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Name change will better reflect office’s work

Posted on | October 29, 2010 | 4,545 views |

Valerie Lee said that changing the name of the former Office of Minority Affairs is an important part of advancing the diversity agenda at Ohio State.

The OMA was established (propelled by student protests) in 1970 to support minority students, faculty and staff.

Now the Board of Trustees decided the time has come to recognize, officially, that the business of that office has long since become far more expansive than the old name implied.

As far back as 10 years ago, former vice provost Mac Stewart began work to lay the groundwork for the name change - meeting with student advisory groups and other interested parties to make the case.

Having a keen understanding of the complexities of diversity in the 21st century, Lee pressed forward with the name change when she took over as interim upon Stewart’s retirement last April. Read more: Lee, always a trailblazer, chosen to advance diversity agenda

A name change can be difficult for some constituents, Lee said, because with 40 years of history behind it, people’s memories of the university go back to a time when, for example, students of color couldn’t live in the same residence halls as white students.

“Over the years, the Office of Minority Affairs was there for many of these people when many other units weren’t,” Lee said. “So some fear losing the warmth of that connection.”

But at the same time, Lee said the name of the office no longer fits with what it is, what it does, or what it can become. Most of Ohio State’s institutional peers have long since made similar name changes to their respective offices that do similar work.

“We want to be in a position to help set the national agenda for discussions about diversity and inclusion, but we have a name that limits that conversation,” she said. “I care a lot about language; language and words matter, so I would want the name of the unit to be in sync with its ongoing mission.

“Many young people of this current generation of students, the Millennials, don’t see themselves as minorities,” Lee said. “With YouTube, Facebook, the Internet in general, their world is so much smaller and more inclusive than it was for previous generations.”

And the term “minority” in itself is a word that carries some baggage. “It served its purpose in the 60s and 70s, but if you look at it today, there’s no getting around that it’s negatively nuanced.”  “Difference,” Lee said, “is not a deficit-it’s a dividend.”

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