Abstract
The case for diversifying rural community colleges in Illinois is strong and long overdue.
Statistically, minorities are under-represented in both faculty and staff, as the minority student
population continues to grow. Lake Land College, a mid-size, predominantly white, community
college in the heart of rural Illinois is no exception to the trend. In order to align diversity with
the rest of the college’s efforts to produce cultural change, the focus of this work is identifying
major gaps in diversity and offering specific recommendations in the areas of recruitment and
selection, diversity training, mentoring, and the need for an Office of Minority Affairs.
