Center for Inclusive Leadership and Equity

The mission of the Center for Inclusive Leadership and Equity: Opening up access to the leadership pipelines at the college and in the Quad Cities region for individuals and communities that have previously been excluded from influencing political development, economic development and major decision-making.

Using networking and relationship building to foster leadership that is inclusive of people of many backgrounds and takes into account the common good aiming for more diversity and inclusion with a goal of equity for everyone involved.

Vision: As a result of the growth and prosperity of the Center for Inclusive Leadership and Equity, the Augustana College community will be one that allows for strong feelings of belonging and ownership in people of all backgrounds regardless of race, gender, sexuality or any other type of identity.

By working to build relationships and partnerships between the college and various interests in the greater Quad Cities region, the center will build new leaders from underrepresented communities while diversifying leadership and decision-making on all levels.

This increased diversity and inclusion will open the door for more equity in the region and at the college. Augustana College and the Quad Cities will be desired destinations by people of all backgrounds looking to make a home and rise in positions of leadership.

Methods

1. Work to identify needs in the college community and the Quad Cities region.

2. Listen to the people who make up the community.

3. Build relationships with individuals and groups who have previously been marginalized or overlooked by the traditional leadership of the region.

4. Grow previously standing relationships with those who have traditionally been in power in the interest of reminding them of the goals of diversity, inclusion, and equity.

5. Provide events, activities, and opportunities for the college community and the broader community through partnerships between the college and community entities/institutions.

6. Build individual leadership development relationships with potential leaders from underrepresented groups among the student body, the staff, the administration, and the faculty at Augustana. Use the same style of outreach to build leadership development relationships with rising leaders in the broader Quad Cities community.

7. Use community education efforts to raise awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the leadership pipeline while also developing best practices.

Examples of work to date

1. Partnering with Rock Island Academy to bring Augustana students, faculty and administrators on board for their Million Fathers March Event. Also working with various groups and agencies in the community to bring many people on board for the project to raise awareness and involvement.

2. Partnering with Thurgood Marshall Learning Center to produce its Peace Rally Day. Working to develop the program and raise awareness of what was being done at that alternative high school to develop students into community leaders in the interest of peace.

3. Partnering with the QC Empowerment Network to produce a Professional Development Brunch Series aimed at leadership development among young black professionals and college students of color.

4. Organizing partnership between the NAACP, LULAC, The Palomares Social Justice Center, and the QC Empowerment Network to form the Black and Brown Political Coalition of the Quad Cities. The first events to be produced by the coalition were a number of candidates' forums prior to the November 2016 election.

5. Partnering with the QC Empowerment Network to bring the QC Black Business Expo to Augustana College along with making the Stanley Erikson Lecture on Public Affairs part of the event.

Leadership and structure

Chartered by Augustana President Steven Bahls, the Center For Inclusive Leadership and Equity is led by Founding Director Dr. Christopher M. Whitt who also serves as the chair of the political science department at the College. The director reports directly to the president of the college and serves as an advisor to the president on issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity at the college and throughout the community.

The center seeks to lead Augustana College to become the hub of diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts in the Quad Cities. To that end, the center works closely with the Q2030 Regional Vision to ensure the Welcoming and Inclusion plank is strong and implemented well. On the college level, the center is one of the key components in the implementation of the newly revised strategic plan for the college.