Office of Equity and Inclusion Coming To Kellogg Community College

Kellogg Community College has announced that they have created a new Office of Equity and Inclusion.

The College says Wednesday that they were creating the office, which will be lead by Jorge Zeballos, the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. Zeballos previously headed up the KCC Center for Diversity and Innovation, which was dissolved this year as grants that funded it expired in 2018; it had been launched in 2014.

The goal of the OEI is to help the college " expand its commitment to creating an inclusive environment that fosters respect, supports cultural understanding, demonstrates ethical behavior and champions social justice." In creating the Office, KCC President Mark O'Connell says that it was "a logical next step in building equity-specific goals in our new institutional strategic plan and operationalizing equity practices across all departments at the College."

Zeballos' role as CEIO will see him developing a "campus-wide strategy for excellence", and he will be expected to help create a culture that "provides appropriate support and prompts respect and dignity" throughout the organization.

This office's creation follows a number of other actions in this vein over the past two years, including the adoption of an official equity statement, the hosting of trainings, workshops, and more with equity as a common goal, and the conversion of restrooms into gender-neutral and nursing mothers' spaces.

Jorge Zeballos says "we've come a long way already at KCC" and that "we intend to continue building our own capacity for equity" in the service of current and future students.