MESA, Arizona – May 10, 2021 – Mesa Community College again earns the Voter Friendly Campus designation from the national nonpartisan organization Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project, NASPA and the professional organization Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. MCC is one of 231 colleges across 38 states and the District of Columbia to earn the 2021-2022 designation and was one of only three in Arizona.

“We are delighted to have again earned the Voter Friendly Campus designation,” said Debra Ohlinger, MCC Civic Engagement program coordinator, MCC Center for Community and Civic Engagement. “We are committed to civic engagement at MCC in a nonpartisan environment and want our students to understand the importance of exercising their right to vote.”

Efforts of MCC students, through the MCC Center for Community & Civic Engagement, include coordinating the development of a voter information webpage (mesacc.edu/vote), college-wide communications, events and activities focused on the importance of exercising one’s right to vote. Their efforts also included planning local events for national observances such as Voter Registration Day, Vote Early Day and National Voter Education Week. Teams of students served as volunteer poll workers and counted ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

The mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to help institutions develop plans to coordinate administrators, faculty, and student organizations in civic and electoral engagement and bolster efforts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. Throughout 2020 MCC campus representatives participated in training, developed a campus plan and were evaluated on their ability to engage student voters in 2020. The designation is valid through December 2022.

For more information on community and civic engagement at MCC, visit mesacc.edu/community-civic-engagement.

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Media contact: Dawn Zimmer, dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu, 480-461-7892

Mesa Community College is nationally recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 150 U.S. Community College and is known for service learning, career and technical programs, civic engagement and innovative approaches to education. For more than 50 years, the college has served as a resource for career readiness, transfer education, workforce development and lifelong learning. Host to more than 30,000 students annually, MCC offers degree and certificate programs at its two campuses, additional locations and a combination of online formats. Through Guided Pathways with Integrated Support Services and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, MCC is transforming how it champions student success, college completion, university transfer and career attainment and advancement. MCC is a Hispanic Serving Institution and nearly 50% of its students are the first in their families to attend college. Its American Indian Institute serves students from the 22 federally recognized tribes of Arizona as well as out-of-state tribes. MCC has the largest indigenous student population of all the Maricopa Community Colleges. The diverse student body includes more than 300 international students from 55 countries. Award-winning faculty are dedicated to student success, providing the education and training that empowers MCC students to successfully transfer to a university or compete in the workforce. Located in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, on the traditional territories of the O'odham, Piipaash and Yavapai Peoples, MCC is one of 10 colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. Visit mesacc.edu to learn more.

MCC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District. MCCCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information, as well as a listing of all coordinators within the Maricopa College system, visit www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.