History

The Multicultural Center was organized in 1985 and has grown from a team of three to a "super seven" currently! In the year 2003, the Center won the Wolverine "Department of the Year" Award. There has been an 80% increase in multicultural student enrollment since 2000. With extraordinary support from administrators President William Sederburg, Michelle Taylor, Shad Sorensen, and others, the department has been able to significantly expand its quality and quantity of services, conferences, ethnic programs and celebrations. Academic counseling, workshops, career planning, ethnic clubs, a multicultural choir, scholarship programs and assistance, financial aid, super programs, cultural celebrations and productions are only a few of the services offered. Currently servicing more than 1500 U.S. ethnic students, the MC Center also actively participates in Student Success courses and programs, links frequently with numerous International students, the Accessibility Center, the Women's Center and the TRIO Student Support Center, is involved with the Utah Coalition for the Advancement of Minorities in Higher Education (UCAMHE) and other state and local organizations. It has become a Gathering Place and a home away from home for students who enjoy a warm, encouraging environment, a hand up and a chance to obtain the energy needed to overcome challenges during an academic quest.

Recently, the MC Center acquired a TRIO Educational Opportunity Center federal grant, the first of its kind in Utah. With partner institution, College of Eastern Utah, the EOC program reaches 1000 adult candidates annually throughout the state of Utah who wish to obtain a post secondary education. Displaced workers, single parents, first-generation students, minorities, and work-weary candidates benefit with financial aid and admissions assistance, and career counseling.

Students provide rich life stories which serve to inspire others. One example is Mike Dugi, a Native American member of the Navajo nation. Raised in a Hogan by grandparents with no running water or electricity, Mike hauled water daily and frequently cooked meals in the traditional manner, underground. He speaks his language with pride and loves his culture, but realized education as the only way to succeed. Entering open-enrollment at UVSC in his mid-twenties, he "caught up" with mainstream students by taking preparatory courses and stayed focused even though it was difficult. As a participant on a Multicultural Student Panel, he recognized faculty in the audience as being specialized experts in various fields, and congratulated them on their expertise. He discovered no one present would be able to "live off the land" and said, "You may have to come to me to learn that essential knowledge." It is important to recognize the cultural nuances and "gifts" our ethnic students contribute to our society, and to respect them, even though many need extra assistance and often come from "behind." Some consider them "high maintenance" students, but if only one out of fifty succeeds, he or she can influence hundreds of family and community members. In 2003, Mike successfully transferred to Brigham Young University and has been admitted to their Engineering Program.