Multicultural Center

We are a community that is committed to the growth and healing of all systematically marginalized identities, to educating every student on social inequities, and how to get engaged in improving the future. We acknowledge that an individual is made up of a multiplicity of identities that shape their experiences and aim to provide space and education necessary to explore the intersections of who they are.

We are a community that nurtures faith and spirituality, dialogue and remains engaged with other traditions, and practices outside of our direct scope. We strive to support students in their journey to becoming empathetic leaders, who set the model on campus in enhancing peer to peer relationships and their relationships as leaders for global society. We provide and explore these opportunities through student leadership, mentorship, through our active cultural affinity, identity-based and faith/religious based organizations, and partnerships with our vibrant inclusive community, including the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) and the Greater Boston community.

Vision Statement

Our campus serves as a transformative oasis for many faiths and worldviews to Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumnae/i fostering an inclusive community that advocates for spiritual well-being, leadership development, and personal/social growth. In addition to collaborating with and drawing strength from those with whom they share a common identity while promoting intercultural and intergenerational dialogue and connection among all members of the Simmons community.

We are committed to creating space to fully embrace spiritual identity, education, and celebrating traditions from all backgrounds and lived experiences. This department celebrates and affirms individuals on their journey to becoming well-rounded, equity minded individuals empowered in their spiritual identity.

Our vision is to create a legacy of equitable and inclusive leadership by challenging our community to stretch beyond their current understanding to embrace discomfort and vulnerability and advance their understanding of intersectionality, critical thinking, personal accountability, empathy and compassion, and fostering community.

Intersectionality

• To enhance one's understanding of the diverse plethora of multiple identities and how they interact with each other daily.
• To expand the support of communities with which our students intersect.
• To empower community members to join in creating solutions where the gaps may lie.

Critical Thinking

• To commit to learning and educating self.
• To question information being presented.
• To take into consideration multiple perspectives.
• To analyze the implications of a belief or action.
• To resolve disagreements using evidence and logic

Personal Accountability

• To be committed to change.
• To be educated on current obstacles that students face and affect their experiences.
• To have the growth mindset to take ownership.
• To be lucid in communication and the direction of next steps.
• To seek out education and training from appropriate and informed sources.
• To engage in community based conflict resolution.

Empathy and Compassion

• To grow empathy to build stronger connections.
• To be active in gaining comprehension on new and nuanced perspectives.
• To commit to people over processes.

Foster Community

• To comprehend that any equity issue is a community responsibility.
• To evaluate and improve on the current resources capable of addressing current obstacles.
• To co-create and collaborate across backgrounds for solutions to community issues.
• To empower and center perspectives that live at the intersections of experiences.
• To participate in activities that encourage the exploration of one's identity, culture, and heritage as well as an understanding of others in the community.

Values (REAL)

• Relationship: Navigating meaningful connections, relationship building, and challenging conversations through respectful discourse.
• Education: Educating the whole person and developing open minded, compassionate, and change agents for a global society.
• Advocacy: Individual and community-based spiritual guidance or support and working toward advocating for spiritual needs within the greater community as well.
• Leadership: Student leadership and growth through strengthening individual and community spiritual identity, working together as a collective, and orchestrating community engagement.

Visit the Multicultural Center Virtual Program Recordings and Presentations Google Drive to view past program/workshop recordings, presentations and documents. Look out for future events and opportunities through the Multicultural Center and Spiritual Identity Support!