A Message from the Assistant Vice President of the CIE
September 2, 2022 2:45 PM
Welcome, Oberlin Community, to the newly formed Center for Intercultural Engagement!
The idea for the “CIE” was developed last fall by Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Karen Goff. As she reimagined the Division of Student Affairs, Dean Goff charged me upon my arrival in January 2022 with bringing together several areas of student life into one larger center that focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. With that framework in mind, I worked with four offices that were reorganized under the CIE to “reintroduce” ourselves to Oberlin students in fall 2022 with the goal of fostering a sense of belonging for each and every Obie. In doing so, we not only create synergy between areas that reflect the transectionality of student identities, but also allow for increased opportunities for campus programming, new partnerships and specialized student support.
As a result, the following offices were rebranded and refocused under new names:
-
International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)
(formerly International Student Resource Center) -
Multicultural Resource Commons (MRC)
(formerly Multicultural Resource Center) -
Office for Disability and Access (ODA)
(formerly Office of Student Accessibility Services) -
Office of Spirituality and Dialogue (OSD)
(formerly Office of Religious and Spiritual Life)
In looking to the future, there will be new (and renewed!) opportunities for student engagement through increased dialogue, enhanced programming, and intentional outreach. Our goal is to create a welcoming environment for any student, whether they identify with one, any, or all areas that we support. And if students identify with none of them but are interested in participating and learning about others (and themselves), our doors are open!
So, we embark on this new journey together; I encourage Obies to visit us once or often to let us know what YOU need. Inclusion and Belonging is a two-way street and we are excited to discover together what is both unique and unified in all of us.
Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Mark Sapara (“Dean Mark”)
Assistant Vice President and Dean for Intercultural Engagement