Lake Michigan College Dean of Diversity touring community organizations

This article originally appeared in The Herald-Palladium on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Used with permission.

Cam Herth has been on a listening tour.

As the new Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Lake Michigan College, he’s been meeting with school and community leaders to find out what DEI means for them. He said he’ll use their input in program planning.

Herth, 64, grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in 1975.

He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and commercial art in 1979, and went on to earn his master’s in public administration in 1981.

In his freshman year at CMU, he met his wife. They married in his sophomore year and became the apartment supervisors for married students and faculty who were housed on campus. There, they had their first child, a girl. They moved to Kentucky where his wife had gotten a job, and had their second child, a boy.

The family lived in various communities over the years, with Herth working for UPS, the GTE phone company, Amway, and eventually, organizations that led him to his new position at LMC.

Herth recently sat down with Herald-Palladium Staff Writer Julie Swidwa to talk about his long and winding road to LMC, and what his plans are for the college.

How did you get into DEI work?

It really started at Central Michigan University. But when we moved to Kentucky, I thought, “how about a law degree?”

But that got interrupted. With a wife and child, and another one on the way, I needed employment. I thought, “you’ve got a family, Cam. That’s priority.” So I got a job as an operator at the GTE phone company. That was in 1981.

We had the only grandchildren our parents had, and they couldn’t travel easily. So in 1984, we decided we should probably move back to Grand Rapids, which we did. My wife got a job, and I got a job with Amway as a coordinator for western sales.

I worked there for about two or three years, then I left that position to work for the Grand Rapids Public Schools as director of youth development. A lot of the programming I did at the youth development office was DEI work. They called it multicultural relations at that time.

I was the advisor for the Native American Club, the Hispanic Club, the Black Student Union Club, and the Multicultural Youth Ambassadors. The concept was to engage students to be involved in not only school activities, but community activities. We would focus on the various cultural celebrations and things of that nature.

So is that what led you to be here?

That influenced me coming here. I worked with GRPS for 10 years, then I accepted a position as executive director for the Black Educational Excellence Program. That was a nonprofit and it was housed at Grand Rapids Community College. So that’s another component that had me working with students of color in regards to education, and it exposed me, as well as those students, to higher education. We had articulation agreements with a variety of colleges and universities. The purpose was when the students completed the program they would have tuition paid for whatever school they applied and got into.

After that, my career took me to Jackson Community College, where I worked as director of multicultural relations. I worked there for two years, then I left and came over to Evanston, Ill., where my wife had been offered a position as a national statistics officer for a company. In Evanston, I worked for Mayor Lorraine Morton for four years. I served as director of the summer youth employment program, which was one of the hats I wore. We also dealt with tenant issues, fair housing issues, things like that.

Then I left that and went over to serve as the administrator for the Louhelen Bahai Conference and Retreat Center. It’s a faith-based school campus with dorms, classrooms, all of that. This was in Davison, Mich. So I did a lot of DEI work there. I worked closely with the community of Flint. I was there for four years, then I arrived at LMC. I started Aug. 8.

In your own words, what is diversity, equity and inclusion?

It’s everything. I say it that way because diversity, equity and inclusion touches everything. As I look at my role at the college, it reaches into every department. Right now, as I’m trying to become as familiar as possible with LMC and the community and students and families that we serve, I’m on what I call my listening tour. So I’m going around and having conversations with the various deans at the college, to find out “What is DEI for you?” What does DEI look like in the language and arts area? What does DEI look like in the criminal justice department here?

From that, this helps me know how to fine tune the programs and trainings that we introduce into the college.

I just had a fantastic meeting off campus, because I’m also meeting with community leaders and organizations and faith-based groups. Doug Schaffer (LMC’s vice president, advancement and community impact) and I met with a gentleman in the community today in regards to the MLK committee, and the planning for that. I’ve met with United Way, folks at the Krasl, the Citadel, the glass blowing place. I did a tour of the arts through Benton Harbor, as well as St. Joseph. I learned that working in cultural education and DEI, the arts lends itself well as a tool to help convey these concepts.

So what will you do as a result of that, as relates to the students here?

Well, it gives me an idea as to what my resources are when I do planning for programs. Educational programs, whether it be a large thing like the MLK Celebration, or if it’s just an educator saying “It would be great Cam if we could have an indigenous person come in and talk about health care.”

And recently, I had a gentleman stop by, Wayne Wilson. He’s a Native Navajo person, and he was headed to Mott Community College. I know him from some work we did together in Flint, and I asked him if he would stop by. So he came by and I introduced him to our dean of arts and sciences, Kristopher Zook. Hopefully, he’ll be a resource as we look to organize activities for the week of the MLK celebration. He’s got a lot of programs that the students could benefit from. He travels around, and he was coming from Arizona. He flew into Chicago, and he was driving over to Mott Community College because he’s always been on their schedule. He does a regular program for them.

What else is coming up?

The major event is the MLK celebration in January, but there are smaller things. We have micro-celebrations in the interim, like Hispanic Heritage Month.

What are you most excited about?

I’m really excited about the receptivity of the campus and administration, staff, from the top, down, whether I’m talking to (LMC President) Dr. Trevor Kubatzke, the board, or Rosa who works in housekeeping. I reached out to Rosa to ask if she’d be interested in serving on the DEI Planning Committee, and she said she would.

I’m going to ask you kind of a weird question. We’re the same age, and I have people ask me when I’m going to retire, and here you are starting a brand new job at our age. Is this the end of the road for you? Do you plan to stay here?

(Laughing) Since you asked a weird question, I’m going to give you a weird answer. You know, as long as I love what I’m doing, I don’t see myself ever retiring. I mean, I may not physically be in an office setting. But my thoughts will always be towards nobility, justice, those types of virtues don’t age out. And as long as someone is interested in my serving in that capacity and trying to convey those principles, I’ll be doing that. Even if I’m sitting in a rocking chair talking to my grandkids saying, “Hey, come on, you need to treat your sister better than that. She’s a girl, but that doesn’t mean she can’t play with you guys.”