Equal Employment Opportunity

In 2007, the Staff Diversity Task Force, comprised of the various constituencies on campus inclusive of faculty, classified, and administration was formed to address the issues of workforce equity. Now known as the Faculty and Staff Diversity Committee, it continues to work diligently to assess institutional policies and practices which have created barriers to diverse hiring.  Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Plan was revised to align with Title 5 and the nine multiple methods consisting of strategies and best practices in hiring and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and management workforce.  The following areas demand continuous action:

1. Dialogue/Training. The objective here is to create an on-going intellectual campus-wide dialogue on the topic of equity as it relates to our faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, the Committee will continue to provide advisement to strengthen the training of the College’s hiring/employee selection committees in the areas defined in the District’s EEO Plan. The purpose is to promote organizational learning while creating a climate of shared commitment and responsibility toward diversity, equity, and inclusion.  
2. Recruitment. The objective is to continue to expand the faculty internship program that serves as a pipeline to faculty positions; conduct broad-based outreach to ensure equitable recruitment practices in support of appropriately diverse pools of applicants, and to provide applicant-training opportunities to support diverse applicants’ successful candidacy for positions within the College.
3. Policies and Procedures. The objective is to monitor, review, and revise the EEO Plan and related Board policies and administrative regulations as well as institutional practices to ensure alignment with the District’s Strategic Plan; the multiple methods as delineated in Title 5, and adherence to legal requirements and contemporary practices which foster equitable hiring processes. 

The institution must embed the efforts of diversity and equity into the core of its mission and everyday institutional functioning. It, therefore, requires comprehensive and on-going dialogue/training efforts to achieve sustainable change.

The Committee places significant importance on the role of recruitment as a successful strategy to achieve a diverse staff.  The Committee’s work provides opportunities for innovative solutions in terms of new approaches to recruitment aligned with the nine multiple methods of best practice in recruitment and selection of a diverse workforce. These approaches include broader outreach efforts using diverse sourcing environments/publications, recommending redesigns to procedures for addressing diversity throughout the hiring steps and levels, and consistent ongoing training for hiring/employee selection committees.

The EEO Plan is a living document and subject to ongoing review, monitoring, modification, and refinement as additional strengths and areas for improvement are identified through evaluation of the College’s progress in the area of workforce diversity and cultural competency.