FSC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council Maps Out Future

Florida Southern College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (DEIC) met by Zoom on September 30, 2021, to discuss the Council’s organization, review Florida Southern College’s (“FSC”) efforts to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion on campus, and to consider ways of incorporating honest feedback from FSC students on the Council’s work, recommendations and outcomes.

The Council looked at past accomplishments to craft an expansive vision for FSC’s future. “Other schools, such as Kansas Western University, are looking to our vision and efforts here at Florida Southern to establish their own diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and that is something to celebrate,” said DEIC Chair and FSC Trustee, Evett Simmons. At the request of the President of Kansas Western University, Ms. Simmons and FSC’s Chief Diversity Officer Wilhelmina Tribble have been helping its administration create program a modeled on FSCs efforts.

Not content to rest on its accomplishments, the Council voted to increase its membership to 25 to better represent the blend of student communities and departments on FSC’s campus. Ms. Tribble proposed that the Council revisit and expand its mission statement with a shift towards building a brighter, more inclusive future at FSC wherein all students are able to thrive even as the Council continues in its efforts to embrace diversity and support the students of color within FSC’s student body.

Vice President of Admission John Grundig was a guest presenter at the meeting. He shared FSC’s demographics and discussed ongoing efforts to recruit, support and retain a diverse student population.

FSC President Dr. Anne B. Kerr called on the Council to consider fruitful avenues for receiving candid feedback from FSC’s minority students on what the College is doing that is working to support them, what isn’t working and what actions the College might pursue to create a welcoming and nurturing environment within which all FSC students are empowered, now and in the future. Dr. Kerr intends to incorporate student feedback as she shapes the College’s guiding strategic plan.

Members of the Council intend to meet again later in October to plan and implement a process for reaching out to students and receiving feedback.