Value Statements

Statements on Diversity, Inclusion, & Tolerance

The Mission

    Southeast Community College values the opportunity to provide quality applied technology and academic educational opportunities for the students, businesses and communities of our district. To achieve that purpose, Southeast Community College will:

    • Continue to value local governance
    • Value and support diversity and promote global education
    • Be affordable and accessible
    • Develop and maintain partnerships
    • Provide responsive delivery systems
    • Respond to emerging technology
    • Promote continuous improvement
    • Promote student learning through the provision of quality instruction and curriculum
    • Embrace lifelong learning
    • Maximize and utilize resources efficiently
    • Be accountable
    • Encourage a positive environment
    • Promote recruitment and retention
    • Be communicative
    • Be fiscally responsible

    The mission of the College’s Access/Equity/Diversity Office is to promote opportunities and advancement for a diverse and dynamic student, faculty/staff, and community population through creating and sustaining a positive, compassionate, reflective and inclusive culture.

    A Universal Pledge of Respect

      The college community is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the development of integrity. In order to thrive and excel, this community must preserve the freedom of thought and expression of all its members. A culture of respect that honors the rights, safety, dignity and worth of every individual is essential to preserve such freedom.

      By choosing to be members of this community, we pledge our respect for the standards of the community and for the rights and well-being of all its members.

      As a member of the college community, I pledge that:

      • I will respect the dignity and essential worth of all individuals.
      • I will promote a culture of respect throughout the College community.
      • I will respect the privacy, property, and freedom of others.
      • I will not tolerate bigotry, discrimination, violence, or intimidation of any kind.
      • I will practice personal and academic integrity and expect it from others.
      • I will promote the diversity of opinions, ideas and backgrounds which is the lifeblood of the college community

      Jose J. Soto, Vice President for Access/Equity/Diversity
      Southeast Community College Area Lincoln, NE

      1. Teach our youth, through leadership and modeling, to appreciate and embrace cultural,religious, ethnic, and other differences.
      2. Work with others to plan and conduct activities that provide our youth with opportunities to experience the rich diversity that exists in our community.
      3. Work with public school officials, teachers, parent groups, student organizations,and others to ensure that issues of diversity and tolerance are periodically discussed in all-school assemblies.
      4. Set an expectation for yourself, our elected and civic leaders, your faith community leaders, leaders in the business and industry sectors, and leaders in our public education system to address current events that deal with issues race,hate, bigotry or discrimination.
      5. Encourage and participate in an effort to coordinate a day that all clergy in our community will deliver a sermon encouraging that diversity be embraced,supported and promoted in our community.
      6. Be the first to stand up and let others know unequivocally that you stand for equality and fairness for all, and stand against hate, discrimination and exclusion based on race, color, national origin, sex*, sexual orientation or other diversity status.
      7. As a family, attend activities and recognition events sponsored by local groups (e.g., the NAACP, the Urban League, the Women’s Commission) and centers that serve diverse sectors of our community (e.g., Malone Center, Hispanic Center, Asian Center,Indian Center).
      8. Within your immediate sphere of influence and authority, assume some level of responsibility for initiating and improving relationships and interactions across racial,ethnic, cultural, and other differences.
      9. Pledge to yourself that from this moment on you will engage in ways of "thinking,being, and doing" that will enhance your reputation in this community asan agent of tolerance, acceptance, fairness, and justice for all.
      10. Share this communication with others as a way of affirming their support for diversity, or as an opportunity to provide some guidance on how they can contribute to reducing hate and intolerance in our community.

      *The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights enforces Title IX's prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to also include discrimination based on gender identity.