Leadership role of community college ceos in the strategic development of college-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda

Higher education institutions are facing challenges in their current social and cultural
environments to consider strategies to become more welcoming and inclusive of the diverse
populations they serve. The burden weighs heavily on community colleges to respond to the
need for strategies that embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion because their mission
establishes them as the providers of access to education beyond secondary school regardless of
educational background, gender, handicap, culture, or economic status.
The purpose of this research was to examine the impact community college chief
executive officer (CEO) has in establishing a campus culture that embraces a diversity, equity,
and inclusion agenda. The problem this study addresses is that, although the populations
served by urban and suburban community colleges are known for diversity, equity, and
inclusion, there is a lack of documented evidence to determine the role, if any, played by CEOs
in achieving this condition. It is the hope of the researcher that this study will inform and
possibly improve the practices, strategies, and outcomes of urban and suburban community
colleges’ CEOs in developing a diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda. Findings might be
relevant but may not be generalized because the study focus is limited to urban and suburban
institutions in the state of Michigan.
This qualitative study investigates the critical role played by community college CEOs in
providing executive leadership for the strategic development of their college’s diversity, equity,
and inclusion agenda. The study participants are CEOs of suburban and urban community
colleges in the state of Michigan that are either public suburban-serving associate’s degree
awarding institutions, or public urban-serving associate’s degree awarding institutions.