Multicultural Center History
In the early 1990's, Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) President Jon Carnahan established the LBCC Diversity Committee. Carnahan charged the committee to oversee diversity efforts on campus and to monitor and support multicultural diversity efforts. This council existed until 1997 when members determined that the vision of the committee needed to be revisited.
In order to support college diversity efforts, Student Life and Leadership (then known as Student Programs) partitioned off a small space in the Fireside Room, which then served as the Student Lounge, to serve as a Multicultural Center. Furniture was acquired and it was supplied with magazines. About a week later the newly formed center was closed down. Meanwhile, the LBCC Women's Center, which had operated for many years, had evolved to the point of being unsafe due to a lack of staff and its location in the Industrial Arts A building. The College determined that it would close the Women's Center.
In 1998, when LBCC began the process of building the new Student Union Building, a group of students and members of Student Life and Leadership began advocating for a Multicultural Center space in the new building. Working in collaboration with the architects to design the new building the students lobbied the college administration to allow the creation of the multicultural space. It was a difficult sell–not because the college didn't want a Multicultural Center, but rather due to the limited space on campus. Ultimately, the students prevailed and in 1999 the LBCC Multicultural Center opened its doors to students.
The first Multicultural Center was located in the center top floor of the student union sandwiched between the Student Lounge and the Commuter- the student newspaper office. The center had much support from students but lacked two key ingredients: staff and funding. That same year the Student Activity Programs Committee approved a request to acquire furniture for the space. Candy Johnson, then director of Developmental Studies offered to loan a faculty person for one year, Dee Curwin, to staff the space as the Centers first coordinator. The Center saw over 2,000 students in its first year.
In 2000 the Center was appropriated funding from Student Services for a full time person to serve as coordinator and Susan Prock was hired. Under Susan's leadership the center continued to grow and make connections with students, faculty and the broader community. In 2001 the members of the diversity committee began to lay the foundation for a larger and more fully integrated college wide committee that became known as the Multicultural Council. This council, one of only four college wide councils, consolidated Multicultural efforts on campus and allowed a venue for college wide conversations. In addition, the council was envisioned to serve as an advisory board to the Multicultural Center. The center continued to grow with the addition of hundreds of items to the Multicultural Resource Library and the scope and number of students it served. The center grew so much that, in 2003, a group of students petitioned the college administration to allow the Multicultural Center to "switch rooms" with the adjacent Student Lounge next door allowing a much larger space. This request was approved and the Center moved to the space.
In the spring of 2004, Prock left the college and, in the fall, Jason Miller began serving as coordinator of the Center. At the same time, the Center added the Non-Traditional Careers Program headed by Kelly Donegan. Donegan was hired to serve as the Outreach and Retention Specialist for students in Non-Traditional careers and works in tandem with the other Multicultural Center programs.
Miller and Donegan walked into a vibrant center that once again had grown to fill the confines of the space it was in. Once again, students came to support the center and once again petitioned the college to increase the Center's size. In December of 2004 the wall that separated the Multicultural Center and the Student Lounge was removed and the Multicultural Center expanded to fill both spaces.
In the fall of 2006, Victoria Nguyen was hired to continue the legacy of the center. Valerie Zeigler was also hired in the fall of 2005 as the new Non-Traditional Career Specialist.
Today, the Center sees almost 6,000 visitors a year, tripling the number that utilized the center in 1999. Funding for the Center is 100% supported by student fees and Student Services monies. The Center continues to grow in programs with local communities including Eastern European and Latino and Latina communities. The Center employs both international and domestic students in leadership development roles and continues its mission of creating dialogue and community building on campus.
