Optimist
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Features
    • Book Review
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Police Log
  • Print Edition
  • Projects
  • Classifieds
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
You are here: Home / News / OMA director to leave for Lipscomb
Prentice Ashford, director of OMA, and other faculty members came out to meet the incoming class at this years block party. (Photo by Emily Guajardo).

OMA director to leave for Lipscomb

January 25, 2018 by Haley Remenar

Prentice Ashford, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will leave the university after spring break to serve as dean of intercultural development at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Ashford grew up in Abilene and graduated from ACU in 2013 with a degree in family studies. He served in the Center for Building Community for a year before taking the role of the director of the Office of Multicultural Enrichment, as OMA was called in 2014.

Since he started the job only one year after graduating, Ashford said he faced the challenge of earning the respect of his peers and other older staff members. He also said his education in family studies helped him understand how people come from different backgrounds and walks of life that influence how people interact with the world.

“It helped me realize you can’t be mad at how people were raised,” Ashford said. “You can only challenge them and then kind of judge based off of how they respond once they’re open to new ways of life and people.”

He said his goal was to make the purpose of the office clear and to get student groups to make their purposes clear as well.

“It’s for student support and education,” Ashford said. “The past two years, I’ve had more people reach out to OMA as a resource.”

Conversations about racial issues began to change as early as 2013, after the shooting of Trayvon Martin brought national attention to racial issues, Ashford said. His role became more about “peacemaking,” he said, teaching students conflict resolution and how to respond in conversations about racial tension. The Adams Center for Teaching and Learning and other departments on campus began asking for assistance to understand diversity issues. Ashford helped create more student involvement in the office, starting with a single student internship and building to a student council in the fall.

“Just getting students empowered enough to lead efforts, that’s been pretty big,” Ashford said.

Ashford said he really loved helping students find a voice through little projects like the “There’s a Difference” documentary, the “Broken Views of Broken People” photo project and the open-mic demonstration in response to the blackface video.

Danial Vargas, graduate accounting student from Carrolton, worked with Ashford as a volunteer for OMA for three years and as a graduate assistant helping develop future OMA programs. He said both students and faculty of all ethnicities felt comfortable going to Ashford for help.

“There were so many students who would come to him for advice,” Vargas said. “He could connect with pretty much anybody.”

Lindsie Lawson, a senior global studies and Spanish major from The Colony, served as an OMA intern last year and now works with Ashford on the OMA student board. She said Ashford’s strengths included his ability to listen and include many different students.

“He made us not just a team, but a family,” Lawson said. “A lot of people these days want to be ‘colorblind,’ but he says it’s about seeing color and embracing it.”

She said although many students will miss his presence on campus, Ashford set a foundation for student leaders that will continue the work he started.

Like ACU, Lipscomb is affiliated with Churches of Christ. Ashford will serve as head of Lipscomb’s Office of Intercultural Development which oversees student minority groups on the campus. Lipscomb made national headlines last semester over a racial incident involving a cotton centerpiece.  Ashford said his positive and negative experiences at ACU will help him as he takes this new role, especially being able to understand the campus climate and gauge the attitudes of students.

He will move to Nashville with his wife Trisha and three children.

A new director of OMA has not yet been hired. Dr. Chris Riley, vice president for Student Life, said plans for the organizational structure of OMA will include discussions with the Diversity Task Force, a committee of faculty, staff and students formed as part of the university’s Strategic Plan.

Filed Under: News

Other News:

  • Arch apartments receive complaints from students, issues with communication, maintenance

  • Undergraduate Research, Creativity and Innovation Festival accepting abstracts for presentations until Friday

  • Annual Lunar New Year celebration held by ASO

About Haley Remenar

2017-2018 Editor in Chief

You are here: Home / News / OMA director to leave for Lipscomb

Other News:

  • Arch apartments receive complaints from students, issues with communication, maintenance

  • Undergraduate Research, Creativity and Innovation Festival accepting abstracts for presentations until Friday

  • Annual Lunar New Year celebration held by ASO

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
2 Feb

BREAKING: Campus will be operating remotely in the morning. Any classes after 1 p.m. will be in person.

Reply on Twitter 1620939263557734401 Retweet on Twitter 1620939263557734401 Like on Twitter 1620939263557734401 Twitter 1620939263557734401
acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
31 Jan

BREAKING: Campus will continue operating remotely Wednesday due to continued icy conditions.

Reply on Twitter 1620523455421779970 Retweet on Twitter 1620523455421779970 Like on Twitter 1620523455421779970 1 Twitter 1620523455421779970

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

1 week ago

The Optimist
ACU’s Alpha Psi Omega chapter raised money for the Living Waters Charity by putting on a show in the span of 24 hours. See more photos from our gallery: ... See MoreSee Less

Gallery: 24-Hour Musical tells the heartwarming story of Junie B. Jones - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

ACU’s Alpha Psi Omega chapter raised money for the Living Waters Charity by putting on a show in the span of 24 hours. This year, the department chose to perform the beloved children’s musical “...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

1 week ago

The Optimist
Greek Life has started a partnership with Campus Director, a software company that works with universities all over the country. Read more: ... See MoreSee Less

Student life implements new software, updates rushing process - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

Greek Life has started a partnership with Campus Director, a software company that works with universities all over the country. The Campus Director software has an algorithm programmed to match rushe...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 1, 2023

Our top stories this week include campus closures due to inclement weather, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 25, 2023
  • Women’s tournament run ended by first-round exit against UTRGV
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 22. 2022

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • Podcasts

© 2023 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved