Division of Diversity and Inclusion announces new investments and initiatives

The Ohio University Division of Diversity and Inclusion is proud to announce several new investments and initiatives being put into place to benefit students, faculty and staff for the upcoming year.

Effective immediately, the Ohio University Multicultural Center and the Office of Multicultural Success and Retention (OMSAR) are being merged into one center. The new office, which will be named early in the fall semester after receiving input from students and the University community, will continue the programs already in place and look for ways to enhance and expand programming in order to benefit the University community.

“The Multicultural Center and OMSAR both do incredibly important work for Ohio University and our students, and this new center will combine strengths, better align programming, and allow us to increase our work and our impact,” explained Dr. Salome Nnoromele, interim vice president of diversity and inclusion.

In addition, in response to student requests for the renovation of the Multicultural Center space on the second floor of the Baker University Center, the University is renovating the space in order to better meet student programming needs and the needs associated with the merging centers.

During the fall semester, the programs that formerly took place in the Multicultural Center in the Baker University Center will move to a temporary home at 31 S. Court Street. The programs will move back to the Baker University Center after the renovation work is complete.

“Our students asked us to renovate this space to better meet their needs, and I am pleased that we have been able to move quickly on this project,” Nnoromele said.

As part of the reorganization of units in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, a new position has been also created to focus on faculty and staff diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion is proud to announce that Dr. Winsome Chunnu will fill the new role of Senior Director for Diversity Education Initiatives. Chunnu formerly served as the strategic director for Diversity and Inclusion and Multicultural Programs and Initiatives and led the Multicultural Center. In this new role, Chunnu will work with faculty and staff to support professional development programs and to assist with recruitment efforts in order to build a more diverse community.

With Chunnu leaving her prior role and with Dr. Chris Fowler moving from interim director of OMSAR when named as the director of The Women’s Center in June, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion will be posting positions for two new leaders for the new center. A new director and associate director will be hired during the fall semester. A search for a new assistant director of Multicultural Programs is already underway. The assistant director will provide support for our multicultural students’ organizations, student recruitment and retention activities and provide expanded programming to enhance the inclusion and greater sense of belonging for multicultural student populations in collaboration with Division of Diversity and Inclusion colleagues. 

In addition, a new administrative assistant position is being created in order to better support the new center, the LGBT Center, and the Women’s Center.

The LGBT Center, which is also part of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion and led by Dr. Micah McCarey, had its space on the third floor of the Baker University Center relocated during the 2021-22 academic year. That space reopened in February 2022 in Baker 348.

For additional information on the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, please visit ohio.edu/diversity.