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Friday, March 29, 2024

Campus Without Walls: Harnessing our Collective Power to Achieve Educational and Career Equity for All

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By harnessing our collective power, our community can blaze new trails in equity and opportunity.

It was a conversation with a colleague this Black History Month that reminded me of this important point. And I believe we can make that collective impact in the Indianapolis area today by heeding the call to close the racial gaps in the education-to-workforce pipeline.

During a recent meeting in my office, my colleague noticed two pictures on my shelf ā€” one of Frederick Douglass and the other of Mary McCleod Bethune. We discussed what each of those individuals means to me.

Douglass was born into slavery but fought his way to freedom, becoming a lion among abolitionists, social reformers, writers and speakers. As the first Black U.S. presidential appointment, he strengthened the power of Black governmental leaders and paved the way for the development of Howard University.

Bethune also represents many firsts that have helped to shape the landscape for education and opportunity. The first among her 16 siblings to be born outside of slavery, she went on to become a leader in education, civil and womenā€™s rights, and U.S. government. She helped establish what is known today as Bethune-Cookman University.

The pictures of Douglass and Bethune, I told my colleague, remind me of the lasting impact that bold action and community leadership can have.

Thatā€™s when it struck me. The characteristics that are impactful to me about these two giants in Black history are the attributes we at Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis are working to display every day in our efforts to promote equity in educational and career opportunities in our community.

Findings from Business Equity for Indy (BEI) tell the story of the work that remains in achieving education and career equity. BEI and its Learning and Talent Opportunities Taskforce, on which Iā€™m proud to serve, have issued reports with findings such as the following:

  • In 2019 the college-going rate for Marion County high school graduates was 10 percentage points lower for Black students than for white students.
  • In Indianapolis, of the 3,077 Black students who graduated from high school in 2012-2013, just 442 graduated from an Indiana public postsecondary institution in six years with either a two-year or four-year degree.
  • Among the 2016 Marion County high school graduation cohort, only 253 Black students graduated from an Indiana four-year institution on time, and only 14 Black students graduated from a two-year institution on time.
  • There are clear racial and gender gaps in the median wage earned five years after completing certificate, associate degree or bachelorā€™s degree work in Indiana public institutions. Among all demographics tracked for 2010 postsecondary graduates, Black students had the lowest earnings.

We are committed to providing education and training that addresses gaps in both education and career development ā€” to help ensure health and economic security for individuals and families in our service area of Marion, Hendricks and Boone Counties.

Our latest effort is this semesterā€™s launch of our vision ā€œThe Campus Without Walls: Building Pathways to Opportunity by Designā€. With this overall approach, we aim to take an array of educational and economic opportunities to diverse locations. We are striving to capitalize on the shared strength of Ivy Tech Indianapolis and the communities it serves, taking a two-pronged approach:

  • Education by Design calls for working with partners in K-12 schools, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, government agencies and local employers. Weā€™re working to build a wide variety of education and career pathways that support the efforts of those in the community to earn postsecondary credentials and improve their lives.
  • Success by Design focuses on ensuring that students are getting the top-quality education and experiences that encourage them to persist, graduate and succeed in the workplace. This internal focus aims to empower, motivate and inspire Ivy Tech Indianapolis faculty and staff by advancing data and accountability systems, engaging in budget-driven planning, and removing barriers to outstanding customer service.

We believe this new vision is in line with efforts like our recently extended tuition freeze and textbook fee waiver as well as our expanded transcript availability for students. Other new initiatives also are targeting persistence and career preparation for all students, including those who are looking to upskill or reskill.

Ivy Tech Indianapolisā€™ Talent Rich initiative is working to enroll 500 or more Black students at Ivy Tech Indianapolis by July. Weā€™re partnering with InnoPower, a local nonprofit dedicated to economic development in the Black community, on this effort. And our career development and employer engagement program Career Coaching and Employer Connections (CCEC) aims to match student and alumni competencies with the skills local companies say they need most.

The Campus Without Walls vision represents our continued commitment to leading the way toward educational and economic equality through strong campus and community partnerships. And we know weā€™re not alone. Through the combined efforts of schools, employers and organizations throughout the Indianapolis area, we can work to uphold the tradition of inspiring leadership and community action that Frederick Douglass and Mary McCleod Bethune displayed so long ago.

Lorenzo L. Esters is chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis.

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