PCC Delegation Preparing to Travel to Ghana

An accountant, an English instructor, PCC’s chief business officer, and a counselor.

These are just four of the 20 people that Pasadena City College will be sending to the “All African Diaspora Education Summit 2022,” an international conference in Accra, Ghana, later this week.

The event is intended to help higher education practitioners deepen their personal and professional connections to African culture and traditions. Over six days of workshops, activities, presentations, and lectures, PCC’s representatives will uncover ways to drive equitable student outcomes for Black students in Pasadena.

The PCC delegation is among the largest from a single college at the conference, and every participant from Pasadena identifies as Black or African American. All told, the conference will draw more than 150 participants from 18 California community colleges, as well as representatives from the community colleges’ Chancellor’s Office, California State University, and the general community.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our practitioners and an incredible gift to our students,” said Dr. Kari Bolen, PCC’s associate vice president for institutional equity, diversity, and justice, and a leader of PCC’s delegation. “Ghana, a country at the heart of the transatlantic slave trade, reflects not only the history of violence and generational trauma for Black/African American people, but a place of reflection, connection and heritage.

“By giving our faculty, staff, administrators, and students an opportunity to participate in the Summit, the college is prioritizing the centering of Black/African American voices and experiences.”

The travelers will share their lessons learned at a future presentation on the PCC campus, and more information will be shared at a later date.

For Dyan Miller, PCC’s dean of the Kinesiology, Health, and Athletics division, the trip represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with her roots. “This has been a dream, a bucket list for me,” Miller said. “My parents traveled to Africa on two occasions, and I vividly recall the stories of their work, and how it touched them to their core. I’m looking forward to being able to set foot on the Mother Continent, which is the oldest inhabited continent on earth.”

Miller intends to keep students at the front of her mind during her travels. “I work with a diverse staff and one of the most diverse student populations on campus,” she said. “Gaining a broader understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion on the world stage will directly improve my ability to serve all students.”

The itinerary includes a planned visit to Cape Coast Castle, a fort built by European traders known as the “gate of no return” for enslaved Africans bound to cross the Atlantic Ocean. For Miller, the visit “will be a very powerful, moving moment in my life and something that will stay with me forever,” she said. “I truly believe this will be a life-changing trip, and I hope in future years that others are inspired and able to make this same journey.”

PCC’s delegation will depart this weekend and return before September ends. The journey is funded by the sale of PCC’s interest in Intelecom, Inc., a distance-education provider operated jointly by community colleges that was dissolved earlier this year.