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24 CHICAGO | SEPTEMBER 2019 Photograph by KEVIN SERNA
Q: City Colleges of Chicago has been mov-
ing away from a replication model, in which
programs are duplicated across campuses,
and toward a specialization model, in which
each college is designated as a “center of
excellence” in a certain field. Why?
A: I believe in sector-based work in order
to ensure student inclusion in the econ-
omy. Having each college be an expert
in every field would be very hard to
execute. For example, Daley College has
advanced manufacturing equipment,
and Olive-Harvey has a facility where
students can learn how to be diesel
mechanics. Those are capital-intensive
investments. We do not have the capital
resources, nor would that be the wisest
use of our resources, to build these cen-
ters across every college.
Q: But if I want to specialize in one of these
fields, a fantastic program located 12 miles
away doesn’t do me any good if I don’t have
the time or ability to travel there on a regular
basis, right?
A: I don’t want to minimize the hardship.
We have to be very real. These students
are about to enter a marketplace where, by
and large, they’re going to have to travel for
work. So beginning to make the arrange-
ments, I think, is important.
Q: Any idea why enrollment has dropped 37
percent since 2011?
A: We had a historic loss of a popula-
tion that’s traditional to City Colleges
of Chicago, particularly in the African
American community and in traditional
immigrant areas on the North Side that
have become more and more gentrified.
When higher education in the state was
under attack, neighboring states saw
that as an opportunity to build new
pipelines, making offers to students that
made us look pretty bad. All of that is tough to overcome.
Q: City Colleges’ adult education program — for English-language learners and
students getting their GED — has seen some controversy lately over the proposed
reduction of teachers’ hours. One member of the teachers’ union has said you’re
trying to turn it into a “Walmart education model.”
A: Right now it is not a high-performing program, and I’m determined to
add ress qua l it y. T hat mea ns we have to have a st r uc t u red cou r se sequence,
so we’re not going to have you take a level 1 course on the South Side that’s
not synonymous with a level 1 course on the North Side. What’s hard about
this is it requires change on the part of our faculty, right? And change is
sometimes hard. C“Change Is
Sometimes
Hard”
Juan Salgado, chancellor of the
City Colleges of Chicago, on his
controversial plan to reshape
programs Interview by ANNE FORD
VOX