Black Studies Center

In May 1968, the Black students on campus, inspired by the nationwide campaign for Black Studies, rallied before President Rhoten Smith and presented him with a list of seven grievances. The students declared the university a racist institution and demanded the establishment of a Black Studies program. As a result of this campaign the Center for Black Studies was created. The Center for Black Studies, an academic and research Center, offers interdisciplinary concentrations of undergraduate courses relating to the black experience and interethnic/ intercultural relations. The Center collects and analyzes data on aspects of the fields of black studies and ethnic studies; and provides cultural programming with the aid of other academic offices on campus in the form of conferences, guest speakers, and commemora-tive events. Student organizations such as the Medical Opportunities Program (MOP), Black for Professional and Creative Communication (BPACC), and the Organization of Black Business Students (OBBS) represent major components of the Center. Through its four components of the Black Studies minor, faculty research, cultural programming, and student organizations, the Center provides a supplemental knowledge base for students desiring careers in the public sector that emphasize interethnic/ intercultural relations, or careers in the private sector that include blacks and other minorities as their clientele.

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