Office Of Multicultural Affairs Gets New Name

Zinaejah Ozier
Contributing Writer

Daria Graham, director of the former Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), has successfully completed one step of multiple changes to the university center known for supporting minority students.

Now called The Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center (MEC), the office plans to enhance the importance of all cultures on campus.

“We are currently working on a new mission statement that also reflects our new name,” Graham said. “We want to make sure we have improved goals that showcase our new title.”

According to Graham, the new mission will assist in portraying MEC to the university and its students. On July 1, the name change will become official.

The office plans to be more responsive to changes and to adapt effectively to the culture at the university that calls for this adaptation to be made.

“Our student body is more diverse and the ways in which we’re preparing our students to navigate in a diverse, global society require us to be more strategic,” Graham said.

Between the years of 2015 to 2018, there was an increase in the number of minorities who attended the school. This increase called for a shift, which is one of the reasons why officials felt the need for a name change.

“We noticed shifts in the nature of the requests to the office and the needs of the students being served,” Graham said.

Some changes for the near future include more academic collaborations inside of the classroom and in other units around campus.

As more diverse generations of students enter the university, staff and faculty plan to develop and adapt with the increased diversity, as well.