In 1992, a group of concerned students submitted to Dean of
Students, Ron Klepcyk, and Provost, Warren Board, a proposal
for an African American Resource Room, which was created in
the Chandler Residence Hall. A grant by the United Church of
Christ was used to provide resources for the room.
Upon the recommendation of Provost Warren Board to the Board
of Trustees, the Office of Multicultural Affairs was created
in 1993. The primary function of the office was to
create and maintain supportive programs for the development
and advancement of mainly, African American students.
L'Tanya Richmond was hired as the founding director
and served in both Multicultural Affairs and Admissions from
1993 to 2000, when she became the full-time Director of
Multicultural Affairs.
In the fall of 2000, Elon was named in the Kaplan Daystar as
one of the top 100 schools in the nation for African American
students. The African American Resource Room was moved
to the Moseley Center in December of 1994, and then expanded
to become the Multicultural Center in the fall of 2002 where
it is currently located. For the first time, the center
contained an office for the director. The center
continued its outstanding programs to support African
American students, while broadening its mission to serve an
increasingly diverse student body and support diversity
education of all students.
The 2005 report by the The Education Trust ranks Elon
University as one of only 15 schools in the nation where
there is a small or non-existent gap between the graduation
rates of African American and white students. In the
fall of 2006, the NewCentury@Elon II plan called for
broadening the role of the Multicultural Center as a way to
deepen Elon's tradition of community.
