San Diego Mesa College has announced a new partnership with California LAW that will create a pathway for Mesa College students to complete their education and enter the legal profession. Cal LAW collaborates with community colleges to encourage diverse students enter the legal profession in order to represent the diverse population of the state of California. Mesa College will begin accepting interested students into its Pathway to Law School program in Spring 2021. Community colleges such as mesa partnering in the program were chosen due to their high commitment to equity, demonstrated by college leadership and resources that provide transformative educational experiences and support for students on a pathway to a law career.
Add writing a book to Professor Michael Harrison’s impressive list of activities and interests. Most people at Mesa College know him as a Spanish Professor, a member of the LGBTQ+ Task Force, the Co-Advisor for the Mesa Gender-Sexuality Alliance and even as a tenor with the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. In his “spare time” though, he is a comic book fan. Really. Since forever. And, he loves superheroes in comics. And Comic-Con. Just ask him. His face will light up.
Due to continuity of instruction and rigorous adherence to guidelines and safety practices, 100% of Mesa College’s 2020 graduating Dental students who were seeking employment, were able to get hired this past summer, despite the global pandemic. Even though Mesa’s Dental Assisting students were not allowed to return to campus until June 22, 2020, during that time frame, the Dental Assisting faculty continued to engage and instruct students in their laboratory courses, remotely, through videos, virtual simulations, case studies role playing and discussions.
May 1, 2017
A progress report of the last two years, Part I
It has been just over two years since San Diego Mesa College made a commitment to be the leading college of equity and excellence, and in such a short time period, more than 60 programs on campus have been developed to progress toward this goal.
Since adopting this concept, Mesa has established an Office of Student Success and Equity; hired Sade Burrell as a special populations counselor for former foster youth (Fast Scholars) and immigrant (Borderless Scholar) students; created The Stand to support students in need of food, toiletries and business attire; launched the Mesa Moves campaign to ensure that students have modes of transportation to get to campus and more.
In September 2014, Mesa received its first Title V Hispanic Serving Institution federal grant for $2.62 million – later named the Proyecto Éxito by Professor Leticia Lopez and Proyecto Activity Director Monica Romero. The purpose of the grant was to fund efforts for both student success and student equity to help students to meet their educational goals at equitable rates across various demographics, especially amongst Latino students.
Having previously worked with the Center for Urban Education at University of Southern California, Mesa President Dr. Pamela Luster had CUE come to Mesa at that time to assess where the college was in terms of equity.
A collaborative group comprised of the CUE and Mesa administrators looked for “equity barriers” and how the college could close equity gaps.
From that moment on, the idea of equity and excellence being married to one another in the campus’ goals became an integral part of the strategic plan.
“Without one you can’t really have the other,” Luster said. “For me, it’s kind of the perfect recipe, really. We want students to have an excellent experience in all facets, but we want to provide that in a way that’s respectful of their experience and worldview, what they bring to the table.”
A year of inquiry was then established to assess the equity needs on campus and how to best serve the student population, said Vice President of Student Services Ashanti Hands. Change agent groups of Mesa faculty and staff were created to look at documents, walk in students’ shoes and make observations of the status of equity on campus.
Stay tuned for a continuation of this story and weekly articles highlighting students, faculty and staff who are working toward the goal of making Mesa the Leading College of Equity and Excellence. For more information about Student Success and Equity at Mesa College, contact Dean Larry Maxey at (619) 388-5940, or via email at lmaxey@sdccd.edu.
Tags: Equity and Excellence
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
Larry Maxey
Dean of Student Success and Equity
(619) 388-5940
lmaxey@sdccd.edu
San Diego, CA — Today, San Diego Mesa College will host the Advancing Racial Justice and Equitable Outcomes in Community College Institute, scheduled for Sept. 12 at San Diego Mesa College, is the third such meeting organized by the University of Illinois Office of Community College Research and Leadership. Issues of race on community college campuses will be the focus of the conference.
Recently, San Diego Mesa College discovered the posting of flyers across campus that targeted particular ethnic groups. The College followed its free speech policy, and only removed flyers that were improperly posted. This included postings on electronic signboards causing potential damage to college equipment. The Art Gallery was also impacted as materials were defaced with flyers posted over them. The incident was reported to District Police as well as the San Diego Police Department, who continue to monitor the situation.
San Diego Mesa College strongly opposes the racist language used by those who are posting these fliers. To be clear – any doctrine that elevates one group above another has no place at Mesa College and we condemn any language or actions that promote racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, violence, discrimination and other forms of hate.
Double majoring in political science and philosophy, one might think that she wouldn’t have time for much else, but 19-year-old Ava Fakhrabadi is able to maintain a 3.89 GPA while balancing life between being a student, AS president and Student Trustee.
