The University of Chicago is a center of people and cultures. OMSA's programs focus on enriching students' experiences and encouraging cross-cultural dialogue on campus. OMSA offers many programs designed to connect the multicultural student community and help them form meaningful friendships, share experiences, and collaborate. In addition to bringing students into contact with each other, we serve as a catalyst for interactions among students, alumni, and faculty.
We offer a wide variety of programs each quarter, and the best way to stay up-to-date is to sign up for the CI+I newsletter.
Below we have highlighted some of our major programs:
The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs hosts the Emerging Minds Project (EMP), a program that uses the Intergroup Dialogue Framework* to facilitate intentional dialogue and reflection on issues of equity, inclusion and justice. Participants develop skills for becoming equitable and inclusive leaders through weekly student facilitated dialogues. EMP is ONLY open to students of The College.
*Read about Intergroup Dialogue Here
During the winter and spring quarters, students have the opportunity to join a cohort to deepen their understanding of social justice, diversity, and identity on campus. Cohorts will meet once weekly five times during Winter Quarter (Weeks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8) and five times during the Spring quarter (Weeks 2, 4, 5, 7), on Wednesday (6 PM-8 PM), Thursday (6 PM-8 PM) OR Sunday (4 PM-6 PM).
Facilitator Applications and Participant Applications are open! Deadline Monday, November 1st.
Questions? Contact omsa@uchicago.edu.
Purpose:
- The purpose of EMP is to create a space for dialogue between students, to explore identity, social justice, equity and inclusion.
- Participants of this program will engage in facilitated discussions on topics including, but not limited to: race, disability, religion, class, access, power and privilege, white supremacy, sexuality, gender.
Program Goals
- Program participants will gain the skills to better navigate an increasingly complex society through a transformative learning experience.
- EMP will provide the necessary tools for students to promote the creation of a just, multicultural University of Chicago campus community through meaningful intergroup dialogue and education.
The Heritage Series celebrates our multicultural student population while addressing relevant social issues faced by these communities. Each year four speakers or artists are invited to give a keynote speech, share their work, and their thoughts around issues impacting communities of color.
Our graduation celebration is an annual event for all students of color graduating from the University. OMSA welcomes family, friends, alumni, staff, and other members of our campus community to join us as we recognize the contributions of our graduating students of color and multicultural students.