Michael Mangin
On the rainy morning of January 19 about 250 students, staff, faculty, and community members attended the Spring Flex Keynote Address by Dr. Veronica Neal on the topic “Why Equity Really Matters.” Dr. Neal shared her own life story to illustrate the ways that equity issues impact all of us in both our professional and personal lives. She defined equity as “providing all students with the individual support they need to reach and exceed a common standard.” Dr. Neal emphasized that equity is not about treating each student equally; it is about effecting systemic cultural change to create programs and services that give every student an equal chance of success in the community college environment.
Dr. Neal’s inspirational and deeply personal message helped not only to raise awareness of the members of the college community on equity efforts, but to challenge every person in the audience to explore their own personal stories to help move the college toward more challenging and genuine conversations about race, power, and privilege in our own lives. Dr. Neal challenged the Cabrillo community to do a realistic assessment of how far along we are – for instance, among our own departments or divisions – in being able to have authentic conversations on equity topics.
That afternoon Dr. Neal led a smaller group of about 25 people who were interested in taking the equity project in new and positive directions. Dr. Neal was able to drill down a bit more deeply into her themes of equity, social justice, and cultural humility. Attendees were able to share more about their own equity challenges and experiences, and various strategies and mechanisms to build on the day’s lessons were discussed.
Organized by the Cabrillo’s Student Equity and Success Committee, the Faculty Senate, and the college’s Leading From the Middle team, Dr. Neal’s visit was meant to serve as a continuation of recent efforts to define and understand the meaning of equity through student focus groups, the College Convening, and the Senate’s Deep Dive, among other efforts. Her address and workshop are geared to help foster a college community that is fully committed to supporting each other and our students as we make student equity central to our mission.