Diversity Committee, a college sanctioned committee, created. This committee annually carries out cultural activities and events to promote diversity on campus.

The Capital Community College Equity and Inclusion Center has its origins in our Social Services Degree program (SSD). Students engage in research and community needs assessment. Over the last decade, students have taken an interest in working towards improving our college community. As change agents, they have identified problems affecting the campus including issues of basic human needs such as poverty, hunger, food insecurity, and homelessness. In an effort to tackle these problems, students conducted a number of food and clothing drives.

Under the leadership of SSD faculty, the Social Services Club was formed by Community Organization students. The club’s main goals were to create a place where students could complete their service learning hours while focusing on issues affecting CCC students.

Under the leadership of SSD faculty, the Social Services Club was formed by Community Organization students. The club’s main goals were to create a place where students could complete their service learning hours while focusing on issues affecting CCC students.

The club expands to become the Social Justice Club, by including Criminal Justice (CJ) degree students seeking to address disparities. Under the leadership of the new club president, an agreement was signed with Foodshare in 2018 and the CCC campus food pantry was institutionalized under student activities. The Social Justice Club members and faculty within both CJ and SSD recognized that there were other areas of need that prevented students from achieving success. Thus, work needed to be done to bring additional resources to the campus. Consequently, faculty member, Michelle White reached out to organizations such as Community Renewal Team (CRT), Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Community Health Services (CHS), Hartford Behavioral Health (HBH), and Interval House. These agencies were delighted to cooperate with the college in whatever capacity they could to promote student success and retention.

In Dr. Duncan Harris became the new CEO of the Capital Community College. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Harris spoke with Ms. White and Mr. Guerriere about their projects. Dr. Harris, former Dean of Students at Manchester Community College, was fully aware of the academic and non-academic barriers that prevent community college students from being successful in their pursuit of post-secondary credentials. Consequently, the idea of possibly combining the efforts under a single initiative, the Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, was advanced.

Carl Guerriere, Language Coordinator, has been named Director of the EDI Center initiative and given a course release to move the project forward

Two doctoral candidate students, Monique Golden and Paul Singleton, from University of Hartford’s Educational Leadership Program selected to help with developing equity efforts

Capital Community College held a Black and Latino Male Summit for individuals to gather and share scholarship, knowledge, experience in support of students in high school and college. Featured speaker was Dr. Eric Hines, University of Connecticut

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving awards Capital Community College a planning grant ($30,750) to develop a three-year implementation plan to create a Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion moves into a new space with a suite of offices for community partners and a seating area for meetings

KJR Chosen as consultant to assist us in developing three-year implementation plan

YWCA Career Women, a long-time community partner, became the first community partner to share space in our Equity Center

As part of the EDI Center Planning Grant, Active Student Survey completed

Active Student Focus Groups and Staff and Faculty Survey completed as part of the EDI Center Planning Grant

As part of the EDI Center Planning Grant, Stop Out Student Survey completed

SUN Scholars joins Equity Center. SUN Scholars works with individuals who have aged out of foster care or who were adopted

In collaboration with MetroHartford Alliance, Capital Community College celebrated the opening of the Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Featured topic was “Want to Boost Productivity? Tackle Inequality!” by Anna Stansbury, Harvard University. She reported, “Out of all two-year colleges in the country, CCC has students from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds. But CCC is in the top 5% of two-year colleges nationwide in terms of upward mobility of its students.” Data from Harvard Opportunity Insights (2019), original research from Chetty et al (2017)

As part of the EDI Center Planning Grant, Stop Out Student Focus Group and Staff and Faculty Focus Groups completed

Childcare expansion study completed – Diversion and Inclusion Committee created plan for an evening program

Mother’s Room created – Lactation room created by Diversity and Inclusion Committee for students, staff, and faculty

“Life on Parole” event, movie presentation and discussion in collaboration with Democracy Works, Capital’s Social and Behavior Sciences and Criminal Justice Programs and Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

COVID pandemic closes colleges.

Three-year Implementation Plan for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Center approved. However, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, anticipated funder, places moratorium on new grants

AmeriCorps VISTA member hired to run Capital Cares Food Pantry

UCONN Social Work intern selected to assist with the development of the Equity Center

Virtual “Circles of Support” created to support students during pandemic. Community partners presented topics, followed by discussion

Capital Collaborates, Capital’s community partners, meet to learn about the role community colleges can play to increase economic development. Featured speakers were Rachel Lipson and Robert Schwartz, of Harvard’s Project on Workforce

As part of our EDI Learning Strategy, The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliesse Singh was chose as our 1^st Common Read. Virtual presentations and discussions facilitated by Christine Moses.

State Department of Housing awards $150,000 grant to support housing insecure students. CCC is the first college to receive such a grant

As part of the EDI Learning, The Rise by Sarah Lewis, 1^st Pennington Lecturer, was chosen as our 2nd Common Read

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving awards $300,000, three-year grant to support implementation plan

Language Coordinator, Carl Guerriere hired as full-time Director of the Center for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Capital Community College is selected by the Connecticut Governor’s Office, the Office of Higher Education (OHE) and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) to receive a Connecticut Campus Mental Health Program (CCAMHP) grant under the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) to support the mental health of students. This grant, ($98,700) is to specifically increase access to care, provide education and improve awareness of resources, conduct training for faculty, staff, and students.