Moraine Valley President Dr. Sylvia M. Jenkins (center) and John Coleman, board of trustees chair, are presented the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) 2018 Central Region Equity Award by (from left) Benjamin Wu, ACCT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee chair; Emily Yim, ACCT chair; and J. Noah Brown, ACCT president and CEO.
Moraine Valley Community College has been named the recipient of the Association of Community College Trustees 2018 Central Region Equity Award and is now a contender for the national-level recognition to be selected from the four regional equity award winners.
The college was nominated for the regional award after receiving the 2018 Equity and Diversity Award from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association last June.
“Everyone at Moraine Valley Community College is responsible for creating an environment that is both welcoming and supportive to all,” said Dr. Sylvia Jenkins, president of Moraine Valley. “Everyone should be proud to learn that our college has earned national recognition for its work to promote and enhance equity for underrepresented and underserved people.”
“John Coleman (board of trustees chair), Joe Murphy (board of trustees vice chair) and I were grateful to accept the award on behalf of the college. Diversity was formally added as a core value of our college in 2003, and our commitment to this principle has been evidenced over the last 15 years through numerous initiatives, programs and policies created to meet the needs of all learners.”
Jenkins thanked faculty and staff for their individual and collective efforts to support diversity and equity at Moraine Valley and said she hopes this accolade inspires a continuation of this important work and serves as a reminder of our shared commitment to support and serve one another, our students and everyone in our community.
Moraine Valley’s selection was based on the merits of its programs and services, including the English Language Learner Bridge Basic Nursing Assistant Training program, which helps students whose native language is not English transition into the workforce and higher education opportunities. Also, the English as a Second Language conversation group that meets twice a week to give opportunities for students to practice their English-speaking conversational skills, and conferences sponsored on campus directed at retention and success of Latino and African-American students.
