Copper Mountain College (CMC) recently sent seven employees to Portland, Oregon for the opportunity to take diversity training with the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE). NCORE serves as the leading national forum on issues of race and ethnicity and has evolved into a vital national resource for higher education institutions.
The goal for CMC was to gain knowledge on how to additionally support its students and to ensure inclusiveness in CMC’s hiring practices. Sharlah Harvey, Human Resources Specialist II, shared, “I am honored to have been selected to attend NCORE. Because of my role at CMC, I know the training I received will enable me to be a change agent and ensure diversity, equity and inclusion continue to be present in all of our hiring processes.” NCORE provided CMC employees a significant environment for discussion, critical dialogue, and exchange of information as institutions searched for effective strategies to enhance access, social development, education, positive communication, and cross-cultural understanding in culturally diverse settings.
CMC employees attended several breakout sessions including: professional development on skills for inclusive practices, personal identity development to improve working with diverse communities, literacy about other specific ethnic/racial groups specifically in higher education settings, multicultural leadership skills, innovations in fine arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM based initiatives in student affairs and academic affairs. “As the Campus Experience Specialist, it is important to constantly be educating myself on the lives and experiences of all people, so I can serve our students. NCORE was an incredibly enlightening experience, teaching me more about my own privileges and how I can use them to improve the campus,” stated Joshua King, Campus Experience Specialist for CMC.
CMC was able to provide the trip for its employees through Equal Opportunity Employment funds provided by the California Community College’s Chancellor’s Office. Participation in such a conference brought faculty, staff, students, and administrators together from more than 1000 institutions and organizations and allowed them to create new or elevate existing networks with premier educators in the U.S.
For general information about Copper Mountain College visit our website at www.cmccd.edu.