Central Lakes College gets MnSCU diversity grant

Central Lakes College, Brainerd and Staples, received $45,000 in a grant aimed at retaining students of color.

The Underrepresented Student Retention Initiative Grant is from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, one of six MnSCU awarded to public colleges in the state.

The college's proposal designated a new multicultural advising program to support the goals of Student Affairs and the CLC Diversity Task Force. These two entities are the leading forces in the effort to provide multicultural adviser services that support retention and graduation of CLC students of color.

In its proposal CLC cited several needs -- low enrollments (less than 6 percent annually), high dropout rates (50 percent or more annually) and low graduate rates (less than 45 percent annually). The new program is charged with improving access to support services and community resources.

The program is designed to minimize risk factors for newly enrolled students of color by providing such services as intrusive advising, counseling, peer mentoring and social enrichment activities.

CLC is advertising two new staff positions related to this new opportunity, with the positions to be funded via the grant.

One position to be filled is that of a multicultural community liaison, expected to be a 20-hours-per-week position.

This liaison's responsibilities will include assisting in recruitment of students of color; participating in student retention efforts focusing on students of color; recordkeeping; developing, promoting and maintaining public relations to increase awareness and understanding of the cultures of racial minorities in surrounding communities.

The other post is a multicultural adviser, a 36-hour-per-week position.

This individual would be responsible for recruitment of students of color; participating in student retention efforts focusing on students of color; supervising recordkeeping and correspondence; developing, promoting and maintaining public relations to increase awareness and understanding of the cultures of racial minorities in surrounding communities; developing and implementing appropriate advocacy, advising and referral services to student of color; and actively participating in appropriate campus, community, regional and statewide committees that focus on issues that are likely to improve the education and campus climate for students of color.