College Leaders Work to Build Student Success 

As part of an effort to boost student success and foster an inclusive campus community, Chesapeake College leaders this semester participated in conferences that both celebrated and encouraged the success of male students of color.

Maryland Male Students of Color Summit focused on topics and activities designed to educate, equip, and enlighten Maryland community colleges’ male students of color to effectively increase college and career success.

“The Maryland Male Student of Color Summit was a wonderful experience. Chesapeake College has a long-standing commitment to ensuring students attend the summit. To see so many young men of color, specifically Black men, represented and showcasing the very best of themselves was inspiring and motivational.” Dr. LaSella L. Hall, Director of Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Dr. Hall attended the summit with Chesapeake student Cecil Robinson and TRiO Associate Director Duane Norwood.

A Chesapeake College delegation also attended the Association of American Community College Trustees Leadership Congress, where discussions centered on ways to support students and, by extension, their families.

The event included 1,800 community college leaders and kicked off with the Improving Educational Outcomes for Men of Color Symposium.  Nationally, colleges are facing challenges such as high attrition and low completion rates for male students of color.

Sponsored by the Kresge Foundation, the symposium featured a framework for college leaders to support men of color attending their institutions developed by Dr. Frank Harris III and Dr. J. Luke Wood, co-directors of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab at San Diego State University.