Mission and Goals

Established by the citizens of Lake County within a framework of the Illinois Master Plan for Higher Education, the College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college dedicated primarily to meeting the post-secondary educational needs of individuals within District 532. The College of Lake County is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1413, (312) 263-0456 or (800) 621-7440.

Mission

The College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college committed to equitable high-quality education, cultural enrichment and partnerships to advance the diverse communities it serves.

Vision

The College of Lake County is a leader in providing innovative education and workforce solutions.

Values

1. Excellence

   • We believe every employee is responsible for contributing to the CLC aspiration of being a higher education organization by which others measure themselves.

2. Purpose

   • We believe in the transformative  power of education and our open access mission by offering workforce solutions to address social, environmental and economic issues.

3. Integrity

   • We believe in upholding integrity  in our words and actions to support our students, our  team and the College. 

4. Compassion

   • We believe every employee is responsible for the well-being of students and one another.

5. Unity

   • We believe in the power of leveraging individual strengths to achieve a common purpose and a collaborative team environment focused on achieving shared goals and upholding shared accountability.

6. Inclusion

   • We believe diversity of backgrounds and perspectives is a means to create innovative solutions and achieve College goals by ensuring equity in practice.

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CLC Statements on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism

Diversity

The College of Lake County (CLC) is committed to strengthening the diverse communities we serve. We stand to create an environment that names, embraces, and learns from differences through all policies, practices, and values. We encourage expression of one’s own identity and foster an atmosphere where we learn from others. CLC is dedicated to meeting the needs of everyone in our community, especially those who have been historically underserved. We are committed to being intentional about having crucial conversations to continually develop cultural competence and humility. At CLC, we celebrate and promote diversity because we believe that everyone benefits from being a part of a global society.

Equity

The College of Lake County (CLC) is committed to being equity-minded in how it supports its students and employees. Also, CLC is dedicated to instill the value of equity in each member of our community. At CLC, equity means providing a high-quality education and employment in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment while meeting the particular needs of each community and individual. This value is imparted by providing professional and educational opportunities to instill the value of equity within each CLC community member. To achieve this goal, CLC is committed to ensure that all policies, procedures, and processes are free of barriers and provide a seamless experience to all who come to CLC.

This includes ensuring each student is provided the tools and support to empower them to achieve their academic, career, and personal goals, and that each employee has the tools and opportunities to provide excellent service, excel in their job, contribute to the CLC community, and progress in their professional development. CLC recognizes that equity is not resolved by using a one-size-fits-all approach. CLC is devoted to intentionally designing opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members to succeed while supporting each person’s unique needs.

Inclusion

The College of Lake County (CLC) is inclusive of all members of our diverse college community. We are committed to providing an inclusive environment where students, faculty, and staff can do their best in all of their endeavors. This is reflected through our policies, practices, beliefs, and actions. Inclusiveness at CLC means that each person’s input is heard and valued. The College is intentional when creating its entire organizational structure to ensure that there is representation of the diverse community it serves. By seeking input from the community as a whole, especially from people who have been traditionally silenced or ignored, CLC creates meaningful inclusion, leading to college-wide decisions, outcomes, and actions.

Anti-Racism

In Unity, as the College of Lake County Community:

We recognize racism as the systematic oppression of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and historically marginalized racial groups that intersects with other prejudices creating and sustaining overlapping systems of oppression.

We acknowledge that the institution of higher education has a history of excluding marginalized racial groups.

We know that being in a position of power and remaining silent on the issue of racist practices is a disservice to our college community and our mission.

We stand in unity with all oppressed, marginalized, minoritized and targeted racial/ethnic groups against racism, bias, and hate.

We support racial equality, racial equity and social justice. 

We strive to disrupt and dismantle racism and to understand the impact of explicit and implicit biases.

We commit to enact an anti-racist climate in which students, faculty and staff can flourish, that is free of barriers and is uniquely designed to support each member’s self-actualization.

We vow to create a transformative anti-racist environment through racially conscious practices that foster understanding of how and when the use of power, white privilege and anti-Blackness influence institutional services, policies, and practices.

We call upon every member of our community to refuse to accept the unjust treatment of people.