Gianneschi: Celebrating the diverse communities we serve at Colorado Mountain
Valley Voices
Each September, colleges and universities across America celebrate Hispanic Serving Institution Month, as part of the national observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. HSI is a federal designation that identifies the more than 550 colleges in the U.S. with enrollments that are 25% or more Latino.
In 2021, Colorado Mountain College earned HSI designation, a reflection of its sustained and authentic support for the tens of thousands of Hispanic and Latino individuals that enable our mountain communities to thrive. But, to CMC, HSI Month isn’t just about achieving a particular number. It is about the stories, struggles and triumphs of the students that have pursued their academic dreams at the college.
Ten years ago, Colorado Mountain College’s Latino enrollment was below 15%. Sadly, at that time, the persistence and graduation rates of Latino students lagged well behind those of majority students at the college. Today, Latino students are thriving at CMC, where we aim to not only serve our students but ensure they succeed.
Overall enrollments have grown in each year over the past decade. This fall, Latino enrollment at CMC is approximately 38% when we count all enrolled students, including those in English as a second language and adult basic education programs. More importantly, the stubborn gaps in persistence and completion between Latino and non-Latino students we saw a decade ago have largely disappeared.
Latino students represent nearly 40% of our students in many of the college’s signature programs, including teacher education, dental hygiene and human services — programs that lead to transformational careers for the graduates and the beneficiaries of their skills.
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Whether it’s building sustainable concurrent enrollment programs in local high schools, coordinating clinical trainings for essential health care workers, leveraging college assets to expand affordable housing or supporting legislation to enable all high school graduates to benefit from in-state tuition, CMC’s commitment is to strengthen its communities by starting with “yes,” and this extends beyond traditional academic programs.
CMC, unlike some colleges, is not an academic island, removed from reality on isolated and ivy-covered campuses. Instead, it is very much on the ground and in partnership with mountain communities across western Colorado.
It is a fact: CMC is approaching becoming a Hispanic succeeding institution. This is not accidental. Rather, it is the result of a decade-long effort by faculty and staff across the college, individuals who all believed in the college’s strategic goals and took responsibility for transforming CMC. To be sure, plenty of work remains and it is too soon for anyone at the college to ease up their efforts, but we can feel proud that, at CMC, actions to look critically at data, develop thoughtful strategies and stick with plans have proven successful.
CMC has the extraordinary privilege to support communities that are as wonderfully diverse as they are spectacularly beautiful. And yet, it is unacceptable for the college to sit and wait for members of the community to find it. CMC has a moral responsibility to capitalize on its successes and seek out new ways to provide a return on the investment made by residents and businesses in the district.
To this end, CMC is charting new directions to connect with and build awareness and trust among the members of the Latino communities in our region. In the year ahead, CMC will host mobile consulates on behalf of the nations of Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala. These partnerships will enable the college to use its buildings to help community members in our region obtain or renew documents that are critical for maintaining employment and participating in educational programs: documents like birth certificates, passports or visa paperwork, to name a few.
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These events will also allow CMC to introduce the college to thousands of individuals who could benefit from its education services, such as ESL courses, business management programs or skilled trades certifications. In other words, the college can help maintain and grow the skills of a significant segment of employees in its region. That’s good business — for individuals and employers.
As we celebrate Hispanic Serving Institution Month with the hundreds of other HSIs across the nation, CMC employees affirm their commitments to equity, care, innovation and integrity that appear in the college’s strategic plan. While no college is perfect, it is with great pride that I celebrate my colleagues’ achievements in realizing excellence and developing innovative solutions that will solidify CMC as a true Hispanic succeeding institution.
Dr. Matt Gianneschi has served as president of Colorado Mountain College since July 1, 2024. He can be reached at president@coloradomtn.edu or @cmcpresident.
