- Increase student enrollment, retention, and completion.
- Develop and maintain an equity-focused climate.
- Adopt a “culture of data.”
- Cultivate dynamic engagement with student support services
- Align student goals, curriculum, workforce development, and community involvement.
Welcome Message from President López
To the Harold Washington College community – our students, alumni, faculty and staff, family, and friends:
I am pleased to share here our Harold Promise plan, the culmination of many months of work internally and with our Achieving the Dream partners.
Harold Washington College is a proud community college, and the Harold Promise plan articulates our college-wide strategic and operational priorities to shape equitable outcomes for all our students. Below, I have shared some context around our college, the Harold Promise plan, and our implementation structure.
My deepest gratitude goes out to our Achieving the Dream coaches, Laurie Heacock and Chris Calienes, who helped us shape much of our plan and implementation structure. I am also endlessly grateful to our HWC faculty and staff for their adoption of the Harold Promise. Their push to be the best-in-class in the service of our students is motivating and humbling. Lastly, I would like to thank our CCC district, college partners, and broader Chicago familia for championing our important Harold Promise work at every level, from the classroom to throughout the city. Our work represents that of a full community, and I look forward to our continued collaboration to uplift all of our students.
Sincerely,
Daniel López, Ph.D.
President
Our Goals
College Commitments
As a member of Achieving the Dream and the Accelerating Equitable Outcomes Cohort HWC commits to:
- Learning process mapping and alignment.
- Develop a culture of assessment.
- Use quantitative and qualitative data to illustrate our story and make the necessary changes to better serve students in and out of the classroom.
- Obtain support and active engagement among its internal stakeholders.
- Identify inequitable policies and advocate for change.
- Offer support for students to work within institutional policies and practices.
- Closing outcomes gaps – Increased use of data to inform decision-making, a greater commitment to equity and closing equity gaps. Alignment and integration strategic goals and initiatives, and implementation of high-impact practices to strengthen student learning.
- Full college wide transformation in support of student success.
Areas of Focus
Re-imagine student services including: advising, career services, and student activities.
Enhance and support faculty engagement in the life of the college.
Incorporate Caring Campus faculty behavioral commitments.
Implement Strategic Planning Council
Our Framework
The Student Journey
The College Journey
Meet our Teams and Coaches
Core Strategy Group
Team Leads: Theresa Carlton, Sanjana Chidambaram
Team Members: Alisa Allkins, Kim Bowens, Regina Lira, Danielle Miles, Juan Moran, Luvia Moreno, Delaney Dahlstrom, Rosie Banks, Carrie Nepstad, Lizette Perez, August Kampf-Lassin
Data Analysis Team
Team Leads: August Kampf-Lassin
Team Members: Ainka Clepper, Fernando Miranda-Mendoza, Phil Vargus
Achieving the Dream Coaches
Laurie Heacock
Laurie Heacock has worked in the community college sector for over 35 years and has served as a coach for Achieving the Dream since 2010. She has worked at the College of Southern Maryland, Anne Arundel Community College, and Broward College in a variety of roles including research, information technology, advising, and instruction. She served as the Vice President of Data & Analytics and Senior Advisor at Achieving the Dream prior to her retirement. Laurie serves on the Data and Metrics Advisory Panel for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. In addition to coaching Harold Washington, Laurie is serving as the coach liaison with the City Colleges of Chicago.
Chris Calienes
Chris Calienes is the Interim Chief Diversity Officer at Roger Williams University. He has worked in several areas in higher education, including Institutional Research, Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Accreditation. In his 20-plus years of experience he has worked in institutions including community colleges, small liberal arts colleges and comprehensive universities, always maintaining equity at the center of all his efforts. Chris has also taught several Sociology and Geography courses as well as various workshops on assessment, learning communities, accreditation and equity. He continues to engage in research about indigenous resistance movements in his native Peru, and advocacy work with K-12 non-profit programs.
Timeline
