The Office of Multicultural Affairs has recently begun deciding between three finalists for the director position that has been open since last semester.
A committee of 12 members, including students and faculty are conducting on-campus interviews as well as listening to each finalists presentation on their vision for the office.
Dr. Steven Moore, McNair Scholars program director and associate professor of language and literature, has been serving on the committee in search of the new director since its inception last semester and has enjoyed the experience.
“It’s been an exciting process for me and I think for many of us on the committee,” Moore said. “I think it’s just great for us to meet individuals who are excited about this position and see what their visions are, what their goals are and for us to go through the process to which candidate will be excellent in carrying out the vision for OMA.”
The committee has been holding multiple meetings and conversations to align their visions for where they want the OMA to go.
“We’ve had plenty of time and several meetings and several opportunities to just meditate and pray,” Moore said. “We’ve been in prayer throughout the entire process just to make sure we have the right person for the job.”
In addition to the committee members sitting in on presentations, interns from the OMA office have also been present to provide their feedback and ask questions.
With the lack of a director in place, the office has been run for the most part by the 10 interns and they are excited to find a director that sticks.
“I’ve been with OMA since my freshman year since I was desperately trying to find somewhere that was a safe space,” OMA intern Priscilla Hernandez said. “With this process, it’s been stressful because we’ve had, in my years here, two directors and an interim director. We haven’t had that consistency. We understand that it takes time to make change but no one has been here long enough to make that change.”
Multiple facets of change such as representation and intercultural connection are being actively sought out by students through this process of searching for a long term director.
“OMA is an office at ACU but we are treated like a small organization,” said Hernandez, junior child and family services major from Irving. “We have an event called Underground and we kind of joke about it because we feel like we are almost underground. Because of the constant changes these past four years, the interns get fatigued and irritated and that creates the idea that nothing ever gets done. We need more people like faculty working for the office.”
Though two finalists are chosen, the timeline is still slightly unclear as to when a director will be chosen for OMA.
