Phillip Page

What is your role at the college?

I joined the college in October, 2011, as Director of Government, Business and Community Partnerships/Special Assistant to the President. In 2016, I moved into the role of Vice President of Strategic Partnerships with the responsibility to identify, create and nurture meaningful partnerships which contribute to the academic experience of students and faculty, and that establish the College as a resource for career development.

Who or what has inspired you?

I like to say that I have two sources. My mother inspired me to take each day as it comes and to treat others the way that I myself would like to be treated. My father taught me the value of working hard to achieve the goals we set for ourselves, and that the greatest barrier to those goals would be the limitations I set on myself. In my professional life, I have been blessed to have worked for an amazing array of African American leaders that each have contributed significantly to shaping my view of what it means to be successful by modeling strength of character, intelligence, persistence, humanity and grace in abundance.

What does racial equity and social justice mean to you?

It means that the understanding and will to make the world a better place is not a concept but a way of life that is modeled from top to bottom and from bottom to top. In recognizing the beauty and significance of our individuality we must reconcile the importance of practicing equity and inclusion. The struggle then is to establish racial equity in a way that moves beyond our history, and the history of so many others, that perpetuates a hierarchy of power and victim. When we commit to embarking down this path with purpose and humility, understanding that the road will be hard and long, I believe that social justice will be achievable.

What is your favorite book, poetry, documentary or other resource on Black history?

I am a reader of books and there are too many to mention, but what I can say is that I have favorite Black authors that nourish multiple parts of me and what it means to be Black in America. Walter Mosely’s Easy Rawlin series, Octavia Butler’s futuristic tales of humanity, James McBride’s finding humor and sensitivity in the most troubled conditions are just a few. Perhaps one of the most influential books I‘ve ever read, however, was the Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X. It is as powerful a story of the capacity of a Black man as one can find.

When I dream in Black, I…

imagine we are that much closer to being seen as equal contributors in shaping what this world could truly be; where the strength and beauty that exists in our community can be celebrated by all; and that the tragic Black American experience is one that is not revisited by any segment of humanity ever again.