Policy 1.64

MONROE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Policy Statement on Affirmative Action

Preface

      "Voluntary affirmative action" has been the subject of continuous review and concern during the past decade by Monroe County Community College administrators, legal counsel and elected trustees.  Monroe County Community College has been deliberately cautious and mindful of the tensions between the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal treatment to all citizens and the voluntary use of minority‑conscious measures to ameliorate the effects of past discrimination on the opportunities enjoyed by members of minority groups in our society.

      Since 1976, Monroe County Community College has had a formal policy statement expressing its commitment as an equal opportunity institution prohibiting discrimination against any qualified person because of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, sex, marital status, or physical handicap.  Monroe County Community College further notes that in addition to the 14th Amendment, it is subject and committed to principles of non‑discrimination set forth in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Michigan's Elliott‑Larsen Civil Rights Act.

      Monroe County Community College further commits itself to race‑neutral devices to increase the accessibility and awareness of employment opportunities at Monroe County Community College to all qualified individuals.  Monroe County Community College adopts this policy statement on affirmative action as consonant with its educational objectives, as an expression of its commitment to fostering opportunities for individuals of minority status and as an affirmation that attributes of national origin, race, sex, religion, color and marital status are celebrated features of cultural diversity but irrelevant to individual merit and achievement.

Affirmative Action Plan

      Monroe County Community College declares and reaffirms its commitment as an educational institution to the legal and moral principles of equal opportunity in employment and educational opportunity and of non‑discrimination, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or physical handicap, in the provision of services to the public.

      Monroe County Community College, consistent with existing state and federal law, adopts an affirmative action plan designed to promote, first, the employment of the best qualified candidate and, secondarily, where legally permissible, the recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of individuals of minority status.

      Monroe County Community College, to promote diversity in the composition of its work force will:

      1.    Review, identify and use recruitment sources and publications specializing in or likely to yield applications from individuals of minority status;

      2.    Reaffirm its policy of equal opportunity and affirmative action in announcements, advertisements, recruitment materials, student orientation, faculty orientation and any other sessions calculated to acquaint newcomers to the campus;

      3.    Transmit copies of this policy statement on affirmative action, together with copies of MCCC's policies on "Non‑Discrimination and Sexual Harassment" and "Credo Regarding Handicapped Persons" to all administrators and supervisor employees and all other appropriate College personnel.

      This plan shall be of limited duration and will be periodically reviewed to ensure that there is no legal impingement upon the rights of any citizens and to ensure that this plan is in compliance with controlling law, particularly U.S. Supreme Court decisions addressing the permissible parameters of voluntary affirmative action.  Nothing in this policy statement on affirmative action shall be construed to modify or diminish Monroe County Community College's commitment to employ the best of qualified candidates from its applicant pool without regard to race, creed or religion, color, sex, national origin, age, physical handicap, or other factors which cannot lawfully be used as the basis for employment.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees 10/22/90; revised 6-25-07