Center for Diversity and Innovation open house is Sept. 23

KCC's Downtown Battle Creek Office

Community organizations and members of the public are invited to learn about Kellogg Community College’s new Center for Diversity and Innovation during an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 23 inside the Kellogg Room of the Student Center, 450 North Ave., Battle Creek.

The open house is an opportunity for people to meet the CDI staff and hear more about the center’s mission and vision. The CDI is beginning operations this fall.

“We hope the Center for Diversity and Innovation will be a catalyst and collaborative partner toward the creation of a more equitable and inclusive Battle Creek,” said Jorge Zeballos, executive director of the CDI.

Open house attendees can meet Zeballos as well as Timeaka Reese, executive assistant at the CDI. Light refreshments will be served.

The goal of the CDI is to foster leadership and innovation for a more equitable Battle Creek by inspiring, supporting and connecting diverse community leaders, and to provide comprehensive support for community change initiatives that promote equity, leadership and engagement in Battle Creek.

“The new center is a concept that has become an important initiative at KCC and in the fields of equity and diversity,” said Dr. Dennis Bona, president of KCC. “The CDI will provide services throughout the area and undoubtedly produce tremendous results for the community.”

Created through a three-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the CDI seeks to ignite a fundamental transformation in the city of Battle Creek toward the elimination of racial disparities.

The CDI will work with individuals and institutions to build a deeper understanding of how systemic racism impacts their lives. Programming will include films, discussions, speakers, White Men and Allies learning labs, Coaching for Community Transformation training, workshops, panel discussions and performances.

The center also will work with institutions in the community to build their capacity to establish policies, practices and cultures that eliminate racial disparities. This will be accomplished by offering presentations and skills-building workshops where institutions will acquire a strong conceptual framework for this work. These sessions will be complemented by sector-specific presentations for the nonprofit, business, health care and education fields, as well as consulting services for organizations that are ready to develop individual approaches toward racial equity.

The CDI seeks to create collaborative and accountable partnerships with all sectors of the Battle Creek community. This approach will ensure that the center’s programming and capacity-building initiatives are responding to the needs of the community. To facilitate the establishment of accountable relationships, the CDI will create an advisory committee comprised by representatives from different sectors in the community.

For more information about the CDI or its mission, contact Jorge Zeballos at zeballosj@kellogg.edu.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest news releases online at daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.