New Center Positions Equity at its Core

Drawing on the College’s nationally recognized work to design culturally inclusive learning environments that value the strengths of diverse students and local communities, BHCC is launching the Center for Equity and Cultural Wealth. The Center engages faculty and staff in culturally relevant scholarship, practice and advocacy focused on achieving equitable outcomes for all students.

The Center will build upon the College’s innovative Africana, Asian American and Latinx Cultural Institutes, which were developed in partnership with the Museum of African-American History (MAAH) in Boston and Nantucket and UMass Boston’s Asian American Studies Program and the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy. Since 2012, the College’s Cultural Institutes have sponsored faculty and staff professional development rooted in exploring and integrating students’ cultural experiences and community histories into educational experiences on campus and beyond.

The Center will facilitate a multifaceted and intersectional campus-wide conversation that expands the scope of the Institutes to explore the ways in which equity-minded practices and culturally-grounded pedagogies can be enacted to foster the success of all students and members of the College community. Core activities of the Center will include: ongoing professional development; opportunities to collaborate and generate scholarship; and advocacy for equity-minded policies.

This year, the Center will sponsor the Equity and Cultural Wealth Institute, a three-day conference that will examine the impact of power and privilege on access and equity in higher education through scholarship, field study and the arts. In addition to the Equity and Cultural Wealth Institute, the Center will sponsor a series of workshops and events throughout the year, including the Engaged Campus Dialogue Series, which will convene discussions among faculty and staff on a range of emerging social justice issues. Art gallery exhibits and artistic performances will complement the work of the Center.

The development of the Center will be funded initially by a $100,000 Performance Incentive Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. During the grant period, a three-year strategic plan will be developed to fully institutionalize the Center.

The Center for Equity and Cultural Wealth will serve as a hub for research and innovation that supports BHCC’s mission to honor the cultural wealth of its students, faculty and staff and commitment to creating learning environments where all students can achieve excellence.