History
Towards the end of the 1960s, the civil rights movement led by blacks was extending its reach into discussions about curricular changes, places of refuge and solidarity for students, increasing minority faculty, and confronting institutionalized racism on predominantly white campuses. The members of the Afro-American Society at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) exemplified that trend.
Thus, the idea of a "cultural house" was born. It was taken to the Board of Regents' meeting in March of 1970; at that meeting, action on the proposal did not occur. This delay sparked a decision by the black students to stage a sit-in at the home of James William Maucker, President of UNI. The nine students that entered Maucker's residence demanded the President make the home of Vice President Lang into the cultural house when the latter vacated the premises upon his retirement in June. When Maucker did not take any action, the nine students remained in his home overnight and they were joined by twenty-two others (10 blacks and 12 whites) the next day. Six black students and one white student were suspended for their leadership in the sit-in at the Maucker home: Byron Washington, Tony Stevens, Joe Sailor, Terry Pearson (now Stevens), Palmer Byrd, Ann Bachman (now Burke), and Charles Dalton, Jr. These individuals have since become known as the UNI-Seven. Protests erupted in relation to the disciplinary hearings, and participants, from both on and off-campus, were monitored by the police-resulting in the sentencing of twenty-eight demonstrators to seven days in county jail
After much deliberation, the members of the Board of Regents supported by a vote of five-to-three the proposal that President Maucker presented for transforming Lang's home into the Ethnic Minority Cultural and Educational Center at the June meeting. The Ethnic Minorities Cultural and Educational Center (EMCEC) held an open house on Sunday, February 21, 1971, and officially started on Tuesday, February 23. Initially under the oversight of the director of the Educational Opportunity Program and, subsequently, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, the EMCEC moved under the aegis of the Vice President for Educational and Student Services in 1991. During the academic year of 1997-1998, the EMC changed its name to the Multicultural Education.
In 2003, the Center relocated to a new addition of the Maucker Union, where it is housed today. With a relaxed lounge area including a big screen TV, a large multipurpose room with build-in projection system, the Center for Multicultural Education is a terrific location for students, faculty and staff to host activities.
Stop by and check out our facilities today!