Chemeketa Community College board members will review the college’s equity efforts in staffing at a meeting next week.
A scorecard shows the college’s student body has about the same percentage of Latino students as the area Chemeketa serves, but staff and faculty remain mostly white, especially in full-time roles. The college has set a goal of having a 20% Latino faculty and is currently at 7%.
It will be the first meeting for the college’s new president, Jessica Howard.
Board members will approve new grants, including a five-year, $165,712 award from the National Science Foundation to increase the number of students pursuing career as science, engineering and math teachers, and donations including food from Marion-Polk Food Share to stock the college food pantry.
They will consider minor revisions to college policies on credit transfer, employee political activities, campus closure and employment references. They will approve staff and faculty retirements.
The board will hear reports on the college’s budget, enrollment, staff, administration and student association.
Meeting details: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24 at Chemeketa Community College Polk Center, 1340 S.E. Holman Ave., Dallas
Board members: Neva Hutchinson, Ed Dodson, Ron Pittman, Ken Hector, Jackie Franke, Diane Watson and Betsy Earls.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
