MSA History
- History of African American Student Affairs
- History of Asian/Asian American Student Affairs
- History of Hispanic/Latino Student Affairs
Between 2001 and 2004, much research went into instituting and developing a plan for Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) as a result of suggestions from external consultants and the African American Student Affairs Strategic Planning Committee. Vice President William Banis and Dean of Students Mary Desler invited stakeholders such as students, staff, faculty and administrators to contribute and collaborate in conducting student focus groups, surveys and discussions to help determine the direction of cultural engagement and the creation of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Programmatically speaking, MSA was created to centralize the infrastructure and resources that were previously allocated to and independently managed by the three departments that comprise MSA: African American Student Affairs (AASA), Asian/Asian American Student Affairs (A/AASA), and Hispanic/Latino Student Affairs (H/LSA). More importantly, the unification of AASA, A/AASA, and H/LSA under the umbrella unit of MSA was symbolic of the inclusive and collaborative culture that was desired. Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA), founded in 2004, was created to promote the interests of students of color and celebrate the cultural diversity of the Northwestern University community.
Historical Dates
- Bursar Sit-In in 1968
- African American Student Affairs was founded in 1972
- African American Studies Department founded in 1972
- Asian American Studies Hunger Strike 1995
- Asian American Studies Program founded in 1999
- Hispanic/Latino Student Affairs was founded in 2000
- Asian/Asian American Student Affairs was founded in 2001
- Multicultural Student Affairs was founded in 2004
- Latina/o Studies Program was founded in 2009