Diversity Innovation Fund

The HACC Board of Trustees has dedicated $1 million to a new Diversity Innovation Fund to encourage our HACC community to be fully inclusive with all employees and students who have been othered or excluded. We hope that this fund reassures those who have been marginalized that HACC is indeed a welcoming and affirming environment.

Additionally, the HACC Foundation created the Fund for Inclusive Excellence to implement innovative initiatives related to inclusion and diversity. To contribute to the HACC Foundation in support of the Fund for Inclusive Excellence, please go to hacc.edu/givenow.

Armenta Early Hinton, Ph.D., HACC vice president of inclusion, diversity and belonging, said, “As thought leaders, HACC is putting our core values into operation. This is an important moment in our history and higher education.”

Details about the various project initiatives within the Diversity Innovation Fund can be found below.

Projects

Men of Color Initiative
Purpose
The purpose of this position is to facilitate student success for men who have been historically underrepresented and underserved in postsecondary education.

HACC will:
- Create conditions for persistence for our men of color
- Enhance Foundational Studies courses for men of color with developmental needs
- Create and establish a peer-mentoring experience
- Recruit men of color from our 11-county footprint to participate

The outreach will use the Achieving the Dream’s model of the Minority Male Community College Initiative and Brother to Brother, a men-of-color program at several colleges that engages communities of color in admissions events, high school partnerships, internships and support groups to lead the participants to excel academically, personally and within their communities.

Intended Outcome
Of HACC’s students, 1,701 are Black or African-American. The program will serve at least 500 students. It is anticipated that HACC is positioned to create an environment of success for students of color, particularly men of color. We believe this initiative has the ability to attract men of color to the College.

This initiative will help remove institutional barriers to success through:

Training for faculty help them understand best practice for teaching
Advising and creating inclusive classroom practices
Support groups for male students of color
Appropriate curriculum design and enhanced student engagement

Diversity Faculty Fellowship
Purpose
This fellowship is designed to provide support for HACC faculty who are interested in exploring their ideas for new initiatives to advance belonging, diversity, equity and inclusion at the College.

Application Process
The application is currently open. Full-time faculty are invited to submit applications for spring 2023. Please see the "How to Apply" tab below for application details.

Annual Cost
There will be two fellows per year, each of whom will receive a $5,000 stipend for project development. Additional funding for other project expenses may be requested on an as-needed basis. Requests will be reviewed for approval based on project needs and available funds.

Intended Outcome
The goals of this fellowship are to enrich how faculty engage with diversity and to increase a broader influence of inclusion and diversity within our faculty. The fellowship will create opportunities for faculty to utilize their research and experience to create a more inclusive learning environment.

As initiatives are completed, faculty will be expected to:

Summarize their experiences
Submit their work to juried academic publications for promotion of the College’s inclusion and diversity efforts
Present to the College community during collegewide events such as the President’s Symposium

Employee Professional Development Opportunities
Purpose
All employees will be provided professional development opportunities to explore inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging concepts that will further enhance their understanding of these key concepts.

Examples include:

“From Bias to Intentional Inclusion in Search Committees” training for employees to explore how bias can influence search committees and work against diversity and inclusion
Anti-racism training programs that will impact how the HACC community engages internally and externally

This fund will also allow the College an opportunity to develop training programs identified from earlier surveys and seek outside trainers and modules, if necessary.

Intended Outcome
The goal is to create an environment that is inclusive through educational and professional development opportunities for HACC employees. This training will include online and in-person training modules on diversity, inclusion and equity.

Diversity Innovation Grants
Purpose
These grants will encourage students and employees to:
- Enhance experiences in and out of the classrooms for students
- Create an environment of inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging
- Highlight issues of power, privilege and difference

We will seek proposals for projects and activities that highlight inclusion and are action-oriented. Possible examples are:

Creation of a diversity and inclusion tool kit for teaching inclusively or making classrooms inclusive
Collaboration with students to host a community workshop to explore a common diversity and inclusion topic of concern

Awarding of Funds
Grant amounts are expected to average between $2,000 and $5,000. Students and employees are eligible to apply.

Awards will provide seed funding for ideas that have the potential to catalyze a long-range and sustainable culture change at HACC. These organically grown projects will help to make us more inclusive. Priority will be given to ongoing efforts, as opposed to one-time events.

Intended Outcome
The College should fund 10 to 15 projects. The outcome will be innovative approaches to integrate inclusion and diversity initiatives into the fabric of the College.

These approaches will also increase understanding by internal and external constituents of factors that have created inequities based on race.

These innovation grants will allow us to broaden our institutional efforts in new and creative ways generated by the creativity and innovation of our employees.

Speaker Series
Purpose
In cooperation with the Student Engagement Department, we will host impactful speakers and engage the College and community in dialogues around inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging.

These inclusion- and diversity-related events would include:

Presentations
Panel discussions
Performances
Trainings

Intended Outcome
HACC will gain a regional reputation as conveners of these topics that address inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging.

Faculty Fellowships

Overview
The Diversity Faculty Fellowship is designed to provide support for HACC faculty who are interested in exploring their own ideas leading to new initiatives that will advance belonging, diversity, equity and inclusion at the College.

The goals of this fellowship are to:

Enrich how faculty engage with diversity
Infuse a culture of inclusion and diversity within our faculty through creating opportunities for them to utilize their research and experience to create a more inclusive learning environment

Two individuals will be selected for the Diversity Faculty Fellowship Program. Fellows will receive one course release per year, pending departmental and College approval, and a budget to support travel (as appropriate) to visit other colleges and attend relevant conferences in support of information gathering and idea development. Fellows will consider projects that:

Contribute to further cultivating a diverse and inclusive learning environment at HACC. This could include curriculum or course design work or co-curricular programs and activities.
Broaden access for students who are historically underrepresented in departments, disciplines or the College through student recruitment initiatives or faculty-student engagement in research.
Create opportunities for scholarship in action by developing collaborative and community-engaged research.

The Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging is especially interested in projects that have potential for attracting and/or leading to external funding or that can be financially self-sustaining in the long term. Fellows will meet regularly with the vice president of inclusion and diversity on broader issues relating to institutional diversity and inclusion. Fellows also will have a place on the leadership team of the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging to become familiar with the broader challenges and efforts to support inclusivity and diversity at HACC.

Benefits of the program include:

HACC faculty will become more engaged in national conversations about issues around inclusion and belonging, diversity and equity in appropriate institutional context.
Fellows will be included in Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging events and information.
Fellows may receive regional and national recognition for enhancing the campus culture around diversity, equity and inclusion.
Fellows will have an opportunity to develop innovative strategies that promote a more inclusive campus.
Fellows will disseminate ideas beyond HACC, including among AACC institutions or at national conferences such as the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity.

Eligibility
All full-time faculty are eligible to participate. Successful applicants will receive $5,000 as a stipend for project development.

Deadline
Faculty will be notified each semester of the deadline to submit applications.

How to Apply
Interested HACC faculty should submit a detailed proposal of up to five pages. Proposals should contain detailed overview of the potential project. Proposals should be accompanied with the following information:

A cover letter with name, contact information and department/college/school affiliation(s)
An updated curriculum vitae
A letter of support from the department chair and school dean or school associate dean

Email submissions as a PDF to Briana Legerlotz, coordinator, equity, inclusion and belonging, Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging, at bjlegerl@hacc.edu.

Supervision
Fellows will be a part of the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging division, to be supervised by Olajiwon McCadney, assistant vice president, diversity studies and intercultural affairs. Fellows will be expected to provide quarterly progress reports and a final report with outcomes of their fellowship experiences. Fellows may also be asked to present their work annually to Cabinet and the Diversity Committee.

Please note that additional responsibilities are to be determined.

For more information, please contact Armenta Hinton, Ph.D., at aehinton@hacc.edu.

Innovation Grants

Criteria

You must be a current HACC student or employee.
Funds must be used to cover expenses related to purchasing materials, equipment, supplies, paying vendors, printing or downloading paywall content, etc.
Completed applications and any supporting materials must be submitted according to directions.
Projects should be designed as a catalyst for long-term and sustainable culture change at HACC.
Priority will be given to ongoing efforts, as opposed to one-time events.

Process

HACC student or employee completes Diversity Innovation Grant funding application form.
Taskforce reviews applications.
Applicants receive notice of approval or denial.
Recipients are responsible for submitting required paperwork and overview of outcomes upon completion or at the end of the academic year

For more information about other innovative opportunities, please see the Fund for Inclusive Excellence.

Collegewide Task Force

The Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging and a collegewide task force will provide leadership and assess success metrics and outcomes of the proposed initiatives. Members of the task force were appointed by John J. “Ski” Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D., HACC president and CEO. They are:

Name	Title
Radecka Appiah-Padi	Assistant Vice President of Learning Enhancement
Leslie Boon	Dean of the School of Liberal Arts
Mike Corradino	Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics
Gina Crance	Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement and Belonging
Teresa Graham	Coordinator of Student Engagement and Belonging
Michael R. Davis	Director of Men of Color Initiatives
Vicki Van Hise	Executive Director of Student Access Services

Leadership in Promoting Inclusion and Diversity at HACC

Under the leadership of John J. “Ski” Sygielski, who became HACC’s seventh president in July 2011, the College has made great strides to promote inclusion and diversity. Some of his accomplishments include:

Created the Office of Inclusion and Diversity led by a chief diversity officer position in 2016. HACC was the first of Pennsylvania’s 15 community colleges to have a Cabinet-level chief diversity officer.
Committed to ensuring that HACC’s leadership serves as a model of inclusive excellence. During Sygielski’s tenure, 11 people of color have served on the Cabinet.
Led development and implementation of two collegewide strategic plans, which highlight inclusion and equity in recruitment and retention of students and employees.
Oversaw access and completion initiatives for underserved and underrepresented students including:
- Harrisburg Promise, a partnership with the City of Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Housing Authority that creates a pathway to postsecondary education for at-risk youth in the Harrisburg and Steelton-Highspire school districts
- S.T.E.P. Academy program that has helped both underemployed and unemployed adults and high school students learn the soft skills needed to be successful in today’s job market
- McCaskey Path Bridge program, in partnership the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and School District of Lancaster, that provides students with disabilities who have also been predominantly students of color the opportunity to take college-level courses at HACC with free tuition and books while receiving extra support from HACC faculty and staff. In 2019, the program had a 100% college-acceptance rate
Garnered regional and national accolades for advancing inclusion and diversity at the College, including:
- Named Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges’ list four times.
- Earned regional and national Charles Kennedy Equity Awards from the Association of Community College Trustees in 2019.
Participated in the #StopHateForProfit campaign by pausing all Facebook and Instagram advertising for July 2020