotion and others. The college, along with other regional award winners from across the country, is now eligible to win the prestigious Charles Kennedy Equity Award, a national honor.

Nancy DeRiggi, associate dean of Institutional Research and Planning, and Toni Cox-Burns, board of trustee member, submitted the comprehensive application for the award. “The most difficult part of putting together the award application was the space limitation – we only had three pages to describe all of our programs,” says DeRiggi. “The quantity and quality of our programs is really a testimony to President Joseph Hankin and our Board of Trustees. Diversity and cultural awareness are top priorities and, even with all we do, they are continuously looking for ways to improve.”   

Toni Cox-Burns has been a college trustee since 2004. “I am extremely proud of my association with Westchester Community College and am pleased that its ongoing efforts to assure diversity are being recognized. My fellow board members and I will continue to support activities and initiatives geared toward achieving and maintaining a campus environment reflective of the diversity of our community,” she says.

The application highlights college initiatives for diversity including the Dr. Julius Ford Teaching Fellowship; the First Annual Diversity Adjunct Job Fair; Year of Diversity; activities celebrating Women’s History Month and Black History Month; and the college’s Affirmative Action Committee. Various programs are in place to ensure student success including Project Transition, Job Success through Academic Resources (JobSTAR), Women’s Forum, Conversation Partners, College Start Academy, Entrepreneurship Summer Academy, Student Support Services Program (TRIO) and many more. Information was also forwarded on The Gateway Center, a 70,000 square foot building opening in the summer of 2010. This new structure will house the college’s English Language Institute and will provide resources for traditional students and students who are foreign born residents. Additional information on the college’s diversity programs can be found at www.sunywcc.edu.