Bay College President Dr. Nerita Hughes

ESCANABA — It’s been less than a year since Dr. Nerita Hughes took the helm of Bay College as its president, but in that time there have been many changes for the college — both visible and in the college’s inner workings. She says, there’s still more to come.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces of people asking ‘What’s next? What’s next?’ and I’m like, they have to keep in mind, this is a transition year … look for true movement over then next one to two years,” said Hughes.

Hughes, who is the sixth president of the college, took office on July 10 of last year. Prior to that, the Minnesota-native served as the Interim Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Innovation and the Dean for the School of Business, Careers, Education and Workforce Innovation at North Hennepin Community College, in Brooklyn Park, Minn.

One of Hughes’ first actions as president was to go on a 100 day listening and learning tour, where she engaged with students, faculty, and community and business partners.

“The beauty about that is there were some definitely common themes,” said Hughes.

While listening, Hughes had a few key questions. She wanted to know what the college needed to stop doing because it was ineffective, what the college needed to continue doing, and what it should start doing.

It’s what Bay should start doing that has been a theme for Hughes. She focuses on what she calls “radical imagination,” the ideation of what Bay College could be in the future for its students. Specifically, that means looking at how to build a culture of care and community, a culture of communication, revitalizing the college’s brand and value, and reshaping the student experience.

A key component of Hughe’s vision for the college is to expand diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, collectively known as “DEIB.” DEIB is fundamentally similar to DEI — which itself stands for diversity, equity and inclusion — but goes a step further to foster a sense of belonging.

DEI has been a controversial issue in Delta County, with three of the four seated Delta County Commissioners taking public stances against DEI training and implementation, saying they see it as a perpetuation of racism by favoring certain groups that have historically been marginalized. Hughes thinks the controversy may stem from a different understanding of what diversity means holistically.

“Me, as a Black woman, of course people are going to jump to the two: race and gender, but … when you talk about diversity it is not race — it’s not only race, it’s not only gender, and it’s definitely not only sexual orientation. It is the whole gamut,” said Hughes.

Some of the other areas that Hughes is focused on when it comes to diversity is recognizing things like neurodiversity, different skillsets, different socioeconomic statuses, and even things like whether or not an individual comes from an urban, suburban, or rural background.

That broad focus on diversity has already impacted the way the college is approaching workforce and community partnerships. For example, Bay has begun talks with local businesses and groups that may be able to offer students new types of hands-on industry experience, but students might not be able to take advantage of those opportunities if they are food insecure, don’t have proper or consistent housing, or can’t afford appropriate clothing. For that reason, the college has expanded its food pantry and now offers a clothes closet for students in need.

Another type of diversity the college is learning to accommodate is the differences in student ages. While a significant portion of the school’s students are dual-enrollment high school students, a growing number of students are adults who are taking advantage of state programs, such as Michigan Reconnect, which offers free community college tuition for students over 21. For Bay, that may mean broadening the vehicles of instruction to include more online or night classes to meet the needs of working adults, while still offering a more traditional, in-person class schedule for younger students.

The college is also working to increase the sense of belonging between its two campuses. Hughes is making trips to the Iron Mountain campus every other Tuesday to meet with students, staff, and business partners. She has also pushed for what she describes as the “One Bay” mantra — using more a banking branch model to describe the two campuses of the college.

“Beforehand it was called ‘Bay West’ and then ‘Main,’ and I said, ‘Well, wait a minute. If you look up Bay West it’s a plastics company,'” said Hughes.

The two campuses are now officially known as Bay’s “Escanaba Campus” and “Iron Mountain Campus.” Hughes expects students and staff who are used to the old naming conventions to sometimes refer the Iron Mountain Campus as “Bay West,” but she hopes that the move puts the emphasis on students being “Bay College students” regardless of where they attend.

Overall, Hughes has been working to hear the needs of students and staff in new ways. She regularly holds recorded updates on the state of the college’s activities over Zoom and has dedicated times for staff to “spill the tea,” bringing any concerns they might have to her directly.

She’s also getting involved with business and community partners in new ways. That means doing things like taking drives to meet with the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians tribal council and joining the U.P. Michigan Works! Workforce Development board.

“I’ve very aware of the advantages of being able to be at those tables and imbed, kind of, the higher education lens to workforce development,” Hughes said.

While Hughes is actively working towards her goals, said she has to remind herself that it will take time to get there. During that time, she intends to keep listening and making connections.

“I’ve got to take this step by step and know who the players are. And that’s probably the biggest thing, there’s still players that I need to know — not just in the U.P., but just across the state of Michigan,” she said.