Multicultural Center
Academic Support and Student Life
The mission of the Multicultural Center is to enhance academic achievement, create a sense of belonging, celebrate diversity, and foster positive relations among UMD students, faculty, and staff. The center accomplishes this by:
- providing a forum for communication, discussion and understanding of educational, political, social, and cultural issues of concern to the students served at the Multicultural Center;
- supporting programs and activities that promote the appreciation and awareness necessary for a truly multicultural and inclusive community;
- providing support and advising for student organizations;
- serving as a catalyst for change and support of the University’s effort to achieve pluralism; and
- providing personal and academic support, advising, and disability accommodations.
Multicultural programs on campus include Disability Services and Resources, which serves students with disabilities; the African American Learning Resource Center; the Hispanic/Latino/Chicana Learning Resource Center; the Asian/Pacific Learning Resource Center; and the Women’s Resource and Action Center.
Disability Resources
Disability Resources provides appropriate and reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. Commonly provided services include assistance with adaptive equipment, note-taking assistance, sign language interpreters, test accommodations, textbooks in alternative formats, priority registration, advocacy, and problem resolution. Specific accommodations and services depend on a student’s documented needs and are initiated at the student’s request. In addition to direct services, Disability Services and Resources serves as a liaison to academic units and university offices, vocational rehabilitation programs, and community programs. It also provides disability-related training, technical assistance, and consultation for faculty and staff.
For more information or to request services, contact Disability Services and Resources, University of Minnesota Duluth, 236 Kirby Student Center, 1120 Kirby Drive, Duluth, MN 55812-3085 (218-726-8217 or 218-726-7380 TTY; www.d.umn.edu/access).
African American Learning Resource Center
This office provides support services—such as counseling, academic advising, tutoring, and financial aid services—to African American students. The office coordinates campus-wide efforts to increase understanding of minority issues and foster an appreciation of cultural diversity. The African American Learning Resource Center works with the Black Student Association in coordinating UMD’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, Black History Month, and other cultural events.
Asian/Pacific Islanders Learning Resource Center (APLRC)
The goal and mission of the APLRC office is to recruit, retain, and graduate Asian/Pacific American students by providing services that help them adjust, integrate, and achieve at UMD both socially and academically. The supportive services provided include academic advising, counseling, tutoring, financial aid counseling, and housing and employment assistance.
The office coordinates campus-wide efforts in diversity education by providing cultural programming, guest lectures, presentations, and increasing awareness. It also hosts public events and engages in outreach activities to the Asian-Pacific American communities through seminars, conferences, forums, speakers, and social gatherings. In addition, the office provides educational opportunities for students seeking information about and understanding of the Asian-Pacific American culture in order to become effective competitors in the global market.
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Services (GLBT)
The GLBT Services Office in 245 and 247 Kirby Student Center develops, coordinates, implements, and evaluates programs and services that affirm GLBT people and their allies, supports their academic success and social development, and encourages an environment that promotes and appreciates multiculturalism.
The GLBT Services staff works to improve the campus climate by collaborating with collegiate units, and local, state, and national organizations to address the harmful effects of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identification and gender expression. For more detailed information and resources, visit the Web site at www.d.umn.edu/mlrc/glbt or call 218-726-7300.
Hispanic/Latino/Chicana (HLC) Learning Resource Center
The HLC Learning Resource Center provides and facilitates support services to Hispanic/Latino/Chicana students, including recruitment, counseling, academic advising, tutoring, housing and employment assistance, and financial aid counseling.
The center also coordinates campus-wide efforts to increase understanding of minority issues and foster an appreciation of cultural diversity. It works with the Latino/Chicana Student Association in coordinating the Latino/Chicana Heritage Celebration, Latin American Awareness Month, Annual Fiesta, and other cultural events.
International Student Services
The International Student Services (ISS) is the office dedicated to serving UMD's international community which consists of students from over 40 different countries. Our primary mission is to assist international students in successfully accomplishing their academic and personal goals.
UMD's fall 2010 enrollment was 11,729 students, with approximately 240 international students.
For additional information please visit our website at: http://www.d.umn.edu/internationalstudents/index.html
Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC)
The Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC) is a student-run, student-oriented organization that gives students an opportunity to enrich their educational experience. WRAC seeks to provide support and encouragement for all women on the UMD campus.
An alliance of student interns and volunteers provides a wide variety of resources and services for both male and female students. These include information about University opportunities, job postings, peer counseling and victim service referrals, extensive resource files and a book collection for academic and personal use, campus outreach and educational services, and special programming designed to meet the needs of the diverse University population. WRAC provides a private room and refrigerator for the use of nursing mothers and a safe space for students.
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