COON RAPIDS – (April 22, 2021) – Brandyn Woodard is leading a renewed effort at Anoka-Ramsey Community College to address issues of diversity and closing learning gaps. Woodard recently took over a new position as Vice President of Equity and Inclusion. He says meeting with students about their needs and bringing in more diverse faculty are two early steps toward improving student success.
“Our faculty and staff representation with regards to race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation religion etc, is not as diverse as our student population,” said Woodard. “I think what we are hoping to do is obviously increase our faculty and staff diversity and also increase our student diversity relative to the populations in the areas and the communities we serve.”
Woodard says he’s taking a collaborative approach. He hopes to have conversations with students who are not doing as well as others to see what kind of help they need. He says it could be something outside conventional education, especially for first generation college students.
“Yes, we still have goals that we want to achieve, but we also have people who are dealing with life,” he said. “So it’s also a matter of assessing the cultures of the communities but definitely the cultures of the campuses, figuring out what’s needed there so that faculty and staff feel empowered but also feel connected to the bigger mission of helping students succeed.”
Woodard says he wants to work together with colleagues and different cultures on campus to help meet goals like closing educational gaps, making sure students have equitable access to education, and being prepared for a more diverse student body.
