The Office of Multicultural Affairs is charged with galvanizing the College's efforts to become a community that embraces diversity and the challenges posed by encounters with different cultural perspectives and experiences. The College's most recent Strategic Plan cites as a strategic imperative that we "promote a climate that values and celebrates diversity" and "formulate and institutionalize, through words and actions, a definition of diversity for Trinity that is broad and inclusive." In coordination with other College offices, the Office of Multicultural Affairs promotes intercultural dialogue and plans and executes initiatives to promote a campus environment that respects and celebrates diversity in all its dimensions, including but not limited to differences of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and physical ability.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs, funding for which has been increased in response to the Strategic Plan's mandate, is centrally engaged in efforts designed to meet the goal of weaving multiculturalism into the institutional fabric of Trinity College. The goals of the Office include helping recruit and sustain a diverse student body, faculty and staff; assisting faculty as they seek to infuse the curriculum with a greater emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism; and supporting students as they devise their own mechanisms of support and endeavor to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of self and others.
The Dean of Multicultural Affairs, Karla Spurlock-Evans, reports to the President and plays a pivotal role in coordinating faculty, staff, and student efforts to make the campus environment one that is inclusive and truly multicultural. The Dean undertakes programs that increase awareness of and sensitivity to cultural diversity and that enrich the overall Trinity experience for all members of the College community. The Dean plays a key leadership role in developing critical multicultural initiatives at the College; but the responsibility for achieving Trinity's goals in this area rests with all departments, offices and individuals. We all share responsibility for making Trinity a more diverse community, welcoming to and supportive of everyone.