Faculty, staff, and students are invited to learn about ACC’s efforts to foster and support cultural competence at two upcoming workshops.

The Cultural Competence Work Group is hosting two interactive presentations to discuss the group’s plans and gather input that will guide its work in the coming year.

The Cultural Competence Work Group was formed in 2010 to develop and implement a cultural competence program. Cultural competence initiatives are being adopted by a growing number of educational institutions and workplaces to help their organizations run more smoothly. Unlike affirmative action, which generally focuses on diversity in hiring, cultural competence programs are intended to capitalize on the diversity in a community. The program encompasses the many elements that contribute to the diverse makeup of individuals within a community such as race, gender, socio-economic status, and education level.

“We need to ensure we are creating an environment that values diversity and ‘walks the walk’ when it comes to inclusion,” says Charlotte Gullick, chair of the Creative Writing department and co-chair of the Cultural Competence Work Group.

In the coming year, the work group will use surveys, focus groups, and forums to assess the current cultural competence climate at ACC. In addition to recruiting students and staff to participate in focus groups, the group will be launching a website to communicate its progress and integrating into the shared governance structure.

The group will outline its plans at the workshops on Friday, October 14, from 10 a.m. to noon and Friday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to noon. Both presentations will be at the Highland Business Center. For details about the presentations or to learn more about the work group, contact Haydeana Gaviria at [email protected] or (512) 223-7784.