- Mailing Address
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2600 SE Stark St
Gresham , Oregon 97030 - Phone
- (503) 491-6422
- Email address
- questions@mhcc.edu
- Website
- https://www.mhcc.edu/
- School Information
- We are a community of approximately 28,000 students and 1,800+ dedicated employees. Our motto: Be Your Dream. Our mascot is Barney the St. Bernard. Our mission statement is: Transforming lives and building communities. Its core themes are (1) teaching and learning, (2) community engagement and (3) resource development. MHCC has been serving students, local businesses and the community in the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area since 1966. MHCC provides students the education needed for the careers of their choice. The college offers more than 80 associate degrees and certificate programs, as well as 35 areas of study that transfer to four-year colleges and universities. A few of our programs include Nursing, Funeral Service, Cosmetology, Automotive Technology and Adult Basic Skills. Classes are offered at three sites: the main Gresham Campus, the Bruning Center for Allied Health, and the Maywood Park Center, as well as at more than a dozen satellite locations throughout the district. MHCC is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). At MHCC, you will find dedicated employees who are committed to guiding, informing, serving and supporting students. MHCC has a distinguished history of providing accessible, affordable, quality programs and services to our communities. MHCC graduates have succeeded wherever they have gone – other colleges and universities and the private, public and nonprofit sectors.
- General Information
- Mount Hood Community College has launched an effort to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into all of its functions. The College’s Multicultural Diversity Resource Center commits to advancing “social justice” and “dismantling systems of oppression,” in line with the recent commitments made by the MHCC Board and President. They explicitly endorsed the “adoption of a college wide equity lens linked to the college mission” and “equity-minded instructional practice.” This symbolic endorsement was followed by a three-part series of presentations by the College’s director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on “Critical Race Theory.” (The link to this PowerPoint can be found below). This presentation, provided to the entire school board, presented the five tenets of CRT and decried “color blindness” and the “meritocracy.” Additionally, two courses now expressly teach about systemic racism. While there is no evidence students are required to undergo critical race theory training, the College’s President released a statement saying that “it will be expected that every member of our MHCC community will do the work of examining and acknowledging our implicit biases…” More information can be found below:
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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The school’s Board of Directors has determined that the Equity Lens Tool will now be a factor in the admissions decisions process. This is part of a goal “to be intentionally inclusive in our decision-making process and reflect on how our institutional policies and processes might be inherently biased or racist.”
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- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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"Beginning this month [June 2020], facilitation of professional learning around privilege, power, and difference will start with all members of the President’s Cabinet. In July, the Board of Education will also undergo a similar professional learning series, but focused on higher-level leadership appropriate for the Board." This training will lead to the creation of a "cogent college equity plan." This plan will be led by the "Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, who joined the college in February [2020].
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On October 7, 2020, MHCC District Board of Education was presented the third session of "the board's Equity-Minded Leadership training series." Traci Simmons, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, "provided a PowerPoint presentation on Critical Race Theory..." (Page 1) A copy of the PowerPoint is in the PDF link. The PowerPoint taught the "5 tenets of Critical Race Theory." The first tenet was, "Race and racism are central to, and permanent features of, American life. (Page 3)." The PowerPoint goes on to condemn the "fallacy of colorblindness" (Page 12), and "The myth of Meritocracy." (Page 13).
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"...It will be expected that every member of our MHCC community will do the work of examining and acknowledging our implicit biases, of speaking out and becoming intolerant of racism, and and enduring the many uncomfortable changes and moments that will be necessary to achieve the end of this systemic problem."
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- Curriculum Changes and Requirements
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MHCC published an article titled, "MHCC Now Offering Multiple Courses Focused on the African American Experience." Sara Rivara, Dean of Humanities and Social Science at MHCC stated, "When the protests and Black Lives Matter movement started happening in Portland, the social sciences and humanities divisions at the college made it a goal to decolonize our curriculum." One Human Development course "will focus specifically on the psychological impacts of institutional racism."
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- Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
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MHCC's "Equity and Inclusion" website claims it "Develops [the] capacity to understand issues of difference, power, and social justice."
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MHCC's "Multicultural and Diversity Resource Center aims to advance a welcoming and inclusive learning environment where individual identities are valued and celebrated..." It adds, "Our work is rooted in social justice, recognizing and acknowledging that various communities across time have been historically marginalized; therefore, we work to dismantle systems of oppression through educational programming and intentionally support communities facing systemic barriers."
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The MHCC District Board of Education released a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and condemning "systemic oppression, violence, and anti-Black racism."
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"The MHCC Board adopts the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) framework for embracing an equity agenda, and will create action plans for an equity-minded board and institution, monitor and evaluate college progress on equity goals, and annually evaluate board leadership, effectiveness and continuous improvement on diversity, equity & inclusion goals."
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- Resources
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The Board and President "determined five broad areas of action needed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. (DEI)." One goal states, "Leadership through the adoption of a college wide equity lens linked to the college mission." Another adds, "Focus on equity-minded instructional practice."
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