Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Our Next Climb – March 26, 2021
March 26, 2021
Colleagues,
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have focused very carefully and very intentionally on the needs of students to ensure that they have all they need to succeed and to continue their studies. We have called and emailed students to check in and to offer assistance with enrollment. As a community, we undertook a collective commitment to doing all we could to continue to offer programs and services in many modalities. We succeeded in many areas and we are still a work in progress in others. What are we missing? What challenges do we face?
This week I was invited by our Student Government Association to attend its Student Town Hall where discussion revealed that some students feel discriminated against at Westchester Community College. As we work with Student Access, Involvement, and Success to gather more information, I call each of us to action to consider the student journey at Westchester Community College, every student touchpoint, and our individual interactions with students and examine what we might be missing and what we may need to do differently.
Central to our equity and social justice commitment is creating an environment where all members of our college community are valued. We must put forth deliberate and intentional effort to foster an intentionally inclusive college culture that celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our values guide this mission-driven work and our commitment to excellence.
During a meeting this week with other Achieving the Dream Presidents, we determined that “Our Next Climb,” is to achieve more equitable outcomes for students by reimagining modes of instruction and delivery and more robustly supporting faculty as the individuals who have the most direct connections with students. What we pour into students can empower them to emerge confidently and prepared for future success. In a world where discrimination persists and increasing numbers of our students come from groups that have fought to overcome historic oppression, we should be particularly mindful of how our standards and expectations could be misconstrued. This might call for more explanations, statements of intention, and focused support.
Reminding us that this journey is more marathon than sprint, ATD President and CEO Dr. Karen A. Stout read the following poem at our President’s meeting to help encourage us along the way. I found it inspiring and hope you do, too.
Start Close In — A poem by David Whyte
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.
Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.
To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.
Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.
Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Finally, to our friends and colleagues celebrating Passover, we wish you a joyous and happy holiday!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President