OCT 10, 2024 | NEWS | By Tessa Frantz
Last February, Colorado College announced it would be changing leadership. To the surprise of students, teachers and other members of the CC community, former President L. Song Richardson announced she would step down from her role following the academic year.
Then-Vice President and Chief of Staff Manya Whitaker took over as CC’s interim president, a role she plans to hold for the next two years.
Now, two blocks into her term, when Whitaker was asked how her presidency was going, she said with a smile, “so far, fabulous.”
Whitaker’s two main goals remain the same from when she was appointed interim President.
The first goal is to restabilize the whole CC community. In the wake of COVID-19, many higher education institutions were shaken up. Whitaker contends that CC felt turbulence as much as any college did post-COVID.
“During and post-COVID, we’ve had a lot of employee turnover and then you layer on top of that, just the cultural shift that happened when we lost a sense of community.”
Specifically, Whitaker expressed that having a clear-cut direction for the school is of utmost importance.
“The college was kind of uncertain about where we were going next,” she said.
The second goal is to rebuild the campus community. Whitaker said that many CC traditions were lost during COVID-19 restrictions.
In the spirit of rebuilding community, Whitaker has placed emphasis on school events, hoping to create and maintain timeless traditions that connect CC students.
“We need to have things that are consistent across generations, that connect our alums across time,” she said.
Whitaker introduced the first-ever campus sleepout as a fall event. Whitaker and her team are brainstorming ideas for future events. “We are in conversations now for spring tradition,” she said. “People have talked about bringing Rail Jam back.”
During Rail Jam, an event previously put on by CCSGA and the Freeriders Union of CC, student skiers and snowboarders competed on a homemade terrain park on the Preserve hill, while other students gathered to eat, drink, dance and enjoy the merriment. Whitaker encourages students to email her with other ideas on potential CC events.
President Whitaker is in the unique position of being an interim president and acknowledges the benefits and challenges that come with having a time limit on her presidency.
“I want to be careful about setting whoever the next president up for success, and not burden them with a lot of long-term decisions I’ve made,” Whitaker said.
Additionally, Whitaker spoke on how she wants to operate as a CC president.
“I’d rather be proactive than reactive,” she said.
Rather than waiting for chaos to ensue, she hopes to establish spaces where students and faculty can express themselves freely to avoid conflict.
Modern political issues have caused rifts between CC students and the administration before. Whitaker urges students to express themselves to the administration to establish a more positive dialogue around current issues.
“This is a student’s experience. We want you all to have the best experience you can have, but that means you have to tell us when things aren’t going well. You have to ask for what you need,” she said. She contends that even talking to a trusted faculty member will help bridge the divide between students and administration.
The upcoming election could be a potential source of conflict for the CC community. Whitaker feels that providing spaces for productive conversations is of utmost importance.
“I think [the election] right now, is top of mind,” she stated. “We want to make sure we do have the spaces for dialogue, for understanding, for post-election, whatever the result is, that we have a space to process and think about it.”
A previous Catalyst article highlighted that CC enrolled only nine black students in its most recent admissions cycle. Whitaker solemnly expressed that this statistic represented CC’s lack of diversity. She referred to Rosalie Rodriguez, CC’s Chief Diversity Officer, and asserted that CC is focused on diversifying enrollment.
“We are very focused on socioeconomic diversity while also keeping an eye on all types of representation,” she said.
CC has had a historic lack of diversity and diverse perspectives. In light of this, Whitaker states the need for more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on CC’s campus.
“DEI is so important because when we have different perspectives in the room, it challenges us to think better, more deeply.”
The Catalyst will continue to check in with President Whitaker on her time as interim president. For now, Whitaker hopes to continue her work with fervor.
“What I love about CC is how openhearted people are. Genuinely, the students and employees really want this to be the best place ever, and they give everything they can to do that.”
“[I have] a creative impetus to get things done.”