Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at The University of Chicago

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Learn About OMSA

About OMSA

The Coordinating Council for Minority Issues, the precursor to OMSA, came to be as a result of suggestions made in 1986 by an ad hoc committee of students, faculty, and staff which was chaired by Professor Dorothy Norton. The Norton Report, as it came to be called, made a number of recommendations which were designed to halt the decrease in Black student enrollment. In 1987, then-president Hannah Gray directed the formation of the Coordinating Council for Minority Issues.

In the years since its inception, CCMI grew from an ad hoc committee with a volunteer chairperson to a formal office within Central Administration, complete with professional permanent staff. On November 20, 2002, the name of this office was officially changed to the Office of Minority Student Affairs to better describe our main mission - promoting recruitment, retention, and quality of campus life of minority students.

On July 1, 2007 the name of this office was changed to the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.  This change reflects both student and staff input, and more accurately reflects the mission and work of the office.  The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs recognizes and honors the complex, multifaceted, and nuanced nature of identity.