Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

BMCC celebrates and serves the diverse communities of eastern Oregon and beyond. We are committed to fostering a college culture of inclusion, tolerance, and life-long learning in order to ensure that students, faculty, staff and community members feel welcome and are able to succeed at BMCC.

Equity Statement

BMCC strives to provide an equitable environment for students, faculty, and staff. We regularly examine college practices, look for achievement gaps and barriers to success, and aim to provide everyone with the resources needed for success.

Engagement Series

Take a look! In this series, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee shares out resources to learn and reflect on cultural topics.

BMCC Employees: If you interact with any of these resources at any time, please tell us about your experience by filling out this survey.

Children of the Camps: Internment History

“Most of the 110,000 persons removed for reasons of ‘national security’ were school-age children, infants and young adults not yet of voting age.” – “Years of Infamy”, Michi Wegly

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which permitted the military to circumvent the constitutional safeguards of American citizens in the name of national defense.
The order set into motion the exclusion from certain areas, and the evacuation and mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, most of whom were U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.
These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

Read More

Latino 101: Voices of Latinx College Students

Videos to Embed:

The Logger's Daughter, Oregon Experience

In 1923, a Missouri lumber company built a town in northeastern Oregon named Maxville. Hundreds of loggers left Arkansas and Mississippi to live and work there. Many brought their families, and many were African-Americans. This program follows an African-American woman who was born and raised in Eastern Oregon, as she sets out to explore her family’s past.

Watch the Episode

Building Power and Change for Native People

Reclaiming Native Truth – a study revealing the challenges and opportunities that Native Americans face in educating Americans and changing public perceptions.

Explore more! Zitkála-Šá: Trailblazing American Indian Composer and Writer

Race: The Power of Illusion

Need to Embed videos

Does My Neighborhood Determine My Future?

Toggle Content

Trans Day of Visibility

Need to embed videos

Hispanic Serving Institution

BMCC is proud to be a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment.

Contact Information

We invite engagement and feedback from students, and anyone who would like to move BMCC towards a more equitable learning environment. Contact the DEI Committee at Diversity@bluecc.edu!

Want to learn more? Visit our DEI Governance page.

Campus and Community Engagement

DEI Committee

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee develops, reviews, and evaluates plans which create a more inclusive environment in order to celebrate and promote understanding and respect of diverse people; facilitates campus-wide dialogue regarding issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and provides direction for compliance with Oregon HB 2864 and HECC Equity Lens.

HB 2864—Oregon defines Cultural Competency as “an understanding of how institutions and individuals can respond respectfully and effectively to people from all cultures, economic statuses, language backgrounds, races, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, religions, genders, gender identifications, sexual orientations, veteran statuses, and other characteristics in a manner that recognizes, affirms and values the worth, and preserves the dignity, of individuals, families and communities.”

Committee Membership

Diverity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Members:

Co-Chair	Roman Olivera
Co-Chair	Ashlei Emmons
Recorder	Katrina Dielman
Faculty	Carol Johnson
Faculty	vacant
Native American Liaison	Annie Smith
Classified	Angela Rios
Classified	Gaby Gonzalez
Student	Seanee Still
Student	vacant
Human Resources Rep.	vacant

Scope of Work and Areas of Key Decision-Making

Shared definitions. Facilitate adoption and understanding of campus-wide shared definitions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
Programs. Coordinate the assessment of needs and opportunities for DEI and culturally competent campus programs. Facilitate the development and evaluation of plans for DEI/cultural competency programs.
Curriculum. Coordinate the assessment of needs and opportunities for DEI and cultural competency components of academic programs and classroom experiences. Facilitate the development and evaluation of plans for DEI/cultural competency components of academic programs and classroom experiences.
Human resources. Develop and evaluate a plan for the recruitment and retention of under-represented students, faculty, and staff.
Celebration. Develop and evaluate a plan for recognizing actions of students, faculty, and staff that promote and exemplify the principles of DEI and cultural competency.

Service on the Committee

Faculty, classified, and exempt tech representatives serve through active participation for a minimum of two years; students serve for one-year, and may serve longer if available.
The chair serves a two-year term and may be re-elected.
If an appointed Committee member is unable to participate for an extended time, the Committee will invite another member of the representative group to stand in for them for the duration of the absence.

Meeting Information

The 2nd Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Boardroom
Zoom link: https://bluecc.zoom.us/j/93327721602

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