Equity in the Capital: Luke Wood and Albert Garcia on the importance of ‘equity mindedness’ in higher education

By Nick Brunner | Solving Sacramento It’s easy to look at the idea of college and adopt a misconception that once you’re in, it’s smooth sailing. You’ll be all set. You’ve got every opportunity in front of you as long as you work hard and study and apply yourself. Well, that’s not always the case. In this “Equity in the Capital,” two leaders of higher education institutions in Sacramento highlight what their educational institutions are doing to combat those kinds of misconceptions. They are Albert Garcia, president of Sacramento City College, and Luke Wood, president of Sacramento State University. We’ll hear about the systems that are in play that increase barriers, especially for Black and brown students, the pandemic pivots that both Sacramento State and Sacramento City College each had to make to serve their student populations, and what both college presidents are doing to walk the walk when it comes to serving their traditionally underserved students. Garcia: My lens is particularly through community college education, given that that’s been the bulk of my career, particularly through an instructional lens. So I came into the community colleges teaching English. In particular, as I think about our work and equity at...