Our History

40+ Years of Social Justice Activism at Ohio State

One of the Student Life Center for Belonging and Social Change's unique strengths is in how most of the constituency groups that are represented in the CBSC each have their own important origins across a span of more than 40 years. The collection of these services in one center is designed to support campus efforts to be accessible to and knowledgeable about a broad spectrum of identity groups while being a hub for student community building, advocacy and educational resources bolstering innovative dialogue related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Student Life Multicultural Center was formed in 2001 to serve as a center for all the specific cultural student services to better coordinate services and share resources. Our first location was on the 4th floor of the former Ohio Union that stood at that time.

Beginning with an extensive Program Review process from 2005-2006, the MCC embarked upon an important transformative re-articulation of our work. As we began, we moved to the Lincoln Tower lower level for three years, while the new construction of the current Ohio Union was underway. We had several staffing shifts and restructured our coordinator staff positions to intercultural specialists with expertise across constituency groups. We moved from an evaluative to an assessment culture, to improve our thinking in how our programs align with our learning objectives and the service goals of Student Life and Ohio State. We launched an engaging outreach campaign -- What's YOUR Story? -- emphasizing that everyone's story is an integral component of the diverse tapestry of our campus community and the world.

Also, in response to what we learned in the Program Review, student focus groups and stakeholders surveys, we revised our Strategic Plan, Vision, Mission, Values and Goals to design and implement an intercultural model addressing intergroup relations for everyone while still serving historically under-represented and emerging identity groups. The MCC is currently in the process of updating and enhancing the language and design around the philosophy of our intercultural model. Please look forward to updates in the near future.

Beginning in Spring of 2010, the MCC took residence in a great location on the first floor of the Ohio Union as a central gathering space for the Ohio State community to come together around cultures, identities and service for global social justice.

1969-Present
The Dynamic Multicultural Timeline

1969-2001: SEPARATE OFFICES BEGAN OVER SEVERAL YEARS
1969: African American Student Services (AFAMSS)
1973: Women Student Services (WSS)
1975: Hispanic Student Services (HSS)
1988: Asian American Student Services (ASAMSS)
1989: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Services (GLBTSS)
1996: American Indian Student Services (AISS)

2001-2007: MULTICULTURAL CENTER (MCC) OPENS - COLLECTIVE
OF ABOVE OFFICES AND NEW INITIATIVES

2002: New Diversity Initiatives (NDI)
2006: Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART)

2008: MCC INTERCULTURAL MODEL LAUNCHES
All MCC Intercultural Specialists focus programming on the intra-cultural needs of specific constituency groups as well as the intercultural development of the community as a whole.
2010: The MCC relocates to the new Ohio Union, first floor! Open Doors Training begins

2011: THE MCC CELEBRATES 10 YEARS!
2013: Expansion and rebranding of Academic Initiatives
2014: Social Justice Engagement three-credit courses offer general education credit for Social Diversity in the U.S.

2022: THE CENTER FOR BELONGING AND SOCIAL CHANGE OPENS 
The Multicultural Center and Social Change Program merge to offer a more holistic experience for students.