University of Massachusetts Amherst
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The Center for Multicultural Advancement & Student Success (CMASS) provides academic support, cultural enrichment, student development as well as support for institutional diversity on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. This includes peer mentoring, social connection, exposure to national student leadership conferences, help in navigating offices of the Bursar, Registrar or Financial Aid, and more. The center ensures that students have the resources to thrive in an inclusive and multicultural environment during their time at the university. CMASS also provides workshops on diversity at New Student Orientations. The Center operates four distinct cultural centers:

Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center: The Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center (JWECC) provides a warm and welcoming gathering place for Native American students, staff, and faculty at the university. JWECC student staff organizes public lecture events for the campus, student social events, community trips, and community night potluck suppers (with community guest speakers or presenters). They also host health awareness workshops, study nights, craft nights, movie and discussion nights and schedule community meetings. The Center includes a computer lab and the Kitty Wagner Cultural Resource Library, providing books, magazines, newspapers and videos.

Latin American Cultural Center: This cultural center serves as a place for Latino students to celebrate their cultural identity and share it with the larger UMass Amherst community. Social and cultural events organized by the students are open to the public. The Center is equipped with computers, couches, TV and radio. Typical events hosted by the Center in the past include: Latino Comedy Night, Salsa Workshops, Pina Colada and Carnaval Latino.

Malcolm X Cultural Center: The Malcolm X Cultural Center is a multifunctional site that provides space and opportunity for students to develop educational and social activities that enhance and broaden the awareness of the UMass Amherst campus, fellow students and the Five College area community with regards to issues that focus on the African Diaspora. The Malcolm X Cultural Center’s goal is to promote community involvement in relation to these issues. The Center annually coordinates a series of campus programming for Black History Month in February.

Yuri Kochiyama Cultural Center: The Yuri Kochiyama Cultural Center aka "the YKCC" is the Asian Cultural Center on the UMass campus. The Center sponsors and organizes cultural and social events throughout the year that create a sense of community for Asian and Asian Americans students and educate the UMass Amherst campus about Asian culture. The YKCC has an office and activities room underneath the Oak Room in the Worcester Dining Commons. The cultural center is used by the YKCC and the various Asian student organizations for meetings and events. The YKCC also annually coordinates Asian Awareness Month in April.

Legacy Living Communities
These communities make it possible for students to live with others who share their interests, ethnicity, identity, or worldview. All of these programs create a supportive living and learning environment that encourages personal growth and academic achievement. These are especially good choices for transfer students and upper-division students who are looking for their niche on campus. UMass Legacy Living Communities include: Asian American Student Program, Harambee African Heritage, 2 in 20 floor, Kanonhsesne: Native American Floor, NUANCE: Multicultural Student Program, & the Lewis International Student Program.

Residential Academic Programs (RAPs)
Several RAPs focus on diversity in particular, Emerging Scholars which is a pipeline into Commonwealth Honors College and a Multicultural America themed RAP which includes Information Literacy & Research, a spring course targeted to underrepresented student populations.

Chelsea & Springfield Compacts
As part of larger partnerships with the Springfield Public Schools and the City of Springfield, UMass Amherst gives Chelsea and Springfield high school students whose families participate in FUEL (Families United in Educational Leadership) and the Access Springfield Promise Program (ASPP), who are admitted to campus, and who meet federal income and eligibility requirements, up to $13,000 a year toward their tuition and fees. Through the Chelsea Scholars Program and the Springfield Scholars Program, high school students with the greatest potential, who have demonstrated commitment and talent and who have overcome significant odds in their educational background, are eligible to become Chelsea or Springfield Scholars. This extraordinary award is available to as many as 25 Chelsea and 20 Springfield students each year and covers the costs of tuition, fees, room, and board. These students attend UMass Amherst and graduate debt free.

Student Bridges
Student Bridges is a student-initiated outreach program that connects UMass students with local community-based organizations and schools through tutoring-mentoring partnerships, college awareness activities, and policy advocacy. The program has primarily partnered with schools and programs in the Holyoke-Springfield area.

Isenberg School of Management - DiMES (Diversity in Management Education Services)
DiMES allows students to gain an edge by presenting a true image of today’s business profession and it works in collaboration with a variety of programs in Springfield and schools as well as nationwide.

College of Engineering – Diversity Programs Office
DPO provides academic and non-academic support to increase enrollment, retention and graduation among under-represented minorities and women. The goal is to assist students in achieving their academic goals by offering services and programs that include seminars, academic assistance and access to undergraduate research and scholarship opportunities.

Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEAGEP)
NEAGEP sponsors a number of activities to address the shortage of U.S. students, particularly underrepresented minority students, who receive Ph.D.s in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and become professors. NEAGEP works closely with Partner and other institutions to encourage and prepare students for graduate work.

Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)
PREP encourages students of underrepresented groups who hold recent baccalaureate degrees to pursue doctorates in biomedical sciences. PREP participants work as apprentice scientists in laboratories and participate in professional development activities, as well as taking a course per semester.

Registered Student Organizations & Fraternities and Sororities
UMass currently has 24 cultural and academic ALANA specific Registered Student Organizations that provide a variety of cultural nights, educational events and workshops, and peer mentoring throughout the year. UMass also has 13 ALANA fraternities and sororities and a Multicultural Greek Council.

The Amherst campus Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Policy Statement explicitly “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law.” This policy is intended to establish a firm foundation for achieving campus goals for diversity and inclusiveness.

Website for WOCLN: http://www.umass.edu/ewc/programs/wocln/
Website for Workplace Learning & Development: http://www.umass.edu/wld/employee_development_tem.htm
Website for CTFD Campus-Wide Programs: http://www.umass.edu/ctfd/about/annual_report.shtml
Website for Mutual Mentoring Programs: http://www.umass.edu/ctfd/mentoring/exemplars.shtml