Editor: Keith Davis Writers: Alex Dippold, Dave Maley Publisher: Office of Public Information Volume 22, No.10   January 31, 2000

Roger Richardson Named Multicultural Affairs Director The founding director of an office that promotes multicultural initiatives at New York University has been appointed director of Ithaca College’s Office of Multicultural Affairs. Roger Richardson will begin his new duties on a full-time basis on April 3. Since 1988 Richardson had directed the Office for African American, Latino, and Asian American Student Services at NYU. In that capacity he advised the undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools regarding multicultural student services initiatives and assisted the university in increasing the enrollment, retention, graduation, and career placement of African American, Latino, and Asian American students. He also served as program adviser for NYU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar Program. "We are delighted that Roger Richardson has accepted our offer to become the next director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs," says John B. Oblak, vice president for student affairs and campus life. "He brings to the position a great deal of experience that should enable him to make significant contributions and provide excellent leadership as the office continues to move forward in serving our students." The Office of Multicultural Affairs has a primary responsibility to students who identify themselves as African American, Latino, Asian American, or Native American and works with all students to promote understanding and cooperation. The director is responsible for working with the College community to establish and evaluate campus-wide multicultural efforts and to increase diversity awareness. With Richardson’s appointment, the OMA moves from the Office of the Provost to the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life. Joining the OMA is the Ithaca Opportunity Program, a College-sponsored financial aid program designed to recruit, retain, and graduate academically qualified students who have historically been underrepresented in American higher education because of their ethnic and/or racial background. Remaining with the Office of the Provost is the New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program, which provides access to college for selected students whose prior academic experiences do not reflect their true potential. "The College has been reviewing its approach to diversity and to multicultural affairs with the intention of enhancing what is successful while positioning the institution to more assertively advance in this arena," says Tanya Saunders, assistant provost for special programs. "This reorganization will strengthen the College’s ability to provide coordinated academic and nonacademic support to greater numbers of our multicultural students while maintaining our commitment to both IOP and HEOP." Richardson is a Ph.D. candidate in higher education administration and planning at NYU. He has also served as an education policy fellow at the Institute for Higher Education Leadership in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.A. in psychology and M.S. in counseling and guidance from the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where he held positions as coordinator of the Educational and Cultural Enrichment Center and then director of the Office of Black Student Services. In 1980 Richardson joined the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, serving as an administrative manager/counselor and later as acting director of counseling services. From 1984 to 1985 he was associate director of minority educational affairs/state programs for the university. He left Cornell in 1986 to become assistant dean of residential life at Dartmouth College. Richardson is a member of the American Association for Higher Education, College Student Personnel Association, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and One Hundred Black Men Inc. His college and university service includes chairmanship of the Affirmative Action Task Force and the Educational Opportunity Advisory Board at Cornell and membership on the Chancellor’s Task Force on Diversity and the Conflict Resolution Student Life Committee at NYU. Richardson succeeds Keeon Gregory as director of OMA; associate professor of sociology Héctor Vélez-Guadalupe has guided the program during the transition period by serving as interim director and will continue in that role until Richardson joins the office full-time in April.

Created by Andrejs Ozolins. Updated 31. Jan. 2000