The Office of Intercultural Engagement & Inclusion is committed to providing students with resources, a safe space, mentorship, & opportunities to engage in community building & social justice through programming opportunities and transformational moments.
We oversee the Renjen Center for Equity & Empowerment, also known as the E&E. The E&E is your home away from home. It is a welcoming and inclusive space where students of various identities can find connection, support, and resources. The space is grounded in the empowerment of historically underrepresented students and all students supporting this mission are welcome.
Here’s what we’re looking forward to this academic year:
- Collaborating with the Gender Resource and Advocacy Center on a new social justice workshop series, Do Better: Allyship to Accompliceship.
- Building up our Mosaics Mentorship Program for First -Gen Scholars and its residential themed community– the program has now grown to 23 scholars!
- Hosting the first Multiracial Heritage Week in March.
- Launching the Association of Student Athletes of Color (ASAOC).
- Curating a community mural (information on how students can get involved to come).
- Opening a spice library in the E&E.
- Offering off-campus opportunities for students to get acquainted and educated with our local communities.
- Hosting the campus’s first Asian American Pacific Islander South Asian Night Market in the Spring.
- Supporting Native Indigenous Solidarity Student Union’s Powwow.
And so much more!
Below are some key highlights from the office to recap the past academic year — an OIEI 2023–2024 Wrapped:
- Hosted 44 programs which attracted over 408 unique attendees consisting of students, staff, faculty, and community members.
- KaraokE&E was our highest attended event which was held during the 2023 Opening Days with 88 attendees, followed by May’s A POV as a POC with 37 attendees.
- Welcomed 20 first year students through the former ‘Ohana Jump Start program.
- Coordinated a full academic year’s worth of heritage month and commemorative programming in collaboration with students, staff, and faculty to bring celebration, education, and connection to the Willamette community.
- Brought in 4 speakers local to the Pacific Northwest — Ayuthea LaPier, Sterling Cunio, Jendayi Brooks-Flemister, and Caitlin Chow-Ise.
- Shared a new large-scale program, Fusion Fest, a cultural dance night (and has now been transformed for more forms of art)!
- Celebrated the E&E’s 11th birthday!
- Led 7 presentations on a variety of EDI-related topics to various student groups and stakeholders on campus.
- Welcomed a cohort of 3 scholars for the Mosaics Mentorship Program for First-Gen Scholars.
- Juliane presented at the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE) on how to utilize pop culture and sports through a DEI-lens to create authentic bonds with students (and will present again in the November convening).
There are a lot of things we’re looking forward to this academic year and we hope to bring you all along in the journey. Follow @willametteintercultural to stay up to date with all of our program offerings. If you’re looking to join our newsletter, get involved, or have any questions, please reach out to our office at intercultural-engagement-info@willamette.edu! Interested in working for the office? Student leadership positions will be open in the Spring.
The Office of Intercultural Engagement & Inclusion is located in the E&E. There you will find Juliane (the Director) and her team of student leaders– feel free to visit us or schedule an appointment. We’d love to invite you to an upcoming opportunity to meet all of us! On Oct. 16, we invite you to the E&E from 11:45 a.m.–1p.m. to Comethru: Meet the Staff. Here you can meet us, learn about what we do, and share ideas. We hope to see you there!