Assistant Director of Admission Named Chair of Anti-Racism Committee

The committee was co-founded by a former colleague.

Rachael (Michaud) Harvey ’16, assistant director of admission and diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator, is a newly appointed chair (tri-chair) for the Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling’s (MACAC) Anti-Racism Committee. 

 In 2021, three MACAC members, including Concordia’s own Sunet Rubalcava (at the time a member of the enrollment office), formed a new MACAC committee called the Anti-Racism Committee (ARC). Rubalcava was appointed founding tri-chair along with TseChi “Chad” Yen (University of South Dakota) and Rhemi Abrams-Fuller (Carlton College).

Rubalcava said that once the tri-chairs were appointed in the summer of 2021 they quickly invited members to join the committee and were well equipped with anti-racist training and worked closely with a DEI consultant.

“When the call went out to the MACAC membership asking for people to join the ARC group, I was immediately excited and interested,” Harvey said. “Sunet and I had worked together often on issues of equity, inclusion, and justice in the world of admissions, so this felt like an exciting opportunity to be involved at a larger level.”

The ARC’s mission statement says it “exists out of necessity and will function as both a barometer and a promoter of equity within the MACAC organization” … questioning and challenging existing systems of oppression and exclusion … engaging deeply with anti-racist ideas while working to uplift, equip, and empower those who have been historically marginalized in admissions committee and leadership positions.

After the three subcommittees were formed, they focused on three key elements: policy change, community connection, and education then started working on:

  • A strategic addendum that was centered on anti-racist policies for MACAC
  • A land acknowledgment for MACAC that can call for a true reparation and acknowledgment of the historical institutional subjugation of the First Nations
  • An anti-racist toolkit accessible to all admission counselors 

“Rachael was involved in the creation of the strategic addendum while I helped create and manage the anti-racist toolkit,” said Rubalcava, now an academic counselor in the Center for Student Success. “Upon the completion of these initial three goals, our committee was awarded the Rising Star Award at the state level through MACAC (MID-WEST region) and most recently was awarded the Rising Star Award at the national level through NACAC in Houston.”

When the founding tri-chairs went through position changes around the same time necessitating the need for a new group of tri-chairs, Harvey said she was incredibly honored to be asked by the head of her sub-committee, Rhemi Abrams-Fuller, to fill her spot moving forward.

“Work around anti-racism, equity, restorative justice, and inclusion is incredibly important to me,” added Harvey. “I try to keep it at the forefront of my mind in the various roles that I serve on Concordia’s campus. I firmly believe that if we are not always working with the most marginalized of our communities at the forefront, we are doing a disservice to our colleges and to our students.”

Harvey said the thing she loved most about her first year with the ARC was how focused and driven they all were for their unique initiatives, whether that was the addendum, the land acknowledgment, resource curation, etc. 

“In its first year, the ARC got things done, and we made a lot of really amazing change,” she said. “I think that’s why Rhemi, Chad, and Sunet (the previous tri-chairs) were recognized by NACAC’s Rising Star Award.”

“Moving forward, my fellow chairs and I are hoping to build on the momentum of the previous chairs and the amazing members of the group,” added Harvey. “This is going to be an exciting year and I can’t wait to hit the ground running and hopefully shake things up in the best way possible.”