Chabot College Awarded for Advancing Ethnic Studies
Chabot College (Chabot) has been recognized by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors with a 2023-24 Exemplary Program Award for advancing Ethnic Studies. Chabot College was one of four community colleges to receive the prestigious award.
With Chabot’s diverse student body consisting of 82% Black, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and multiracial students, the program works to continually develop relevant, educational courses that succeed in promoting academic achievement and well-rounded learning for all students.
“I am proud to support our amazing Ethnic Studies faculty in facilitating what can be transformative experiences for our students, said Dr. Robert Nakamoto, dean of social sciences at Chabot. “This is accomplished through our diverse course offerings and outreach events like our annual Ethnic Studies Summit which attracts over 200 participants, a mix of Chabot College students and high school students from the surrounding area.”
Chabot’s Ethnic Studies program offers an associate degree, three certificates of achievement and three social justice associate degrees for transfer. Chabot is also in the process of developing six new courses for the program.
“Offering culturally relevant curriculum can be affirming for marginalized groups to see themselves as part of our country’s narrative,” stated Dr. Jamal A. Cooks, president of Chabot College. “This recognition from the Board of Governors is well-deserved acknowledgment for our faculty who have developed a program that allows our diverse communities to engage in meaningful cross-cultural discussions.”
Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary and unique scholarly field that centralizes and redefines the experiences of people of color in the United States, using an intersectional analysis. Born out of the people power movements of various communities of color in the 1960s and the efforts of the third world Liberation Front, Ethnic Studies emphasizes on the praxis of resistance and liberation in order to eliminate all forms of injustice and oppression. Ethnic Studies disciplines include: Africana/African American/Black Studies, American Indian/Native American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, and Chicanx and Latinx Studies.
Established in 1991 by the Board of Governors, the Exemplary Program Award annually recognizes community colleges with outstanding programs. The theme of the award varies each year; this year, the theme was chosen by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to be “Excellence in Promotion and Advancement of Ethnic Studies.”
“Congratulations to Chabot College, Glendale College, Mira Costa College and San Diego Mesa College for receiving the prestigious Exemplary Program Award which serves as an example to be emulated throughout the system,” said California Community College Chancellor Sonya Christian. “The programs being recognized are strengthened by faculty diversity, professional development, strong administrative support, fostering a culture of caring for students, outreach to K-12 students and so much more.”
