Colorado community colleges o ering links to 2 HBCUs

First participants outside state

BY CARINA JULIG AURORA SENTINEL

Colorado community college students looking to transfer to a four-year university can now add two historically black colleges and universities to their list of options.

On April 12 at the Community College of Aurora, the Colorado Community College System signed an agreement with Texas Southern University and St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“ is is groundbreaking,” said Colorado Community College System Chancellor Joe Garcia.

e memorandum adds the two HBCUs to the system’s “Bridge to Bachelor’s Degree Program” partners. Started in 2020, the program guarantees students who graduate from a Colorado community college with an associate’s degree the opportunity to transfer their credits and obtain a bachelor’s in two more years.

ese will be the rst two schools in the program outside of Colorado.

e HBCU partnership has been in development for more than three years, and it is part of the system’s long-term work to increase the percentage of community college students who graduate with a credential or a degree.

Garcia said that the community college system serves about half of Colorado’s college students of color, and that the partnership will give them an a ordable option to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

It’s far too easy for community college students to get lost in the transfer process to a four-year university, he said. is partnership provides “a very clear pathway to two very distinguished institutions.”

CCA president Mordecai Brownlee worked at two HBCUs before coming to Colorado, and described them Wednesday as a “beacon” of hope and opportunity. When he met with students after becoming president in 2021, he said that they were already voicing interest in having the opportunity to attend an HBCU and is excited that’s now on the table.

With the majority of HBCUs in the South and the nearest one to Colorado in Oklahoma, before this partnership it wasn’t a straightforward option for students who might otherwise have been interested.

“We’re creating a bridge for students who are seeking that experience that otherwise hasn’t really been promoted or accessible,” he said in an earlier interview.

He and a number of speakers Wednesday pointed out the similarities between HBCUs and community colleges, which both serve student populations that historically have had limited access to higher education.

“I think that anyone who knows

Would you like to learn more about environmental cleanup projects at Former Air Force Plant Peter J. Kiewit and Sons (PJKS)?

If yes, then please contact Ron Coringrato at: (303)720-5934 or at rcoringrato@hgl.com to get more information on participating in the startup of a Restoration Advisory Board, also known as a “RAB” the history of HBCUs and understands the signi cance of those institutions and why they were formed would understand that HBCUs were designed to continue the work of accessibility and opportunity to those who have been disenfranchised,” Brownlee said. “Pair that with the community college mission and our vision.”

What is a RAB?

• A RAB is a community group which meets to discuss and receive information on environmental restoration (cleanup) projects at a military base.

What does a RAB do?

• A RAB facilitates and improves communication, outreach, and transparency between the military base, the public, regulators, local governments, and interest groups for issues related to military cleanup activities. RABs offer a structured, focused, and interactive opportunity for community stakeholders to meaningfully participate in the cleanup process. A RAB enables local community members to receive from and exchange information with the base and regulatory agencies managing environmental cleanup projects at PJKS.

• RABs engage in and support DoD’s cleanup efforts by reviewing and commenting on cleanup documents and activities; serving as a liaison to and sharing cleanup information with the community; and providing a forum to exchange information about the schedule, type, and status of cleanup activities. RAB meetings allow RAB members and members of the community to receive updates and ask questions on the status of the environmental cleanup program at PJKS.

• Though RABs are not a decision-making body, they do give local community members the opportunity to have their voices heard and provide a forum to provide valuable community insight to base and regulatory agencies.

Are you interested in participating in PJKS’s RAB?

• PJKS is currently assessing whether there is enough community interest to reestablish a RAB.

• If you are interested in learning more about PJKS’s environmental restoration projects and having the opportunity to give your input to base and regulatory agencies on the management of cleanup projects at PJKS, either as a RAB member or by attending RAB meetings, please contact Ron Coringrato at: 303-720-5934; or at: rcoringrato@hgl.com by May 6, 2023 to indicate interest.

St. Augustine’s president Christine Johnson McPhail said that while HBCUs were founded on the exclusion of Black students from traditional education, over time they became a powerful driver of opportunity.

According to a 2022 statement from the White House, 40% of Black engineers, 50% of Black lawyers and 70% of Black doctors in the U.S. are HBCU graduates. Despite having fewer nancial resources than other schools, they produce about one in eight of the nation’s Black graduates, according to the Brookings Institu-

Ryan Ross, CCCS’ associate vice chancellor for student a airs, equity, and inclusion, said he met with over 50 colleges when exploring this partnership. Texas Southern and St. Augustine’s were selected because they were prepared to match the level of commitment that the system wanted for its students, including making it nancially feasible for students to attend. Each college has committed to providing at least a $5,000 scholarship for Colorado transfer students, with St. Augustine’s committing to $7,500, he said.

He said that the system hopes to add two to three HBCUs to its list of transfer partners each year going forward.

“ is is the rst of many opportunities for our students,” he said.

Marbella Alvarenga Cuchillas spoke about her own experience attending St. Augustine’s, where she is a sophomore studying business administration. Alvarenga Cuchillas is Latina, but said that she feels at home at the HBCU in a way that she didn’t at any of the predominately white schools she considered.

“At an HBCU, it’s family,” she said. is Aurora Sentinel story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare, in which Colorado Community Media participates.