Prince George’s Community College President Dr. Falecia D. Williams discusses the importance of valuing diversity beyond the buzzword and shares her collective vision for the College.
We value diversity, equity, and inclusion at Prince George’s Community College beyond the buzzwords. Our efforts are meant to reinforce the value creation that comes when we increase our capacity to view diversity as strength – even when this requires us to engage in difficult, uncomfortable conversations. In order to continue to reach our current and future strategic goals, we must be able to see the humanity in each other and commit to ensuring all of our voices are heard and respected.
Cultivating a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion is by no means a passive pursuit. We have a lot of work to do. This pursuit requires that we view the state of our community, country, and world through a lens of honesty. The many challenges we face in terms of systemic inequity run centuries deep and require intentional, strategic approaches to counter.
Additionally, it’s important for us to acknowledge that diversity extends beyond race and ethnicity. At Prince George’s Community College, we value diversity in all of its forms, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, culture, sexual orientation, disability, language, and citizenship status.
How we interact with each other matters, especially when we have different viewpoints. Our willingness to be vulnerable and first open ourselves up to self-examination truly matters. Often, this is where real change begins. Know that our efforts to model the kind of community we seek for ourselves and those around us are not limited to a particular month on the calendar. These efforts are an intrinsic part of who we are and who we desire to become every single day of the year.
I look forward to continuing this critical work with each of you, as we help shape the future for ourselves and generations to come.
Falecia D. Williams, Ed.D.
President