The American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) annual conference will be held next month in Denver, and six faculty and staff members from Olive-Harvey College will be making presentations about academic program development and student inclusion.

Dr. Kimberly Hollingsworth, Olive-Harvey president, will be leading the morning session called “Cannabliss - Growing an Equity-Centered Urban Agriculture Department,” a news release from the City Colleges of Chicago said this week. She will be joined by Dr. Brandon Nichols, senior vice president of Academic and Student Affairs; and Akilah Easter, dean of the Urban Agriculture Department. They will be discussing how the cannabis certification program at the college helps with “an equitable and sustainable career pathway to the cannabis industry,” which has often created barriers for students entering that field.

“It’s an honor to share our unique approach to cannabis education with a national community college audience,” Hollingsworth said in the release. “The work we’re doing in urban agriculture at Olive-Harvey seeks to empower and educate our students through an equity lens, while preparing them for in-demand career opportunities.”

The college’s Student Services team will also be at the conference in a session called “Nobody Wants to Be Here: Trauma informed DEI Strategies.” It will be led by Patrice Henderson, director of the ACCESS Center; LaTia Lane, clinical director of the College Wellness Center; and Michelle Adams, dean of Student Services. The team will be discussing work they have done to create a “trauma-informed culturally sensitive college community.” Some of the focuses of the session will include removing barriers for LBTQIA+, Latinx and disabled students; and how the staff and faculty have trained in order to incorporate holistic retention strategies.

The conference will take place on April 3, and it is expected to bring widespread attention and recognition to the far South Side of Chicago.