Valencia College calls 'equity' too charged, eliminates the word from its strategic plan
As higher education institutions are under pressure from the state over their diversity initiatives, Valencia College school trustees are stripping the word “equity” from its strategic plan.
Trustees made the decision as Valencia President Kathleen Plinske called “equity” too politically charged to use in the school’s long-term plan. Instead of vowing to “advance equity,” the school watered it down to “creating the right conditions” for students to succeed.
“Equity in particular has become a charged term,” Plinske said at Thursday’s trustee meeting. “In fact, it has been suggested that the word equity may be interpreted to signal efforts to lower standards, and to limit academic freedom and...
