South Seattle College
IN-47: Innovation A

In 2018, South Seattle College welcomed Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap as our newest president, and the first woman of color to lead our institution. In 2019, South celebrated 50 years in operation and in her campus-wide speech on President’s Day of that year, President Rimando-Chareunsap reflected on South’s first 50 years and issued a call to action for our next 50, with a steadfast focus on becoming an anti-racist college and eliminating achievement gaps based on race. From her speech:

"In order to improve student outcomes, in order to improve student retention, in order to fulfill our mission and make whole-system improvements that guarantee that our legacy for the next 50 years will survive and thrive, we must confront our institutionalized racism, and work together to create racial equity. In so doing, we will be better able to address the many other forms of inequities that also exist. Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Being willing is not enough, we must do. We must do. And my hope is that we lean into this work together, making connections, and remembering that these are the things that we love about our college: to be kind, to be inclusive, to be student-centered, to be advocates, and to be connected.”

The college’s work is guided by a Commitment to Equity in Action that states, “South Seattle College commits to creating an environment of equity, inclusion and multiculturalism which dismantles all forms of oppression by developing responsive, intentional practices."

In the summer of 2020 a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Council formed on campus to work closely with college leadership and the campus community in identifying and taking action to dismantle systemic racism. In July 2020, the BIPOC Council issued a call for data points disaggregated by race and ethnicity that support and inform our work. To support this recommendation, in late 2020, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, in collaboration with members of BIPOC Council, AVP of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the VP of Instruction, created South’s inaugural Racial Equity Report. In it, they identified 12 student and four employee metrics to track. These metrics were selected based on conversations and feedback from campus colleagues and with a recognition to the availability of current data. South also continues to evolve and incorporate more opportunities to gather, assess and use qualitative data –and we anticipate providing these narratives and stories in the future iterations of this report to identify areas of work and support anti-racist transformation.

As South navigates the pandemic and finds ways to safely support students in pursuit of their education, we developed a statement of transformation that states: “Through a focus on anti-racist development and by caring for each member of our community, South Seattle College will become the best choice for effective and adaptable student support, excellent remote learning, and distinctive professional/technical programs taught safely in person.”

That work is manifesting immediately in striving to get every remote student stable internet access and technology suitable for online learning, and implementing easily accessible live chat on the college website so students can get the support they need virtually.

Racism is systemic and deeply embedded in the historical foundations and structures of our institutions. It has taken hundreds of years to instill and maintain strategic policies and practices that benefit some while depriving others. Racism continues to have a profoundly negative impact on the academic, social, and economic achievement of our Black and Brown students in particular. The future strength and success of all students, faculty and staff rests largely on our ability to make real progress in addressing racism in every area and experience at our College.