IVCC president says college is in compliance with DEI standards, no significant changes expected

Illinois Valley Community College remains committed to providing an equal education to every student.

“That’s one of our core values,” President Tracy Morris said. “It’s something that we believe firmly in, and our review didn’t indicate anything that was in contradiction to the current guidance from the Department of Education.”

The conflict between the Illinois State Board of Education and President Donald Trump’s administration continues over whether to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Last week, Capital News Illinois reported that state Superintendent Tony Sanders informed the panel that the Illinois State Board of Education received a “dear colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education. The letter has no legal force, Sanders said last month, “and so I would encourage districts to continue … teaching the way they’ve always taught.”

“We’re going to work as hard as we can to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to support our students.”

—  Tracy Morris, Illinois Valley Community College president

Morris said IVCC has looked at its policies, processes and programs to see if there was anything that violated what the Trump administration deemed to be discriminatory – and, as of now, the college complies.

“The guidance that was given by the current administration doesn’t really apply to us,” she said. “So, we are in a different spot than maybe some other colleges are.”

Morris said the college still is working through some conflicts between state and federal laws.

The most recent FAQ, received Feb. 28, notes that cultural celebrations and events celebrating Black History Month are legally permitted as long as they remain open to people of every race.

“We are already doing that,” Morris said. “Every one of our events – whether it’s Black History Month, LQBTQ+ History Month, Women’s History Month – are always open to all people, so we are not going to stop doing those types of events.”

She said those events are important for sharing different perspectives and helping others to learn about groups different from their own, so the college will not change any of that.

Morris said IVCC doesn’t give preference to certain groups at the expense of others, and that’s really what this new guidance is going after.

“So, I feel that the events that we’re doing, the website that we have, I believe, is still in compliance with what we’re doing as an educational institution and in support of our state laws, as well,” she said.

As of Monday, IVCC hasn’t received anything stating that federal aid would be changed.

“Most of the conversations that I’ve seen about federal funding have been more sweeping cuts to programs,” Morris said. “To date, we don’t have anything that says anything is scheduled to be cut, but we’re still continuing to monitor constantly.”

Scholarships and grants are donor-driven, but Morris said IVCC has done a lot of work in the last few years to ensure equitable access to all students. For example, where it previously may have read “single mother,” those guidelines now read “single parent.”

“We are committed to doing everything that we possibly can to ensure that our students have all the services that they deserve,” Morris said. “Whether that’s financially, whether that’s a program, we’re going to work as hard as we can to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to support our students.”

For information about DEI programs, call IVCC at 815-224-2720.