Two San Diego colleges named Black-Serving Institutions

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show , how higher education is meeting the needs of black students right here in San Diego. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. In early December , a statewide board named 31 California colleges black serving institutions , or BCIs. Two of them are right here in San Diego and City College in Mesa College are are both of them. The designation is the result of new state law that highlights campuses supporting black students. Joining me to talk about it is Doctor Ricky Shabazz. He's president of San Diego City College. Mr. Shabazz welcome.

S2: Glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

S1: Glad to have you on. Also , doctor Ashanti hands. She's president of San Diego Mesa College. Miss hands , welcome.

S3: Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

S1: Glad to have you both here. So , you know , I'm curious to get both of your your reactions to this. Your college has received this designation back in December. What was your reaction to hearing that Mesa College and City College were among the first California schools to be named black serving institutions. Ashanti.

S3: Well , we were ecstatic about ecstatic about the news. Uh , Mesa College has this incredible , bold vision of becoming the leading college of equity and excellence. And , uh , this type of designation brings us closer to that vision. And so for me , it just really recognizes the enduring brilliance and resilience of black students and acknowledges persistent systemic barriers. So this allows us or will allow us to strengthen our responsibility to create learning environments , support systems and opportunities that honor black systems. So for us , this designation is not just symbolic , right ? Um , it's a promise , and it's one that we're prepared to meet with , with great intention , with action and unwavering care.

S1: All right. Well , Ricky , I want to ask you the same question.

S2: And I was so happy that all the work of our wonderful faculty , classified professionals , managers and supervisors that it took to fill out the application. You know , City College being one of the oldest community colleges in the in the state and in the nation , has a long history tradition of supporting all students , but certainly black students. With our population nearing nearly 14% in our employee population , nearly mirroring the number of black students at 12 to 14%. It really did do what Ashanti has already said. It delivers and holds us accountable to a promise that everyone who comes to our college deserves support and access to the middle class and beyond. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. So Ashanti , the the BSI designation , it's born out of a new law and that was Senate Bill 1348.

S3: Uh , what the law does is it recognizes institutions that demonstrate intentional , data driven commitment to black student success. So it's more than access. It's about outcomes. And so , um , this honors and recognizes the work that the 33 institutions have already been doing to serve and support their black students. But what it does is allows us to strengthen institutional accountability around this area. So again , it is it's not just access but outcomes. Okay.

S1: Okay. And you know , I want to talk about , um , why this is needed in the first place. I you know , you look at the stats and black students have the lowest completion of degrees and transfer rates compared to their white and Asian peers within the California community Colleges system.

S2: Being black students , we know that the majority of black students nationally start at a community colleges where they get their first taste of higher education. And so keeping with this notion of a promise. You know , there is a very real need to meet the expectations , the needs , the desires of our black students so that they can matriculate not only to systems , other systems of higher education , but be prepared to go in to the workforce and above livable , high demand careers. And so this designation allows us to focus more strategically on the outcomes. As Doctor Hans is said , to ensure that our black students are thriving much like any of other students on our campus. Right.

S1: Right. So I should answer that. Oh , absolutely. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. Because you started off and you were sharing , uh , some of the data , uh , statistics on , uh , black academic success and , and from that , I think what you can tell is that the challenge facing , facing our black students is not a lack of talent or aspiration or ability. It really is about unequal opportunity that has been shaped. Um , through systems and structures so from under-resourced schools , you know , racialized wealth gaps to higher education systems that aren't originally designed for black students or with black students in mind. Um , and so this is important because it addresses those barriers , um , that show up in persistence for students who have experienced all kinds of , um , you know , uh , negative impact or structures. They show up here and , and when they show up and our efforts aren't intentional and we aren't truly seeing our students , then those barriers show up in persistence or time to degree or completion or transfer. Um , and so what's real important about defining this problem and thinking about what it will mean in terms of moving forward ? It is so important that what you will continue to hear from Doctor Shabazz and myself is that this is not about fixing our students because they are talented. They are capable. It really is about redesigning institutions , right ? Our colleges to expand opportunity so that a lot of the barriers are removed. Yeah.

S1: Yeah.

S4: No. It's like oh. Well we we we , we just.

S3: Received this designation. So I can tell you what it has been for our students. And and Doctor Shabazz mentioned the numbers. And I just wanted to share that at Mesa College , about 7% of our students , or just a little over 2100 student learners identify as black. And for us , that very closely mirrors , um , the population or the the community that we serve. Uh , so we are excited about that , but we also always know that it needs to increase. At Mesa College , I would love to believe that the experience of our black students is one that is defined by a sense of community , and you'll hear Doctor Shabazz talk about belonging as that. That is , um , you know , their theme. Uh , we have several spaces. We have several programs , we have several , um , just a variety of different , uh , professional development opportunities that focus on our black students. So if they're looking for space , uh , we have a black student union , we have moja and a many chapters , which are cohorts that really focus on academic support cohort learning. Um , we have , uh , you know , a black faculty counselor , collaborative , uh , black student success work group , black studies program. So they're going to be places on campus that individuals can go to. We also have something called the Harambee Protocol. And Harambee really is like pulling it all together. And so we have over 9 or 10 different campus organizations that focus on black students that come together to help make sure that we are seeing our students and meeting their unique needs. And we have mental health services. We have basic needs. We do embedded tutoring , grant scholarships. Um , we have spaces on campus like our , um , Unity Village , um , which houses our our emoji program and to really provide space for students to be seen , um , supported as they thrive. So students who engage and participate , there are so many places for our students to kind of be , belong and become , which is like our , our , our , our thing for our district. Um , so I would like to say that their experience is one is where they feel supported , where they know that they belong. Uh , we also have a very , um , thriving , um , athletic program. And we know that many of our black students have talent in this area , and we are so excited about this because Mesa College is listed as one of the nation's top two year athletic programs. So about 12 to 14% of our students athletes identify as black. And recent data shows that we have awarded over $2.4 million in scholarships for our student athlete football players alone. Um , so there are opportunities to engage , to transfer , to transfer with dollars and again , to feel supported and seen. Wow.

S1: Wow. And Rickey , San Diego City College also has a number of programs serving black students. Um , academically and personally. One one that comes to mind is a barber shop that offers haircuts and support services primarily for black students. You know , what ? Can you tell me about that ? Yeah.

S2: You know , the barbershop was an intervention created to connect students with resources and to build on what , Doctor Hans said , and I can agree completely. You know , this is about our students being seen being supported , and this is also about connecting them to resources. So the barbershop is an intervention. It costs $50 for those who don't know to get a haircut in San Diego. And many of our students are student parents. Many of them are working multiple jobs. Nearly 40% of our students say they're dealing with some level of homelessness , and that ranges from sleeping on couches to sleeping in cars to absolutely being homeless. And so we wanted to have a space where students who were looking for a job and maybe needed a haircut. Students who wanted to access mental health. You heard Doctor Hahn speak about that. That's very big. Could go and get supported in ways that the barbershop supports our communities. And so many of our students , they may not go to mental health counseling , they may not go to advising. But if they go to get a haircut. We got them in that seat for 45 minutes. And so we bring those resources to them. Instead of students having to have their first interaction with a counselor or an advisor or a job placement in these offices , that can sometimes be intimidated if you're a new student or if you are struggling academically. And so the barbershop becomes a hub where those resources come to students. And we're very proud to say that students who use the barbershop had a higher percentage per persistence rate and GPA compared to general population of students who didn't. So it's working , and we're looking for ways to expand those resources. And before someone asks me , yes , women come to the barbershop , uh , to get faded up and to get lined up. It is not gender specific. And we and we also have a female barber in the barbershop. Okay.

S1: Okay. All right. Meeting the needs of everybody , I like that.

S4: Um , is it love ? Can I just say that I love.

S3: The concept of the barbershop and really meeting our students where they are and taking advantage of those cultural experiences and opportunities. So. Doctor Shabazz. Thumbs up. Kudos to you all for modeling the way with that , can I mention just a few more things that we do ? And these are things that span with city and and Mesa. But , um , I think it's important for people to know that community colleges have more than 30 very clear , direct pathways for students to transfer to HBCUs. Historically.

S4: Historically.

S3: Black colleges and universities. Um , and so last year , Mesa College served on what the community college district , um , not the community. The California Community College system does is they have an HBCU caravan. Um , and so , uh , Mesa College was included as one of those 11 stops statewide , and it was only one stop in San Diego County. And so , again , we have. What that does is that that means that we bring HBCUs to our campus. Students are actually able to talk , interact with. There are some on site acceptance that that sometimes happens. And with these agreements , our associate degree for transfer agreements , um , students are guaranteed admissions and in some instances are able to receive in-state tuition. Um , and so we think that it is an incredible opportunity that our district and both of our colleges , um , take advantage of something else that we have at Mesa College that I think is pretty special is we have a world art collection. Um , and this world art collection actually started as an African art collection. Um , and it has grown because so many people were excited about the way that we were steward and stewarding and showcasing and engaging , involving our community. Um , and so we have over 1300 pieces , authentic pieces from 60 countries. Um , it's the most diverse collection in the region , and we are just excited because not only is it a place where people can come and interact with African art and culture , but we also provide training , internships , museum curation , exhibit design , um , you name it , ways for people to engage and explore this as a field. And then the last one that I want to talk about is we have something called the Mesa Impact Ship Program. And I love the word impact ship because it's interning with the purpose. Right. An internship with the purpose. And one of our goals at Mesa College is to make sure that every student , um , has the opportunity to have a paid internship with the program that we have right now really focuses on black , um , and , uh , on black students , Latinx students , um , to make sure that they have hands on internships , to build professional skills and to have equitable access into the workforce training. So many of these programs that we have here , City College has similar programs , but I think it's so important for people to know that , again , when access is one of the biggest barriers , we are going to provide direct access for our students , um , to experience economic mobility , um , to transfer. Both of our schools rank. Um , when it comes to being the number for Mesa College. So we're the number one UC transfer institution in the region. Um , number one transfers to UC San Diego , number four in the state for UC , um SD , and number two for Sdsu. Transfers for black students who come to our campuses are going to come. They're going to have incredible experiences. They're going to have direct access to employment , and they're also going to be transferring to incredible places. There are so many reasons why students would come here and why the experience would be so rich at Stadium Mesa College. Absolutely.

S1: Absolutely. Well , as a graduate of an HBCU myself , um , Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Awesome.

S4: Awesome. You.

S1: You. Yes. That's right. Okay. You know , the curriculum is different in that , you know , whether it's a chemistry class or a psychology class , it's , um , it's culturally informed. There's an accurate account of of history woven into that curriculum.

S2: Accurate account. I love the way you said that. Mhm.

S4: Mhm. You know. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. And then you know black innovators and pioneers are uplifted as examples for all of us. What's woven into the curriculum in the black serving institutions that bridges that gap for students who are looking to , to continue on. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. And if I could jump in then , as you've heard Doctor Han say , any student in San Diego is so blessed that we have really four , um , great community colleges in the region. Um , and Sedaka expands that. But being in San Diego , I got to give our a shout out to San Diego , Miramar College and our sister down at the College of Continuing Education. Because between these four institutions , you're going to have opportunities for black students to excel academically and move on to either careers and or to transfer. Uh , to answer your question , you know , long before we became a BSI , we were at BSI as San Diego City College , and we've worked to decolonize the curriculum. And so you've heard Doctor Hahn's talk about several learning communities. And if I can expand on that , we have classes that are teen taught at both institutions , whether it be Puente , whether it be Mozilla. We have a program called Fubu , which is for black and Latino males. These learning communities are team taught by faculty across disciplines. So you'll get an English professor , you'll get a math professor. Shout out to doctor Rob at City College. You'll get Um , I mentioned English. Uh. You'll get a counselor , uh , teaching a personal growth course. And these students take these courses with these professors who have culturally relevant instruction. And so they're learning from people who come from similar backgrounds. And if I can say one thing I love about San Diego City College , we have a number of faculty who are alumni of San Diego City College from every background. So these students are seeing folks who benefited from this promise by coming to a community college , transferring , getting their bachelors , their masters , their doctorate. And now these folks come back to City College and teach culturally relevant pedagogy so that these students see themselves in the curriculum in a very similar way that you talked about Famu. Okay.

S1: Okay. Right. We have to leave it there because we're running out of time. But congratulations to both of you on on being designated a black serving institution. That is wonderful. I've been speaking with Doctor Ricky Shabazz , president of San Diego City College. Mr. Shabazz. Thank you so much.

S2: Thanks for having me.

S1: And also , Doctor Ashanti Haynes , president and of San Diego Mesa College. Thank you as well.

S4: Thank you.

S5: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.