Q&A with Dr. Pamela Hopson on USI Multicultural Center’s 30th anniversary
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The University of Southern Indiana Multicultural Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary. A weekend of events recognizing the center’s impact on the Evansville campus will take place Oct. 25-27. The RSVP deadline for students, alumni and the community is Thursday.
Founder Dr. Pamela Hopson spoke with Inside INdiana Business about the legacy of the center and its role in preparing students for responsible citizenship in a multicultural society.
What’s the purpose of USI’s Multicultural Center?
To provide a space where students feel comfortable coming to connect with others, to receive support with regards to their academics and to create a space where they feel a sense of belonging.
What type of services does the MCC provide?
We provide a number of services. We have a mentoring program for women called Women Unlocked. We also have a mentoring program for young men. That program is called Collegiate Men of Distinction.
We also have an outreach coordinator who is able to assist our students with academic support and also connect them with other resources on campus, such as University Division, Academic Skills, Dean of Students and Academic Advisors. Those are a few of the things that we do with regards to being able to support our students.
We also offer a series called Success Series, where we bring in professionals who can assist our students with such things as time management and financial security.
How has the center changed since 1994?
When the multicultural center first started, we were a staff of one, and that was myself. I was the director at that time, and we occupied a space that would probably be about the size of someone’s small bedroom, if not smaller, and that represented the center.
We have moved several times within the 30 years. As a matter of fact, we’ve been in five locations, and we currently are housed in University Center East. So our space has expanded. We’re no longer in one small office. And we have a staff of five who are there and able to support our students.
Why is having a multicultural center at USI important?
It is important because of where we reside not only the state of Indiana but in the Midwest. If you go back and look at the history of centers and how they were created, students felt as though they were not valued as a student on campuses. Not necessarily here at USI, but just talking about how centers came to be. It was a result of institutions hearing the voice of students and creating spaces for those students to succeed and feel valued as students.
Tell me about the Equity and Inclusion Fund.
The Equity and Inclusion Fund is something that did not exist in 1994 when the center was created. That fund is open to any student organization on campus. So any recognized student club or organization can apply to receive some funding to do some programming on campus. It must be open to all students. Some of our organizations have taken advantage of that resource.
Some organizations have programming centered around their culture. So we’ve had some of our international student clubs and organizations to apply for it. We’ve had some of our domestic students to apply for it. The key to that funding is that they must plan something that’s centered around diversity and multiculturalism and keep it open to all students.
Talk about the 30th anniversary celebration.
We planned this because a number of our alums had reached out to us wanting to know, “When are we going to have an event so we can come together?” So by listening to that handful of students, it began to grow. Two years ago, we sent out a survey to alums that had a connection with the multicultural center to see if there was some interest, and there was interest. A year ago, we circled back to see if they were interested in assisting us with planning the event.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to reconnect. It’s a wonderful opportunity for [alumni] to come back to campus and see how things have changed on campus. When alums come to campus, typically one of the sayings that they have is, “We didn’t have that when we were here.” So we think it’s important for them to come back, stay connected with us and see what has changed.
We have a number of events that we planned throughout the weekend to reestablish those relationships. In addition to the alums attending that weekend, we also have some currently enrolled students who will attend as well. And we have arranged for a couple of networking sessions throughout the weekend so that the currently enrolled students will be able to connect with the alums.
I noticed there’s an option to donate to the MCC on the RSVP page. Can you elaborate on that?
We put the donations button out there for those who may not be able to attend in the event that they would like to donate to the multicultural center.
What’s the future look like for the center?
As the inaugural director of the multicultural center, it is my hope that the center will continue to exist and continue to grow and continue to flourish so that students see it as a hub for where they can go to connect with the institution and also feel a sense of belonging.
How can students get involved with the USI MCC?
There are a number of ways that they can get involved. The center is not a club, and that’s something that we have to educate our students on from day one because they think that the center is a club. It is not a club. It is an actual center. But there are a number of organizations that fall under our umbrella, such as the Black Student Union, our Hispanic Student Union, South Asian Student Union, a number of groups.
By some chance that we don’t have an organization that students are looking for, the beauty of the University of Southern Indiana with our clubs and organizations is that a student can form their own group. And so although the multicultural center is not responsible for clubs and organizations, we do advise some of the clubs and organizations.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We also sponsor some events throughout the year that we open up to the community at large, such as our MLK day luncheon and our Latinx speaker who comes during National Hispanic Heritage Month. So there are some things that we do that are open to the public as well.