Albion

The Office of Intercultural Affairs provides a variety of programs for the campus and the greater Albion community. We believe that cultural-educational programs encourage cultural synthesis. That is, students are positioned to learn about themselves in relation to others who may be different. Exposure to different people with different ideas is the bedrock of a relevant and empowering liberal arts education. These kinds of outside the classroom experiences provides common ground for principled inquiry, growth, and learning.

Latino/a Heritage Month

Programming & Cultural Events

Heritage Months
Intercultural Affairs Orientation
Smooth Transitions Mentoring Program
Special Activities

Heritage Months

The Office of Intercultural Affairs is committed to providing cultural-educational programming to our campus and the community at large. We seek to increase cultural awareness, cultivate diversity, promote social justice, and create substantive inter-group partnerships. To that end we celebrate and support:

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (April)
Black History Month (February)
Coming Out Week (October)
Latino/a Heritage Month (September-October)

Intercultural Affairs Orientation

Students at Intercultural Affairs opening picnic

The Office of Intercultural Affairs offers an orientation program to welcome you to Albion College. New students and transfer students, along with their family, are invited to participate in dialogue panels, information sessions, and to meet staff and upper-class students. You will have the opportunity to also network with various campus and community resources that will be accessible to you while studying here at Albion College.

Smooth Transitions Mentor Program

Smooth Transition Mentor Team

Smooth Transitions coordinates effective academic andsocial support during the fall semester to foster student growth and adjustment to Albion College and the surrounding community.

Smooth Transitions matches first-year students from an under-represented ethnic or racial background with upper-class students. The program provides guidance and direction to our first-year students in order to assist them in making a successful transition to Albion, both academically and socially.

A student mentor will regularly meet with their assigned student mentee, helping him or her find resources to support student academic and social needs, encouraging their peer student’s involvement in student organizations, and inviting their peer student to various social outings.

Special Activities Hosted by the Office of Intercultural Affairs

Students at Intercultral Affairs late night pancake study break

The Office of Intercultural Affairs assists students and the Albion campus to engage in advocacy, dialogue, and learning experiences by offering a range of special events throughout the year. Those events include:

• Study Breaks – An Intercultural Affairs tradition to host a late-night pancake study break before final exams

• Conference Opportunities – Support students to travel, attend, and/or present at regional and national conferences, such as the Great Lakes College Association’s Student of Color Leadership Conference

• Dialogues – Allows students to voice and constructively discuss today’s hot topics, ranging from LGBTQ to women’s issues, and from cultural identity to social injustice