STUDENT SERVICES

Vision

The Office of Multicultural Affairs Student Services is committed to creating a campus community that is dedicated to numerical, intellectual and interactional diversity.

Mission

The Office of Multicultural Affairs Student Services (OMCA-SS) strategically plans and implements a broad range of services and programs to assist Temple students in embracing the university’s commitment to multiculturalism.  OMCA-SS is responsible for assessing the extent to which Temple is advancing multiculturalism through its curricular offerings and co-curricular programming, and partners with various student organizations, academic departments, administrative offices, community groups and individuals throughout the campus to provide continuous multicultural educational opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the community.  Additionally, the OMCA-SS is focused on creating a campus culture that ensures academic success for African, Latino, Asian and Native American (ALANA) students.

The OMCA-SS facilitates programs and activities to help students, staff, faculty, and administrators develop programs, curricula, and policies that promote and foster an appreciation of the various peoples, cultures and perspectives extant in the United States and the world. The OMCA-SS partnerships are focused on educating the campus community on the importance of understanding and embracing individuals and groups who may differ from themselves based on their sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, age, ability, and socioeconomic status.

The OMCA-SS recognizes that there have been impediments to academic success for certain groups of students. In order to rectify historical and contemporary barriers, OMCA-SS will create programs and policies that will enhance the retention and graduation rates of ALANA students, as well as students from economically challenged backgrounds.

Finally, the OMCA-SS is dedicated to creating a campus environment that recognizes the importance of cultural pluralism and embraces multicultural competency as a core developmental objective for students. Multicultural competency is central to creating an intellectual environment that encourages the development and exchange of knowledge from all perspectives and contributes to the movement for social justice.

Goals

The goals of the OMCA-SS are to:

1. Develop, promote, and encourage multicultural competency among individual students, student leaders, and student organizations;
2. Facilitate an on-going dialogue at Temple University related to the various dimensions of multiculturalism, including racism, classism, sexism, ageism, homophobia/heterosexism, abilism, and religious/cultural intolerance;
3. Develop strategic relationships with student organizations, particularly those promoting multiculturalism;
4. Develop curricular and co-curricular strategies and programs to improve the academic performance and social development of African, Latino, Asian and Native American students, as well as students from economically challenged backgrounds;
5. Provide professional development and training to Temple students, faculty, and staff in the area of multicultural competency;
6. Review Temple policies, procedures, and statements for inclusion of language and practices that reflects Temple’s commitment to multiculturalism;
7. Collaborate with various academic and administrative departments, offices, centers, institutes and schools at Temple to achieve Temple’s vision for multiculturalism;
8. Serve as an advocate for students in the area of multiculturalism by providing Temple administrators and faculty with a clear understanding of student needs and issues, while at the same time educating students about Temple’s position on multiculturalism;
9. Assist Temple University in being a regional and national leader in the field of multicultural affairs