FRCC has no plans to change or drop programs devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion — DEI — said Provost and Vice President Rebecca Woulfe in a press conference on Larimer Campus with Front Page staff.
Woulfe said the college has not been threatened with action by the Trump administration, as have many four-year universities. Regardless, she said, FRCC officials consulted with the Colorado Community College System’s legal team about the status of DEI policies, and the team said what Front Range is doing remains permissible.
She affirmed the college’s commitment to keeping programs like Larimer Campus’s Multicultural and Identity Center and not making any kneejerk responses regarding President Trump’s executive order abolishing activities or services deemed “DEI.”
She stressed the importance of making students feel a sense of belonging through services that allow them to see reflections of themselves in them. Such things help with student retention and degree completion, she said.
Aside from the Multicultural and Identity Centers found in each of the 3 campuses, Woulfe pointed to a program called the Latinx Excellence Achievement Development Scholars (LEADS). This is a 15-week leadership program where participants are provided with mentorship, training, and even a $1000 scholarship.
She said the college has received a grant for offering courses in Spanish. It’s part of the college’s other efforts to be more accessible to bilingual students, especially now that FRCC has attained federal status as a Hispanic-serving institution.
The college has a bilingual option for its Early Childhood Education associate degree. So far, it is the only degree available that has a bilingual option. For now, FRCC has no plan to extend it to other areas as well, she said.
On the advising side, the college is hiring more bilingual advisers across the three campuses. It is part of the college’s plan to have all the steps that students take from recruitment to registration be approachable for Spanish speakers.
Woulfe said FRCC still has plenty of “blind spots” in what it needs to serve bilingual students.
