The Office of Minority Student Programs was organized at Iowa State University in 1973. In 1978, the name was changed to the Office of Minority Student Affairs and renamed the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in 2004. The office exists to ensure educational support and opportunities for students identified as minorities, including African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. This collection contains programs from conferences and events, meeting minutes, photographs, and slides. The slides and photographs document some of the minority student activities at Iowa State.

In November 1971, Robert Lott was appointed Assistant Dean of Students and charged with directing programs for minority students. Lott organized the Office of Minority Student Programs in 1973 and became the first full-time coordinator of Minority Programs. In 1978, the name was changed to the Office of Minority Student Affairs. The office exists to ensure educational opportunities for those students who are identified as minorities -- African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. This office was discontinued in 2001, and the position was continued as an office within the Student Affairs Division under the Dean of Students. In 2004, the office was renamed Multicultural Student Affairs.

The Multicultural Student Affairs Office offers a number of programs for incoming and current multicultural students at Iowa State. The Academic Program for Excellence (APEX) is a summer program designed to help incoming multicultural students prepare for college academics, the Carver Academy offers guidance and enrichment opportunities to its members, and the ISCORE (Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity) project allows students to participate in seminars, workshops, and conferences focusing on racial and ethnicity issues. The Multicultural Student Affairs Office also provides support to multicultural students through leadership and job opportunities, scholarships, academic support services, and cultural centers, such as the Black Cultural Center and the Multicultural Center.

Directors:

This collection (1974-[ongoing]) contains event programs, meeting minutes, photographs, and slides. The slides in the collection document student activities during the early history of the Multicultural Student Affairs Office, primarily during the 1970s, and the photographs document students from 2000 forward. Other materials include programs and publicity for conferences and other events sponsored by the Multicultural Student Affairs Office.

Related collections in the University Archives, Iowa State University Library include:

• Multicultural Student Affairs Office Records, RS 7/5.
• International, Ethnic, and Foreign Language Student Organizations Files, RS 22/3.

The collection is listed alphabetically.