Treviño addressed students and faculty about the center’s upcoming programs and activities, the status of the search for the center’s director and plans for the center’s end-of-year activities.
Students and faculty gathered for the State of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Address in the Grand Hall of the NMBCC.
The NMBCC connects IU to black culture and facilitates programs and activities to promote knowledge and awareness of black culture.
Treviño discussed the diversity of the student population and how the black population has changed. She said nearly 1,800 students self-identify as black or African American.
“This is a 6.6% increase over last year,” Treviño said. “The good thing is the number of black students on campus is definitely growing.”
Treviño also discussed the goals of the NMBCC. She said the goal for this year is student success. In order to achieve its goal, the NMBCC will offer programs for each class of students: freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. These include the freshmen pinning ceremony, internships or research programs for sophomores, and support for juniors and seniors as they think about life after college.
“The NMBCC will offer programs and activities that introduce and polish interpersonal competencies, which will help students become more competitive and rank among the top candidates,” Treviño said.
Treviño went on to announce the status of the search for the center’s director, saying three final candidates visited campus during the summer. After the previous director stepped down in July, a national search to find a new director began.
She said the application will reopen within the next few weeks. Treviño said she hopes to create a committee to review the applications in January, conduct interviews in February and extend offers in April, having a director set to start by July 1.
Treviño said a candidate who was asked to take the position retracted his acceptance just prior to an announcement in August.
During the process of finding a new director, Treviño has temporarily taken over the position.
When asked about her goals for bringing in more students to the center, Treviño discussed her vision.
“My vision for the center is to have more people coming and using it,” Treviño said. “My vision is that all culture centers are places that are going to provide students the opportunities to be successful.”
Treviño discussed new events and programs for the new school year. These events include plans for homecoming and meeting with the family of Carrie Parker Taylor, the first female black IU-Bloomington student.
Before opening the floor for questions, Treviño discussed the changes with the congratulatory celebration, a celebration for seniors before graduation. She said because this celebration has grown during the past 40 years, it has become harder to plan logistically.
The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs is transitioning to make the celebration more sustainable, she said.
Treviño said OVPDEMA wants students to help make this celebration more sustainable by giving their thoughts and opinions on how to do so.
“I’m really excited that students present ideas and we’re able to very quickly put them into place,” Treviño said.
Treviño said she hopes students will take away three things from the address: There is an opportunity for dialogue, things are happening in which students should take part, and students are not forgotten.
“You, the student body, are a very important part of shaping what we do and furthering our traditions,” Treviño said.
