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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Mid-State

Equity & Inclusion Task Force

Mid-State has taken several steps to advance its commitment to equity and inclusion within the College and the community. The Equity & Inclusion Task Force at Mid-State was formed in 2020. Its purpose is to formalize the College’s work in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and to ensure an effort that is:

  • Active
  • Ongoing
  • Cohesive
  • Responsive

The task force and sub-committees provide leadership, innovation, and vision for the College’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. These efforts enhance engagement with the communities throughout Mid-State’s district.

The task force is comprised of a number of individuals from departments across the College including:

  • Disability Services
  • Academics
  • Student Services
  • Executive leadership
  • and more

It is co-chaired by Karen Brzezinski, vice president of Human Resources & Organizational Development, and Natasha Miller, Student Life manager. All employees are invited to participate in its five subcommittees (Affirmative Action, Engagement, Research and Development, Diversity Club, and Student Success).

The task force and subcommittees provide and support on- and off-campus opportunities for students and staff to explore DEI-focused topics and engage in related professional development. These include monthly events, the Achieving the Dream conference, the Equity in the Classroom series, and participation in the Wisconsin Technical College System DEI committee. Additionally, inclusion has been added as a broad goal for the Mid-State Technical College district in our 2025 strategic plan.

Student services and activities include:

We, as an institution, firmly believe in and embrace the values of inclusion and acceptance, social justice and empowerment, reflection and transformation of our college community, and shared responsibility and accountability—as described in the guiding principles of our ongoing equity and inclusion effort.

Task Force Members

Jill Bancroft, Business Intelligence Specialist
Stephanie Bender, Dean, Student Success
Karen Brzezinski, Vice President, Human Resources & Organizational Development
Micki Dirks Luebbe, Director, Foundation and Alumni
Vikram Gill, Student Life and Equity Retention Specialist
Andrea Johnson, Manager, Human Resources
Mandy Lang, Vice President, Student Services & Enrollment Management
Patti Lloyd, Disability Services Coordinator
Natasha Miller, Manager, Student Life
Patrick Neuenfeldt, Manager, Academic Advising
Michelle Peria, Instructor, Social Sciences
Brent Presley, Instructor, IT
Suzanne Rathe, Executive Dean
Jon Steele, Instructor, Social Sciences
Lea Ann Turner, Dean, Academic & Institutional Excellence

Mission

Mid-State Technical College strives to cultivate an environment of equity and inclusion. 

Guiding Principles
  • Inclusion & Acceptance – Invite and welcome all individuals to an open and safe environment where all have the opportunity to thrive at the College and beyond.
  • Social Justice & Empowerment – Create an environment where we work to address inequities, value and respect individual differences, and promote self-expression and achieving ones’ full potential. 
  • Reflection & Transformation – Integrate reflective and collaborative practices to transform our culture and community.
  • Shared Responsibility & Accountability – Share accountability, as members of the Mid-State community, for creating an environment of equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Goals

Create a sustained focus on the five areas identified by the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) in the development of equity and inclusion at Mid-State Technical College. 

  • Increase transparency about equity and inclusion initiatives, outcomes, and resources. WTCS will establish clearer, more transparent, and more frequent communication regarding WTCS equity and inclusion initiatives and outcomes. This work will be led by the System Office with college support. This initiative will crease a public-facing central messaging hub to share System assessment, research, and outcomes data from the student success center, as well as other diversity, equity, and inclusion resources. 
  • Promote sustained conversation and policy work to dismantle systemic racism and inequalities. WTCS will support a facilitated, sustained space for conversation and policy work on the impact and dismantling of systemic racism starting internally at each college and the System Office. While this is work each college must initiate and implement, the System Office will look for ways it can support the colleges with facilitation and other resources. For the System Office, this work will build upon ongoing conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Focus on equity in student access and success. WTCS will conduct comprehensive evaluations of policies and practices—through an equity lens—in the areas of instruction, student services, and professional development to identify unconscious biases, make modifications to enhance empathetic understanding and building emotional intelligence skills and capacity. The System Office will provide facilitations and other resources in support of colleges’ evaluation efforts.  These evaluations will begin with WTCS law enforcement and correctional service programs but will be undertaken across all instructional areas. WTCS, including leadership of the 16 colleges, will also request that external professional licensure or industry accrediting partners, such as Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standards Board, conduct similar evaluations.
  • Use data to close equity gaps. WTCS will leverage data and research findings to inform college efforts to close equity gaps in student access and outcomes. This work will build upon the action research agenda of the WTCS Student Success Center and may be supported, in part, by Perkins and GPR grant resources.
  • Review hiring and retention policies to take intentional steps to diversify the workforce. WTCS will identify and take intentional steps to diversify our workforce, including addressing cultural and community issues of equity and inclusion. This work will be led by the President’s Association’s special task force on Workforce Diversity. It will incorporate data from existing System research, including the WTCS System-wide Equity Report, and may be supported in part by Perkins Reserve Capacity Building grant and GPR Professional Development grant resources.
Definitions

Diversity

Diversity encompasses an array of experiences including, but not limited to, age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disabilities, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin. An appreciative awareness of diversity provides the foundation for the understanding that individuals are shaped by this array of experiences.

Equity

Equity refers to the intentional practice of identifying the unique needs within our diverse student and employee populations, and in turn providing the support necessary for each individual to succeed in their academic and career goals.

Institutional equity entails analyzing policies and practices to determine disproportionate impact to specific populations and adjusting.

Inclusion

Inclusion is the degree to which all individuals in a community are welcomed, valued, respected, heard, and able to participate. Creating inclusive college communities requires intentional action to address historical under-representation and exclusion with respect to academic and career success, hiring, promotion and leadership, campus climate, curriculum, and access to resources.

Belonging

Belonging means that everyone can participate in a safe environment as their authentic self to have their voice heard and be treated to feel like a full member of the larger community in order to thrive.*

*Adopted from the WTCS Student DEIB group.

Resources

 

Connect with Us

Have an idea for an event or resource—or just want to get involved?

Email the Equity & Inclusion Task Force
Join the Student Diversity Club
Submit a suggestion or concern
 

Upcoming Events