Growing up in Southeast Los Angeles, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley never thought that the struggles he had faced and overcome in his youth would bring him on a path to leading the largest college system in the country. As the 2021 recipient of the Diverse Champions Award, Oakley joins us in this episode to talk about his approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in higher education. Oakley also discusses the current impact COVID-19 has had on community college students, his hopes for the future of higher education, and the accomplishments he is most proud of. So join in the conversation and take a glimpse into the heart and mind that Oakley leads from.
KEY POINTS / MAIN TAKEAWAYS:
QUOTABLES:
“I would hope that at some point the kind of work that we’re talking about here is done by everyone in every organization and there is no need to highlight individuals who are lifting up diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“That’s what informs me every single day that I come to work in this job: knowing that there are thousands of neighborhoods throughout the country and families throughout the country that still see higher education as something for somebody else, not for them.”
“If we use this pandemic as another excuse to leave a generation of students behind, then it’s going to come back to haunt us a hundredfold.”
PRODUCTS / RESOURCES MENTIONED:
