The Auburn University Multicultural Center’s title has been changed to the Cross-Cultural Center for Excellence, effective immediately.
Allen Sutton, Cross-Cultural Center for Excellence director, said the change change in name is symbolic of efforts to create more dialogue between people of various cultural backgrounds.
“The decision to rename the Multicultural Center coincides with the recent renaming of the Office of Inclusion and Diversity and the relocation of the center to 2103 Student Center,” Sutton said. “It also signals a shift in focus from the mere celebration of multiculturalism to one that focuses on dialogue and interaction between all cultures, which is something that is sorely missing in today’s society."
Sutton said all of these factors contributed to the decision to change the facility's name.
"With the new location and renewed focus…it just made sense to change the name," Sutton said.
The name change will also reflect the cultural center’s updated mission statement, Sutton said.
“Our main focus is to ensure that all students gain a sense of belonging while here at Auburn and our secondary focus is to prepare all Auburn students for a multicultural world and global marketplace,” Sutton said. “In order to be successful in today's workforce one must have the ability to relate to people from different cultural backgrounds and no matter what profession they enter, they'll find themselves working with people who either look, think, or act differently."
Sutton said he encourages every student to come to the Cross-Cultural Center for Excellence's events in order to broaden their cultural perspectives.
"The center aims to help students by offering programming that explores various cultural viewpoints and perspectives on the issues," Sutton said. "We encourage people to come out to our programs and expand their worldview.”
Sutton said he knows there is potential for varied reactions to the removal of the word “multiculturalism” from the name of the center.
“’Multiculturalism’, like ‘diversity’, is a word that elicits strong responses both for and against, but research has consistently shown that we learn more from people who are different from us," Sutton said. "Diversity and multiculturalism promotes creative thinking by expanding how we view things...the controversy around both words is mostly political as people view them as a give and take."
We gain the ability to think from several different perspectives when we learn from others, Sutton said.
"When done correctly, diversity and multiculturalism is a win/win," Sutton said. "A college campus is like having the world at your fingertips without the travel…why not take advantage and learn from our fellow peers?"
Sutton said multiculturalism is not about conforming to ideas, but rather learning from them.
"If college is indeed about the communication of ideas, then multiculturalism must be one of those ideas that we aspire to learn from," Sutton said. "I try every day to ensure that I am communicating that message to our students."
Everyone that works at the center strives to support the Auburn Family, Sutton said.
"I think there will be those that will love the new name and there will be some who do not," Sutton said. "Our philosophy is…we are here for both.”
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