Office of Intercultural Development seeks to educate, foster engagement on campus
Lipscomb's increasingly diverse student body has a rich resource in the Office of Intercultural Development
Kim Chaudoin |
The Lipscomb University community is one that reflects a rich diversity in its student body.
With more than 50 nations and 30 religious preferences represented in the student community, Lipscomb’s Office of Intercultural Development, a division of the Office of Student Life, is a campus resource which exists to enrich the holistic development of each student by encouraging them to recognize and embrace the uniqueness of their personal culture while valuing the culture of others. Its mission is to “support the overall success and persistence of ethnic and historically underrepresented students at Lipscomb University.”
With the growing diversity within the student body, Candace Williams, director of community life, says it is important for students to have a place to feel welcome and to be able to engage with others who have similar stories while learning more about those who have different backgrounds. The Office of Intercultural Development is located in the lower level of the Bennett Campus Center and includes a student lounge as well as a meeting room. Williams and OID team members Juan Reveles, international student services coordinator and DSO, and Erastos Evdoxiadis, program coordinator.
Candace Williams
“It is very important for minorities to be able to quickly find community and a place where they can feel at home,” explains Williams. “We want to serve the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of the student as well as their physical needs by having a place to gather. Our secondary goal here is for our student body as a whole to be more inclusive and to see through the lens of what others’ experiences may be. Our main purpose is to build community through culture.”
Williams says the vision of the OID is for each student it serves to graduate equipped with the knowledge and experience to be active, productive and vocal leaders within their diverse communities.
OID serves students and works to build community in a number of ways — through events, student organizations and leadership training among a number of other programs. The Black Student Union, African Student Association, Collegiate 100 and the W.E.B. DuBois International Honor Society are all a part of the OID programming. In addition, OID offers three breakout chapels every week.
However, most of these activities have taken place virtually over the last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so Williams says the focus has not been as much on events this academic year but in finding other meaningful ways to engage students and build community.
“This has been a difficult time for all of us and we want to make sure that our students are okay,” she says. “We understand that there is a lot of fatigue, and we are really focusing on being in relationship with students.”
It is very important for minorities to be able to quickly find community and a place where they can feel at home. — Candace Williams, director of community life
The OID is partnering with the Black Student Union, the African Student Association and the Student Activities Board to offer a series of events during Black History Month. She says the OID team is also working on a grant program that would provide funding to students in need for extracurricular activities or academic needs such as books, supplies and other items.
Williams has been part of the student life team since 2018. She came to Lipscomb from Brookhaven College in which is one of seven schools that comprise the Dallas (Texas) Community College System where she served as an integral member of the institution's student life team as coordinator of the new student orientation program and oversaw campus activities among other responsibilities. She is passionate about being a part of a student’s transformative experience while in college.
“I love helping people achieve whatever goals they may have and making sure they have the resources they need to succeed at whatever they want to do,” admits Williams, who has an undergraduate degree in social work from Abilene Christian University and a Master of Arts in conflict management degree from Lipscomb University. “I also love planning and thinking about the details of an event that helps people come together for a common goal whether it's to learn or just to have a good time. I've absolutely loved being a part of that work in higher education.”
In addition to its formal programs and organizations for students, Williams said the OID staff welcomes opportunities to collaborate with other offices on campus to find ways to work together.