CT State Welcomes VP Of Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

Press release from CT State:

June 29, 2022

Connecticut State Community College (CT State) President Dr. John Maduko is pleased to announce that Dr. John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas has joined CT State as the new Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Chaisson-Cardenas will be responsible for providing transformative leadership, vision and direction for critical diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This position will serve as the prominent thought leader and strategist responsible for guiding efforts to understand and operationalize equity and inclusion throughout all aspects of CT State. He will assist in assessing the political, social, economic, and institutional environments for recommending and implementing system policy.

The 12 Connecticut State Community Colleges are merging in 2023 to become CT State, a 12-campus college dedicated to quality, access, affordability and being the number one supplier of workforce talent in Connecticut and beyond.

“Having Dr. Chaisson-Cardenas on our team will allow us to scale and expand our DEI commitment across CT State as well as advance the fulfillment our mission,” President Maduko said. “John Paul has an extensive battle-tested legacy of advocating for those minoritized communities without a voice. His work with our faculty, staff, and students will generate momentum from actionable and intentional measures that will create an equitable environment.”

He succeeds Dr. Kimberly Hall James, who retires this month after serving as interim where she helped with overall CSCU system equity work and also moved CT State toward the goals of its Seven Strategic Pillars for Equity which focus on Recruitment, Hiring, and Talent Development; Collective Leadership; Community; Cultural Competence; Innovation; Advocacy; and Assessment and Reflection.

Chaisson-Cardenas was a national executive fellow at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (a Smithsonian partner) where his research focused on resistance, pushback, and backlash to institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. He has more than 20 years of experience developing, supporting, and evaluating programs all over the United States and Latin America. He has been recognized at the national level for his work transforming large multimillion-dollar systems towards equity.

“I am deeply honored to become part of the Connecticut higher education community. I look forward to supporting the efforts of so many, who each day work to make our college welcoming and fair for all,” Chaisson-Cardenas said.

He holds a Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy, and an MSW from the University of Iowa. As a young adult John-Paul began his organizing career while working in meatpacking plants in Kansas, since then he has organized local, state, and national efforts on behalf of immigrant and refugee communities.

“Equity and access are core to CT State and the CSCU system,” Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Terrence Cheng said. “In Dr. Chaisson-Cardenas, we have a national leader in the DEI movement, and I am confident he is the right person to lead our transformational efforts to provide greater opportunity for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. I also want to thank Dr. Kim James for her decades of outstanding service and deep commitment to our core values. CT State is better off because of her leadership.”

Dr. Maduko joined CT State on June 3 as its first permanent president. In addition to becoming one college, the community colleges offer FREE tuition to first-time students taking 6 or more credits through PACT: The Pledge to Advance Connecticut. To learn more, visit: https://www.ct.edu/pact

To learn more about the Seven Pillars, visit: https://www.ct.edu/files/pdfs/Seven%20Strategic%20Pillars%20for%20Equity.pdf

To learn more about the community college merger, visit: https://www.ct.edu/merger

This press release was produced by CT State. The views expressed here are the author's own.