Lambton College recently added another award to its already abundant trophy case.
This spring, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) – an organization representing publicly supported colleges, institutions, Cégeps and polytechnics across Canada and abroad – announced that Lambton College had won its prestigious Gold Medal of Excellence in the field of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
The award is given out annually, honouring post-secondary institutions who both champion the principles of EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) and successfully implement them in their educational facilities.
In awarding the Gold Medal of Excellence to Lambton College, CICan noted in its news release that the college had provided exemplary direction on many fronts, including the introduction of more inclusive curricular and pedagogical practices, enhanced student support and the provision of leadership development.
Lambton College President Rob Kardas said he was honoured on behalf of the college to receive the award, noting that the process to prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion had formally begun back in 2021 through the adoption of a five-year EDI strategy.
“A lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into this journey we’re on,” Kardas said. “Our whole approach to EDI has been focused on wanting everyone at Lambton College to live a whole and authentic life.”
“My focus as president has been to ensure that this isn’t being done because it’s the politically right thing to do - it’s just the absolute right thing to do for our students and our stakeholders. We wanted to ensure that this isn’t a plan that collects dust on a shelf, but that we’re living it.”
Though the college has always been a fervent champion of the principles of EDI, long before 2021 Kardas said, the adopted plan outlined seven specific pillars of action – ranging from increasing the diversity of staff and faculty to fostering more inclusive, equitable, diverse and accessible working and learning environments – which were all designed to integrate the principles of EDI into the college’s DNA.
The initiative was undertaken to make the college a more welcoming and comfortable place for its students and staff, Kardas said.
“I don’t think there was any one event that (sparked our efforts). It was just more focused on shining a light on this in a more strategic and focused way,” he said. “We did start the process in 2021 and it started with an inclusivity assessment where we polled a number of different stakeholders, from students to employees to external people about the college and that provided us with a basis to (gauge) people’s perceptions and where the barriers were for underrepresented groups.”
“From there we were able to build what I think was a very solid seven-pillar plan that’s focused on everything from Indigenizing and decolonizing our spaces to providing more responsive student programs and services.”
Through the combined effort of students, staff and other college stakeholders, the plan has genuinely helped previously underserved and underrepresented groups in the college find more fulfillment during their postsecondary educational careers, Kardas said.
New initiatives on campus, including a Research EDI guide, the Lions Pride Gender and Sexuality Alliance as well as academic bootcamps aimed at assisting traditionally underrepresented groups in the college have sprung up as a result of the 2021 strategy.
“A lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into this journey we’re on,” Kardas said. “Our whole approach to EDI has been focused on wanting everyone at Lambton College to live a whole and authentic life.”
Proof that the college’s EDI efforts have made a difference in the life of the college came during its most recent Student Experience Survey, Kardas said.
“From a student perspective, we do a Student Experience Survey every year and it’s something we take very seriously,” he said. “In the most recent survey, 96 percent of our students felt that the college embraces the principles of EDI and decolonization and 92 percent of students – and this is near and dear to my heart – said that they feel they belong at Lambton College.”
Kardas said that while the award is a feather in the cap for the college, work on promoting equity, diversity and inclusion is something that will never end.
“I don’t think we won the award because everything is perfect at Lambton College on the EDI front – it’s an ongoing journey,” he said. “But we’ve truly shown an openness to understand where the barriers are, where underrepresented groups are challenged, and we’ve taken a proactive approach to try to address (these issues). That’s what’s being recognized here, I think, and we’re really proud of it.”
“As I said it’s a journey, a never-ending journey, because you’re never finished this work,” Kardas added. “But we’re certainly proud at being recognized at this point in the journey because a lot of people have put tremendous effort into doing this.”
People from all parts of the college have made substantial contributions to the initiative, Kardas said, in large part because it involves helping students succeed.
“I think what generally makes it easier is that you’re focused on improving the life of students and you want to make it as comfortable as possible,” he said. “I look at a graduation picture in my office and it’s a beautiful picture of our students sitting on the convocation floor, and I think ‘if those students told me about the barriers they had to overcome to get to that day, I’d probably be overwhelmed’. I mean external barriers, things in their life that they’ve dealt with. I think we focus as a college on wanting to make this environment as barrier-free as possible, because we know our students have already had to deal with a great deal to get here.”
“Nothing about change is easy, depending on the degree of change, but when we focus on our students and improving their experience, at Lambton College everybody pulls together,” Kardas added. “And that’s what we’re known for as a college.”
For more information on Lambton College’s EDI strategy, visit www.lambtoncollege.ca/about-lambton-college/our-college/equity--diversity---inclusion.
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