University of Wyoming replaces 'multicultural affairs' office with community center for all students

As efforts to curb Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are picking up steam across the country, educators in one western state are being required to follow suit.

The University of Wyoming (UW) recently announced its intent to eliminate and replace its Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) in the wake of state-level legislation forcing it to do so. The new office, the Pokes Center for Community Resources, “will serve as a conduit for education and material support in areas such as food and housing security, family support, employment and general living skills,” according to UW President Ed Seidel.

According to the center’s website, the university created it in order to “provide a centralized location where students and their families can learn about institutional and community resources pertaining to basic life skills, resources and skills development.”

In contrast, OMA’s mission statement, prior to being taken down, centered around “advocat[ing] alongside historically and presently marginalized students to develop a holistic sense of self and belonging through community building and identity affirming intersectional programming.” 

“This work is accomplished through fostering campus and community partnerships to ensure student success at UW and beyond,” it continued. 

UW was also required to shutter its “Poke Pride Center,” which will now serve as a “clothing and resources closet” open to all students.

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UW alumnus and Laramie PrideFest Co-Chair Nicholas Jesse expressed disappointment in the decision, stating that he felt OMA was “safe and welcoming.” 

“I also just used it as a space because it always felt safe and welcoming,” he said. “It’s always been a community center, but having it called the multicultural center allowed people of different ethnicities, different sexual orientations and different gender orientations to feel a little bit more comfortable in that space, especially with some of the historic relations with that [group] on campus.”

The move comes in the wake of similar actions from university leadership. In May, UW shut down its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for similar reasons, noting that the state legislature had removed over $1.7 million from the school’s budget previously set aside for DEI initiatives.

President Seidel said that the school would have been forced to eliminate several other similar programs, but school administration determined that several programs previously labeled as being DEI-oriented had been “incorrectly” categorized.

[RELATED: University of Wyoming scraps DEI department after state cuts funding]

According to Seidel, school leadership had “heard from our community that many of the services that might have incorrectly been categorized under DEI are important for the success of our students, faculty and staff.”

Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Wyoming and President Seidel for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.