Diversity at OU: 1990s
1990: Mission: Unity
Mission: Unity, consisting of students, staff, faculty, and alumni, is formed to facilitate cross-cultural discussions about race. Marc Allen Payne, a senior, is its founding president. The organization is later renamed Cross-roads. (11 July 1990 Board of Trustees minutes).
Image: Oakland University Archives
1992: Origins of the Center for Multicultural Initiatives
Approximately 150 African-American students conduct a sit-in at President Sandra Packard's office, in protest of lack of an office for minority affairs. This action results in the creation of an Office for Minority Equity a year later. Glenn McIntosh is appointed Director In January 1994 (OU Senate Minutes, January 13, 1994).
OME is later renamed the Center for Multicultural Initiatives.
Image: Oakland University Archives
1993: Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Award
In January, the OU Center for Multicultural Initiative establishes the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Award. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., several scholarships are awarded annually to OU students "who have contributed to interracial understanding and good will".
Image: Andrew Young, Keynote Speaker, 2006 Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Banquet
1993: Manuel Pierson Diversity Statement
During the September 30, 1993 OU Senate meeting, Dr. Manuel Pierson presents findings about ethnic diversity at the University. As noted in the minutes, Dr. Pierson "stressed the importance of recognizing diversity and encouraging respect for different cultures, traditions, and viewpoints within Oakland University as well as in the broader society. "1993: Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives
Image source: Oakland University Archives
Originally housed within the Office for Minority Equity, the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives "serves as a resource and is charged with promoting and furthering the university's commitment to the principles of diversity inclusion and equal opportunity." The Office is linked to several diversity and inclusion initiatives: Presidential Diversity Award, Employee Resource Groups (ERG), and ADVANCE: WISE@OU. The above picture features several international students from an early 1960s "foreign student tea." From left to right: Angelique Sherman (Liberia), Mary Finkelstein (Cuba), Elizabeth Davis (Liberia), Wolfe Metzger (Austria). Director of Admissions Herbert Stoutenburg (standing, far right) and Mrs. Stoutenburg (seated, far right) host the group.Photos courtesy of the Oakland University Archives.