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CMC series deals with diversity

MARSHA ARZYspecial to the daily

Cultural awareness, multicultural understanding, valuing diversity: these phrases describe the ongoing opportunity to learn from others.Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) Summit Campus faculty and staff support learning opportunities and believe them central to the CMC mission. Because of this strong belief in the value of diversity and an equally keen need to understand diversity, a collegewide council assists campuses in promoting cultural awareness.This council of employees and students come from all seven CMC campuses: Summit, Leadville, Steamboat, Vail-Eagle, Roaring Fork, Aspen and Rifle. The council’s initial statements guide individual campuses as they promote learning opportunities. The council states: “We are committed to creating a culture, locally, nationally and internationally that reflects the diverse society we serve and promotes mutual respect, acceptance, cooperation, and productivity among all people.”The Summit Campus enrolls more than 200 students in courses in English as a Second Language. “Difficulty fitting in” is a prime reason that diverse students, faculty and staff give for leaving a college.Toward that goal of promoting diversity, the Summit Campus is presenting a Multicultural Conversation Series.The Multicultural Conversation Series offers free films and facilitated book clubs designed to heighten understanding of diverse thought and cultural differences. The series is funded through a grant offered by the CMC Diversity Council. Grant writers and Multicultural Conversation Series organizers Yuliya Lef, virtual librarian, Marsha Arzy, division director, and Sharon Aguiar, faculty member, invite students, staff and community members to participate in the series. The first book club discussion will be on the book “Gritos” by Dagoberto Gilb. The discussion is scheduled for April 14 at CMC’s Dillon Center.The second book club discussion is planned for “The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri” on Tuesday, June 21. For more information and a schedule of movies offered at the Speakeasy, contact the series organizers at (970) 468-5989 or (970) 453-6757.Marsha Arzy is a community college graduate and holds a Ph.D. in Community College Leadership from Colorado State University.


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