“People think diversity is black and white,” said Myrtle E.B. Dorsey, Ph.D., chancellor of St. Louis Community College. “Diversity is cultural – it’s all ethnicities.”
Last month, Chancellor Dorsey spoke with a group of faculty and staff members that formed the District Diversity Council in 2001. The council is charged with promoting an atmosphere of appreciation for all people regardless of differences in race, gender, age, lifestyle, disability and class, according to the STLCC website.
“The council works to ensure the curriculum will be more inclusive; the campus activities will create a climate of mutual respect; and faculty, staff and students will reflect the diversity of our society,” the website states.
However, the council has not been operating recently. In her meeting with the council, Dorsey said they are excited about finding ways to get the ball rolling again. One of the ways she talked about rekindling the council’s work is through a professional development program this fall.
“People need to be sensitive to different cultures,” she said. “We assume that people understand.”
However, sometimes people will respond in an offensive manner, not intending to hurt someone, but simply because they didn’t know, Dorsey said.
Inclusion and diversity will be part of a program led by the new director of professional development and quality, Lita M. Pener, a former senior manager of operations training for Express Scripts Inc. Pener joined the college on July 9.
Dorsey said the college also is welcoming the staff members’ experiences to enrich the curriculum and environment. Several faculty members have taken sabbaticals to foreign countries and brought back new ideas to the college. Dorsey has recently asked these faculty members to present at board of trustee meetings, regarding their take-aways.
“How can we apply those lessons to our teaching methods and give our students a broader perspective of the world?” Dorsey said. “I think you will see us move more and more in that direction. It’s a good energy that’s happening here.”
The diversity lessons are important in creating an inclusive campus environment. And they also prepare students who travel abroad for what they might encounter, she said.
“When they go to these countries, they know what to experience from those people in those other countries about their feelings towards Americans,” she said, “We need to prepare them, so they are not shocked about a response they are not used to.”
The college will continue to expand and become a much more global society, she said. Dorsey has had preliminary discussions with Tony Thompson, founder and chairman of Kwame Building Group, to initiate a cultural exchange opportunity in Ghana. Study abroad programs are a great benefit for students to learn firsthand about different cultures.
“It enriches the educational experience,” she said. “It makes our graduates more competitive when they have that experience. The community is ready for it, and geared up for it, and quite supportive of it.”
The college has had a long history of inclusion, from study abroad programs to diversity initiatives, Dorsey said. And the St. Louis Community College celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
“We have seen many people at this institution over the years, and this is an incredible jewel for the state and the city,” she said.
